AgdaPkt 2007-08-13 - Laserfiche WebLink

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7A Page 84 Response to Comments in FEIR Letter F 1. The Notice of Preparation (NOP) is required to provide a description of the project, its location, and probable environmental effects. A description of alternatives is not required for the NOP; however, the City included those that were under consideration at that time. The NOP must be written to provide sufficient information to enable agencies to provide "meaningful responses." The City's NOP met this requirement and the City took into account agency responses to the NOP in preparation of the Draft EIR. The Expanded Warehouse and Alternative Fueling Location alternative was fully described and evaluated in the Draft EIR, which was provided to the same agencies that received the NOP. 2. Issues regarding the alternatives analysis in the Draft EIR are addressed in the staff response to the appeal letter. See Attachment 2 to this staff report. 3. Issues regarding the Costco cumulative traffic analysis and its relationship to the Stanford Outpatient Center Project and the Downtown Precise Plan traffic analyses are discussed in the staff response to the appeal letter. See Attachment 2 to this staff report. 4. The Final EIR (page 3-296) correctly states that most Costco customers will access the site via the new driveway at Willow Street. This response provides additional clarification on the second driveway and Its relationship to queues for the gas station. The second driveway between the proposed Costco building and the SafKeep Storage warehouse is for emergency access, fuel and warehouse deliveries, and some customers who may choose to use this driveway to access or depart the site. With regard to the access drive around the building (including the area between the proposed Costco building and the SafKeep Storage warehouse), this area is for Costco-controlled vehicles only (Le., delivery trucks, etc.) as well as for emergency vehicle access. Customer VehiClesahd.tr'licks .wol.ild.h6tbe .per'mittedtOqUeUeihthatlocati6h. ... As indicated in the Draft EIR (page 4.4-12), the proposed fueling center queue area would be able to accommodate the expected number of vehicles accessing the gas station. Additional queue space for the gas station can be accommodated on the SamTrans lease parcel. 5. The City's traffic consultant, Fehr & Peers, has prepared a technical memorandum addressing how vehicles are distributed on Willow Street and Stambaugh Street. This memorandum is attached. 6. The primary purpose of emergency vehicle preemption at traffic signals is to enable emergency vehicles to maneuver through traffic quickly and efficiently, regardless of the underlying traffic conditions. The traffic analysis for the proposed project indicates that "gridlock" conditions would not occur; in fact, traffic movement along Middlefield Road is anticipated to improve with the new signal at Willow Street and increased queuing capacity at the left turn pocket to Woodside Road. If emergency vehicles encounter severe traffic congestion during an emergency and render emergency vehicle preemption less effective, the vehicles can use alternate routes, additional response units can be dispatched via routes that are unimpeded by gridlock conditions, and emergency vehicles can use bicycle lanes or emergency shoulders for travel lanes. In