Reso PC17-07 0032 PC Reso Approving CEQA - 860 Charter St

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LSA ASSOCIATES, INC. SEPTEMBER 2016 ROCKETSHIP REDWOOD CITY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PROJECT INITIAL STUDY/ MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION P:\RWC1401B Rocketship School\PRODUCTS\IS-MND\Public\Rocketship Public Review 09-29-16.docx (09/29/16) PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFT 8 and repair facilities, air conditioning and heating repair, and construction management and storage facilities and other similar uses characteristic of light industrial areas. Larger light industrial business parks are located north of the site, across Bay Road. South of Spring Street and within Redwood City, uses primarily consist of low density residential neighborhoods. Hoover Elementary School (Kindergarten [K] through 8th grade) and Hoover Park are located less than 0.25 miles southwest of the site. B. PROPOSED PROJECT This section provides a description of the proposed project as identified in the sponsor’s application materials dated September 23 and October 30, 2014, July 29, 2015, and July 8, 2016. The proposed project involves conversion of the site into a public Transitional Kindergarten (TK) through 5th grade charter elementary school, which would be located within the Redwood City School District (RCSD) and operated by Rocketship Education.4 As shown in the proposed site plan depicted in Figure 7, the existing building would be converted to accommodate the school use and the existing parking lot would be converted into an outdoor play area and surface parking lot and drop-off/pick-up area. In addition, the project includes implementation of a Work Plan5 that involves installation and monitoring of a sub-slab depressurization system to prevent contaminants potentially present in soil vapor from entering the converted building and related monitoring component. The proposed project components are described in detail below. 1. Building Program The proposed project would convert the existing single-story, 23,200-square-foot building on the site for use as an elementary school. The interior of the building would be renovated to include TK-5th grade classrooms, special meeting rooms, faculty and administration offices, lounge areas and other support facilities. An approximately 1,968-square-foot learning lab and a 1,926-square-foot lunch room and assembly area would also be part of the proposed project. Glass garage-style doors would open onto the adjacent outdoor area from the lunch room. New openings would be cut in exterior concrete walls on the east and west façades for windows and doorways. The total building height, which is currently 26.2 feet above grade to the top of the roof, would remain the same. 4 Charter schools receive public funding but are exempt from certain rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools in exchange for accountability standards for producing certain results, such as test scores, which are set forth by the school’s charter. Charter schools provide an alternative to public schools but are still part of the public education system and are not allowed to charge tuition. 5 The Source Group, 2016, op. cit. ATTY/RESO.0032/PC RESO APPROVING CEQA - 860 CHARTER ST. EXHIBIT A REV: 06-15-17 PR Page 16 of 124