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As noted above, the Focused GPU program EIR (p. 4.5-13) determined that, “With implementation of the adopted
<br />General Plan goals and policies, site-specific environmental review, as well as the existing preservation guidelines in
<br />the City’s Municipal Code, potential impacts to historic resources would be less than significant.” Because the existing
<br />structure on the project component site was evaluated, the NWIC recommendation has been satisfied, and the building
<br />has been determined not to be eligible for listing either on the CRHR or the City of Redwood City as a City landmark;
<br />there would be no impact as a result of demolition of the existing structure (the Redwood Chapel). However, the
<br />project component would still be subject to Mitigation Measure CUL-3a regarding encountering human remains
<br />during ground-disturbing activities and Mitigation Measure CUL-3b regarding construction crew training prior to
<br />grading permit issuance.
<br /> Potential for Cumulative Impacts
<br />In conformance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Statute and Guidelines, the Focused GPU
<br />program EIR (Section 6, p. 6-6) discusses the potential for cumulative impacts on cultural and historic resources.
<br />CEQA Guidelines Section 15355 states, “Cumulative impacts refer to two or more individual effects which, when
<br />considered together, are considerable or which compound or increase other environmental impacts.” CEQA
<br />Guidelines Section 15130(a) requires that “an EIR discuss cumulative impacts of a project when the project’s
<br />incremental effect is cumulatively considerable, as defined in Section 15065(a)(3).” Section 15065(a)(3) states,
<br />“’Cumulatively considerable’ means that the incremental effects of an individual project are significant when viewed
<br />in connection with the effects of past projects, the effects of other current projects, and the effects of probable future
<br />projects.” Furthermore, Section 15130(a) explains, “Where a lead agency is examining a project with an incremental
<br />effect that is not ‘cumulatively considerable,’ a lead agency need not consider that effect significant, but shall briefly
<br />describe the basis for concluding that the incremental effect is not cumulatively considerable.”
<br />The Focused GPU program EIR (p. 6-6) concluded that with implementation of Redwood City General Plan goals
<br />and policies, and the mitigation measures identified in chapter 4.5, Cultural Resources, of the Focused GPU program
<br />EIR, potential impacts of future development associated with the Focused GPU on known existing cultural resources
<br />or previously undiscovered cultural resources would be reduced to a less than significant level of impact.
<br />As discussed in this analysis, the proposed project component would not result in a significant adverse effect on a
<br />historic resource or a historic district, and the project component would not result in a cumulatively considerable
<br />contribution to a significant historic impact. Therefore, this project component is consistent with the analysis in the
<br />Focused GPU EIR because it would not create new impacts or increase impacts and there is no new information of
<br />substantial importance for CEQA purposes.
<br />b. The Focused GPU program EIR (p. 4.18-1) determined that because the Focused GPU planning area likely contains
<br />archaeological resources dating back thousands of years that reflected Native American settlement patterns, the
<br />probability of finding archaeological and/or cultural resources in the planning area would be moderate to high. In fact,
<br />two shell mounds have been identified in the past, one located on Main Street near Woodside Road and another near
<br />the Union Cemetery, although both have since been leveled and built upon (Focused GPU program EIR, p. 4.18-1).
<br />The impacts were found to be less than significant with mitigation.
<br />The project component site is located within a half-mile of a recent discovery of tribal cultural resources. The NWIC
<br />records search, discussed above in item (a), stated that no cultural resource studies have been conducted for the project
<br />component site. The NWIC records search also determined that the potential for encountering unrecorded Native
<br />American resources within the proposed project component site is “moderate” (NWIC, October 9, 2023, p. 2).
<br />Accordingly, although the project component site has been developed and is presently mostly covered with asphalt,
<br />buildings, or fill that obscures the visibility of original surface soils, NWIC includes, as suggested protocols, archival
<br />research and a field examination. This research and examination would necessarily need to occur prior to demolition
<br />or other ground disturbance activities and would also need to be conducted by a qualified archaeologist. As explained
<br />by NWIC (p. 4), some of the steps the field study may include would be “hand auger sampling, shovel test units, or
<br />geoarchaeological analyses as well as other common methods used to identify the presence of buried archaeological
<br />resources.”
<br />The project component site would be required to comply with the following Focused GPU program EIR mitigation
<br />measures: Mitigation Measure CUL-2a regarding encountering deposits of prehistoric or historic archaeological
<br />materials during project construction activities; Mitigation Measure CUL-2b regarding construction crew training for
<br />identifying federal or state-eligible cultural resources; and Mitigation Measure CUL-2c regarding compliance of future
<br />development project applicants with the City’s Historic Resources Management Plan and preparation of a cultural
<br />resources plan for all historic site or sites which have a potential for the onsite discovery, reconnaissance and
<br />ATTY/RESO.0070/CC RESO 1900 BROADWAY (CEQA) - EXHIBIT 1 - CEQA CONSISTENCY CHECK LIST
<br />REV: 10-23-24 VR
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