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<br /> <br />Red Morton Community Park Sports Lighting Initial Study <br />City of Redwood City 11 June 2015 <br />4.1.1.2 Existing Light Sources <br /> <br />Existing light sources in the park include sports lighting on McGarvey Field, Bechet/Griffin Field, <br />and the tennis courts. Security and parking lot lighting is located near the institutional buildings on <br />the perimeter of the park. Existing light sources in the neighborhood surrounding the park include <br />streetlights, vehicle headlights, and security lighting. Existing ambient nighttime light levels on and <br />adjacent to the park were measured to characterize existing light levels in the project area. The <br />measured light levels are shown on Figure 4.1-1. As shown on the figure, existing light levels are as <br />high as 53.8 footcandles on McGarvey Field, 44.2 footcandles on Betchet/Griffin Field, and 40.5 <br />footcandles on the tennis courts, all of which currently have sports lighting.2 Light levels on the <br />currently unlighted Mitchell field range from 0.2 to 0.4 footcandles. Light levels in the surrounding <br />residential uses range from 0.2 footcandles to 3.9 footcandles. For reference, a full moon creates <br />about 0.1 footcandles of light. <br /> <br />4.1.1.3 Scenic Vistas and State Scenic Highways <br /> <br />The project site is not within a designated scenic vista. The nearest designated scenic highway is <br />Interstate 280, located roughly 2.5 miles west of the site. The site is not visible from this highway. <br /> <br />4.1.2 Environmental Checklist and Discussion of Impacts <br /> <br /> <br />Potentially <br />Significant <br />Impact <br />Less Than <br />Significant <br />With <br />Mitigation <br />Incorporated <br />Less Than <br />Significant <br />Impact <br />No Impact Checklist <br />Source(s) <br />Would the project: <br />1. Have a substantial adverse effect on a scenic <br />vista? <br /> 1,2 <br />2. Substantially damage scenic resources, <br />including, but not limited to, trees, rock <br />outcroppings, and historic buildings within a <br />state scenic highway? <br /> 1,2 <br />3. Substantially degrade the existing visual <br />character or quality of the site and its <br />surroundings? <br /> 1 <br />4. Create a new source of substantial light or <br />glare which will adversely affect day or <br />nighttime views in the area? <br /> 1 <br /> <br />The courts have ruled that under CEQA, “the question is whether a project will affect the <br />environment of persons in general, not whether a project will affect particular persons.”3 This ruling <br />is relevant to the visual, aesthetics, and lighting impacts of the proposed project, because the <br />proposed project would affect the occupants of residences immediately adjacent to Mitchell Field to <br />a much greater degree than the surrounding area in general. <br /> <br />2A footcandle (fc) is one lumen of uniform luminance over an area of one square foot. For reference, a full moon <br />creates about 0.1 footcandles of light. <br />3 Mira Mar, supra 119 Cal.App.4th at p. 491; see also Pocket Protectors, supra, 124 Cal.App.4 th at p. 929. <br />8.A. - Page 28