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<br />The General Plan EIR will contain discussions for all CEQA~required topics. CirclePoint will <br />utilize existing information and conduct necessary research to describe existing conditions, <br />determine impacts and develop mitigation measures. CirclePointunderstands that several recent <br />EIRs have been completed in the City focus areas; these EIRs will be used to help identify <br />existing conditions and known environmental concerns. <br /> <br />The significance criteria will reflect current CEOA requirements, and may also consider specific <br />City policies or ordinances that set parameters for development. CirclePoint will submit a <br />proposed methodolOgy to the City that includes significance criteria to be used in the EIR. <br />Mitigation measures will distinguish between those that are proposed as part of the New General <br />Plan and other measures that could be reasonably expected to reduce adverse impacts if <br />required as conditions of approval. <br /> <br />CirclePoint will organize each discussion in a manner that improves accessibility of the overall <br />document. Some sections will be best organized by geographical area, such as biological <br />resources, where impacts are related to specific places on the ground. Other sections, such as <br />geology, might be better organized around types of impacts. CirclePoint will.outline each section <br />in advance to ensure the discussion is logically organized and does not pose confusion or <br />unwarranted inconsistency for the reader. To the extent the alternative analysis employed by <br />Hogle-Ireland provides corridor or neighborhood specific information on General Plan build out, <br />these units may serve, if appropriate, as the basis for analysis within selected technical sections. <br /> <br />The discussions for each CeQA technical section will be prepared as described below. <br /> <br />Aestl1eticsNisual Resources - CirclePoint will consult with City staff in identifying scenic vistas <br />in Redwood City, drawing on the Conservation and Parks and Open Space Elements. Vistas that <br />could be affected by General Plan implementation will be preliminarily identified. CirclePoint <br />anticipates that areas designated for more intensive urban development could see taller building <br />heights than existing or currently permitted conditions; taller buildings may have the potential for <br />impacts on identified scenic vistas. In addition, as acknowledged in the draft Conservation <br />Element, increased urban development may lead to increased use of nighttime lighting, <br />contributing to a diminution of the quality of the night sky. CirclePoint will develop appropriate <br />significance criteria for these and related visual and aesthetic issues that are relevant to the <br />programmatic nature of the Project. The "What In" scenarios (including examples of higher <br />density projects, visual simulations, etc.) to be created earlier can be utilized to some extent in <br />the evaluation of aesthetics impacts at the programmatic level. <br /> <br />The draft Conservation EI.ement already includes a number of policies that can be pointed to as <br />potential mitigations for night sky impacts. Mitigations for potential scenic view impacts maybe <br />drawn from existing City policies and documents, including design guidelines and urban tree <br />planting measures. The programmatic nature of the project suggests that visual impacts can be <br />determined without the development of photo simulations. <br /> <br />Air Quality - The draft Conservation Element includes some background discussion of air quality <br />issues, as well as policies to minimize air quality impacts in the future. Team member Illingworth <br />& Rodkin (I & R) will lead the air quality analysis effort. <br /> <br />For the purposes of the EIR, primary air quality issues associated with this project would be <br />impacts to regional air quality from indirect sources (Le., project traffic generation) and temporary <br />emissions of dust and diesel exhaust fromconstruction.~ An air quality analysis would be <br />prepared in accordance with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District CEOA Guidelines as <br />described below. <br /> <br />SCOPE OF SERVICES <br />Redwood City General Plan <br />January 11, 2008 <br />Page 29 <br />