AgdaPkt 2016-05-09 Interview, Closed and Joint SA PFA

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9.A - Page 2 After the public comment period has closed, the City and Caltrans intend to define a preferred alternative. The preferred alternative will be documented in the Final Environmental Document and Final Project Report, for review and approval by Caltrans (anticipated by December 2016). This will signify completion of the Project Approval & Environmental Document (PA&ED) phase of the project, at which point the City may request the San Mateo County Transportation Authority to allocate the funds programmed for the next phase of work — the Plans, Specifications and Estimates phase (PS&E, also referred to as final design). ANALYSIS The purpose of this Council briefing is to provide an update and overview of the project, highlight contents of the Draft Environmental Document (DED), provide a summary of the public comments received to date, and receive comments and general direction from Council. This information will be given during the oral presentation to Council. A written summary of the DED is attached to this report. The Council may direct staff to issue formal comments to Caltrans. Based on feedback received, staff and the consultant will incorporate comments and guidance from Council into the project. Since the last Council update, the consultant team has conducted numerous engineering and environmental technical studies and submitted two administrative drafts of the Draft Environmental Document (DED) and the associated Draft Project Report (DPR) to Caltrans for review and approval. City staff also reviewed and commented on these studies. The attachment summarizes the environmental review and community outreach schedules for this phase. The DED for this project is an Initial Study/Environmental Assessment (IS/EA). It describes why the project is being proposed, what project alternatives have been considered, the potential impacts of each alternative, how the existing environment could be affected by the project, and the proposed avoidance and/or minimization measures for each potential impact. The public meeting included an informal open house, a presentation about the project and the IS/EA, and a public question/answer period. URS, the City's consultant, prepared the IS/EA and led the open house and presentation with support from Caltrans and City staff. Attendees were given the opportunity to provide written comments at the meeting. During the study session, the consultant will present a project update, including the community outreach process, the two alternatives studied in the IS/EA, cost estimates, and highlights of the environmental analysis and findings. The consultant will also summarize the tone and content of comments received to date. The remainder of the session will be devoted to feedback from Council. ALTERNATIVES Not applicable.