Res99 RD-99-21 - Laserfiche WebLink

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FRANKLIN STREET PROJECT INITIAL STUDY AND MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION The Agency has prepared an Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration for the Franklin Street Project in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act of 1970 (CEQA) (Public Resources Code §21000 et seq.) and the State CEQA Guidelines (Title 14 California Code of Regulations §15000 et seq., as amended). The Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration was completed and released for public review on February 24,1999. The public review period ended April 12, 1999. The City Planning Commission held a public hearing to accept comments on the Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration on March 16, 1999. The analysis in the Redevelopment EIR and the Franklin Street Area Plan EIR (collectively, the EIRs) evaluated the environmental impacts associated with redevelopment of the Project Site with residential and commercial uses. Because the Project was previously evaluated in two certified program EIRs (as defined by CEQA §§15168 and 15180), the analysis provided in the Initial Study was limited to the effects that were not examined as significant effects on the environment in the prior EIRs; or that are susceptible to substantial reduction or avoidance by the choice of specific revisions in the Project, by the imposition of conditions, or other means. Limiting the analysis in the Initial Study to those issues that were not examined as significant effects on the environment in the prior EIRs is consistent with the tiering concept of Public Resources Code §21094 and CEQA Guidelines §15152. The use of tiering in the preparation of the Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration was consistent with several sections of the State CEQA Guidelines. The City determined that tiering was appropriate because: (i) the two prior environmental impact reports that evaluated redevelopment of the Project Site were prepared at a program level of analysis (CEQA Guidelines § 15168), (ii) the proposed -- Project includes multi-family residential and commercial uses (CEQA Guidelines §15179.5), (iii) the Project includes redevelopment of the site (CEQA Guidelines §15180), and (iv) the Project is consistent with the City of Redwood City Strategic General Plan and Zoning Ordinance (CEQA Guidelines §15183). Based on the Project's consistency with these State CEQA Guideline sections and the environmental analysis included in the Initial Study, the Redevelopment Agency Board hereby concludes that the tiered Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration are the appropriate level of environmental review for the proposed Project. Using the tiered approach, the Agency identified each of the environmental issues indicated in the Initial Study Environmental Checklist that were considered to be subject to further environmental review. For each of these issues, the Initial Study evaluated whether the Project is consistent with the Redevelopment Plan and the Franklin Street Area Plan, and whether the prior EIRs, used as the CEQA review for the adoption of these plans, adequately evaluated the environmental effects of the Project. In addition, these potential environmental effects were evaluated to determine whether they would be considerable, when added to the environmental effects of other Projects assessed in the context of the development projected in the Redwood City General Plan, the Redevelopment Plan, and the Franklin Street Area Plan. Based upon the Initial Study evaluation, the Project was determined to result in three categories of impact: "no impact", "less than significant" and "potentially significant unless mitigation incorporated". Thus, in all cases, the Agency found no new or substantially more significant environmental effects when compared to the prior EIR analyses. As a result, the Agency determined that a Mitigated Negative Declaration was the appropriate environmental document for the Project. FRANKLIN STREET PROJECT -3- Findings RD99-21