Final Mitigated Negative Declaration Response to Comments on Draft Initial Study-Mitigated Negative Declaration Saddleback Community Church Expansion Project Subject: Response to Public Review Comments and Final Mitigated Negative Declaration This document has been prepared to respond to comments received on the Draft Initial Study-Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS-MND) prepared for the Saddleback Community Church Expansion Project (SCH#2019109096). The Draft IS-MND found that with implementation of the mitigation measures, impacts on the environment from the proposed project were less than significant. The list of comment letters received by the City of Lake Forest are listed below. Letter No. and Commenting Agency Date 1 State Clearinghouse December 3, 2019 2 California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), District 12 December 2, 2019 None of the comments received identified new impacts or resulted in a substantial increase in the severity of impacts. Responses to the comments received do not constitute new information that warrants recirculation of the Draft IS-MND. This Response to Comments (RTC) Document provides responses to comments received. Per the comments received, no changes to the Draft IS-MND were necessary. This RTC Document, together with the Draft IS-MND, constitutes the Final IS-MND for the Saddleback Community Church Expansion Project. Amanda Lauffer Date of Issuance of Associate Planner Final Mitigated Negative Declaration City of Lake Forest Saddleback Community Church Expansion Project Responses to Comments on the Draft IS-MND 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 PURPOSE OF THE RESPONSE TO COMMENTS ON THE DRAFT IS-MND This document is in response to comments received on the Draft Initial Study-Mitigated Negative Declaration (Draft IS-MND) prepared for the proposed Saddleback Community Church Expansion Project (project). The Draft IS-MND identifies the potential environmental impacts associated with development of the project and recommends mitigation measures to reduce potentially significant impacts. This Response to Comments (RTC) document, together with the Draft IS-MND, constitutes the Final IS-MND for the proposed project. 1.2 ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW PROCESS Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), lead agencies are required to consult with public agencies having jurisdiction over a proposed project and to provide the general public with an opportunity to comment on the Draft IS-MND. The Draft IS-MND was made available for public review on October 31, 2019. Copies of the Notice of Intent to Adopt the Draft IS-MND were posted to the Orange County Clerk and the Saddleback News. The Draft IS-MND and a Notice of Intent to Adopt a Mitigated Negative Declaration were posted electronically on the City's website, and a paper copy was available for public review at the City of Lake Forest Planning Division and at the El Toro Library and Foothill Ranch Library. In addition, the Draft IS-MND was mailed to the State Clearinghouse to be distributed to applicable state agencies. The Draft IS-MND public comment period began on October 31, 2019 and ended December 2, 2019. The City received two comment letters on the Draft IS-MND. Copies of written comments received during the comment period are included in Chapter 2 of this document. 1.3 DOCUMENT ORGANIZATION This RTC Document consists of the following chapters: Chapter 1: Introduction. This chapter discusses the purpose and organization of this RTC Document and the Final IS-MND and summarizes the environmental review process for the project. Chapter 2: Comments and Responses. This chapter contains reproductions of the comment letters received on the Draft IS-MND. A written response for each CEQA-related comment received during the public review period is provided. Each response is keyed to the corresponding comment. Chapter 3: Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program. This chapter contains the project’s Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program, including Draft IS-MND. As described below, no corrections to the Draft IS-MND are necessary considering the comments received. The Draft IS-MND, as published for public review, is included for reference after this RTC document. 1 City of Lake Forest Saddleback Community Church Expansion Project Responses to Comments on the Draft IS-MND 2. COMMENTS AND RESPONSES This chapter includes comments received during the circulation of the Draft IS-MND prepared for the project. The Draft IS-MND was circulated for public review beginning on October 31, 2019 and ending December 2, 2019. The City received two comment letters on the Draft IS-MND. The commenters and the page number on which each commenter’s letter appear are listed below. Letter No. and Commenter Agency/Group/Organization/Individual Page No. Federal and State Agencies 1. Scott Morgan, Director State Clearinghouse 3 2. Scott Shelley, Branch Chief California Department of Transportation 5 (Caltrans), District 12 The comment letters and responses follow. The comment letters have been numbered sequentially and each separate CEQA issue raised by the commenter has been assigned a number. The responses to each comment identify first the number of the comment letter, and then the number assigned to each issue (Response 1.1, for example, indicates that the response is for the first issue raised in Comment Letter 1). As described below, no corrections to the Draft IS-MND are necessary considering the comments received. The Draft IS-MND, as published for public review, is included for reference after this RTC document. Final Initial Study-Mitigated Negative Declaration 2 Letter 1 1 City of Lake Forest Saddleback Community Church Expansion Project Responses to Comments on the Draft IS-MND Letter 1 COMMENTER: Scott Morgan, Director, State Clearinghouse DATE: December 3, 2019 Response 1.1 The letter acknowledges that the City of Lake Forest has complied with the State Clearinghouse review requirements for draft environmental documents, pursuant to CEQA. Per the referenced website in the letter, the State Clearinghouse received one letter regarding the project during public review, from Caltrans District 12. Responses to the Caltrans District 12 letter are provided below under Letter 2. Final Initial Study-Mitigated Negative Declaration 4 Letter 2 1 2 City of Lake Forest Saddleback Community Church Expansion Project Responses to Comments on the Draft IS-MND Letter 2 COMMENTER: Scott Shelley, Branch Chief, Regional-IGR-Transit Planning, California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), District 12 DATE: December 2, 2019 Response 2.1 The comment recommends the inclusion of bike parking to be consistent with state goals to increase active transportation and reduce VMT. As discussed under Section 8, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Question B of the Draft IS-MND, the project would provide on-site bike racks. Like the existing use, the proposed project would be easily accessible from the bike trails and bike lanes mentioned in the comment. The bike parking would be designed in conformance with applicable standards. Response 2.2 The comment discusses work within the State Right-of-Way and if such work is to occur, encroachment permits and addressing of environmental concerns required. Project construction would occur within the existing Saddleback Community Church campus and would not occur within State Right-of-Way. Final Initial Study-Mitigated Negative Declaration 7 Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program 3. Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program This document is the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP) for the Saddleback Community Church Expansion Project (project), located on the existing Saddleback Community Church campus, at 1 Saddleback Parkway in the City of Lake Forest. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), requires that a Lead Agency adopt an MMRP before approving a project in order to mitigate or avoid significant impacts that have been identified in an Initial Study-Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS-MND) (Public Resources Code Section 21081.6[a]). The purpose of the MMRP is to ensure that the required mitigation measures identified in the IS-MND are implemented as part of overall project implementation. In addition to ensuring implementation of mitigation measures, the MMRP provides feedback to agency staff and decision-makers during project implementation, and identifies the need for enforcement action before irreversible environmental damage occurs. Table 1, below, summarizes the mitigation measures for each issue area identified in the IS-MND for the project. The table identifies each mitigation measure; the action required for the measure to be implemented; the time at which the monitoring is to occur; the monitoring frequency; and the agency or party responsible for ensuring that the monitoring is performed. In addition, the table includes columns for compliance verification. Where an impact was identified to be less than significant, no mitigation measures were required. The mitigation measures contained herein shall be included as conditions of approval for the project, to the extent permitted by law. The City of Lake Forest shall ensure that all construction plans and project operations conform to the conditions of the mitigated project. Final Initial Study – Mitigated Negative Declaration I-1 City of Lake Forest Saddleback Community Church Expansion Project Responsible Compliance Verification Agency or When Monitoring to Monitoring Impact Mitigation Measure Action Party Occur Frequency Initial Date Comments Air Quality AQ-1: