AgdaPkt 2020-11-09 Joint SA PFA - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

Ms. Lindy Chan, Principal Planner City of Redwood City, Planning Services February 28, 2020 Page 6 The City's roads, and in particular those roads running through neighborhoods surrounding Sequoia High School, are not currently equipped to accommodate such high density development and high levels of traffic. Accordingly, such increases to traffic in the area will not only make it much more difficult for students and staff to travel to and from Sequoia High School, but will also drastically increase the risk of vehicular accidents to District families, students, and staff traveling to and from school, and make it much more difficult for emergency vehicles to access the school. In addition to increased risks of vehicular accidents, the traffic impacts posed by the Project will severely impact the safety and convenience of Sequoia High School students who walk or bike to school. Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations requires that school sites be located within a proposed attendance area that encourages student walking and avoids extensive bussing. (5 Cal. Code Regs. § 14010(1).) To mitigate the impacts of increased traffic in areas surrounding District schools and to enhance the safety of school children who walk or bike to school, the District has committed to supporting and promoting a safe routes to school program.' The Project, and especially as modified, will undermine the District's abilities to implement its program. B. City Must Consider Cumulative Traffic and Related Impacts. Environmental impact reports must discuss cumulative impacts of a project when the project's effects on the environment, viewed in conjunction with impacts of other past, present, or reasonably foreseeable future projects, is cumulatively considerable. (14 CCR 15130(a).) (See San Joaquin Raptor/Wildlife Rescue Center v. County of Stanislaus (1994) 27 CA4th 713, 720, finding that piecemeal approval of several projects with related impacts could lead to severe environmental harm.) While a lead agency may incorporate information from previously prepared program EIRs into the agency's analysis of a project's cumulative impacts, the lead agency must address all cumulative impacts that were not previously addressed in the program EIR. (Pub. Res. Code § 21083.3(c); 14 Cal. Code Regs. § 14183(b)(3).) The Project's above- and below -discussed anticipated impacts on the District, combined with the anticipated impacts of the vast number of development projects that have recently been approved in the area, are cumulatively considerable. All of these impacts are exacerbated by the rapidity at which the City is approving of development projects in the area, as the District and City are unable to accommodate the massive influx of students through facilities, infrastructure, and related improvements. In reviewing the City's website, between the 1305 El Camino Real project (137 multi -family residential units); 103 Wilson Street project (175 dwelling units); 1548 Maple Street project (131 three-story townhome residential units); 353 Main Street (125 units); and the Broadway Plaza project (520 residential units, 420,000 sf of office space, and 26,000 sf of retail space), there have been over 1,000 residential units recently approved or completed in the area. There are s See Sequoia Union High School District Board Policy and Administrative Regulation Nos. 5142.2.