HomeMy WebLinkAbout0008_1_Nichols Mine Expansion CEQA - SR
CITY OF LAKE ELSINORE
REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Grant Yates, City Manager
DATE: May 10, 2016
PROJECT: First Amendment to a Professional Services Agreement for
the Preparation of Environmental Documentation for the
Nichols Mine Expansion.
Recommendation
AUTHORIZE THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE FIRST AMENDMENT TO THE
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH T&B PLANNING FOR THE
PREPARATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTATION FOR THE NICHOLS MINE
EXPANSION IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $22,718.75.
Background
The City of Lake Elsinore serves as the lead agency to evaluate the environmental
impacts of development projects proposed within the City. The Community Development
Department is responsible for the preparation of the necessary information and,
depending on the scope and size of the project, will either prepare the environmental
documents in-house or have a consultant prepare the documents and studies. The cost
of preparing the environmental analysis is paid for by the project applicant (Eric Werner,
Nichols Road Partner LLC) through the application fee process.
The City Council approved and authorized the City Manager to enter into a contract with
T&B Planning to prepare the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) compliance
documents for the Nichols Mine Expansion project in an amount not to exceed $144,890.
Discussion
The applicant has applied for an amendment to the previously approved Surface Mining
and Reclamation Plan (RP 2006-01). The full measure of the proposed amendment is not
known at this time due to the significant amount of preparatory work needed to analyze
the environmental impacts associated with any modifications to the Mining operations. In
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order to fully address and analyze any potential impacts, the City engaged a consultant
to facilitate the preparation of the necessary technical studies that were subsequently
used in the consultant’s preparation of the necessary CEQA documents. T&B Planning
was determined to be the most appropriate consulting firm as they are included on the
City’s CEQA Consultant Master List (Updated July 11, 2014) and have provided previous
consulting services for previous entitlements located on the subject site.
The Draft EIR (State Clearinghouse Number 2006051034) was circulated for comment
beginning Friday, January 8, 2016 and ending on Monday, February 22, 2015. The City
received several comment letters that were transmitted to the applicant and consultant.
In review of the comment letter and in consultation with their legal counsel, the applicant
requested that the draft EIR be updated to reflect the comments received and recirculate
the EIR for another comment period. The additional work required to recirculate the EIR
was not included in the original Professional Services Agreement, therefore necessitating
approval of an amendment to the original agreement to cover the costs associated with
this additional work.
Fiscal Impact
The cost of preparing the environmental review will be paid by fees collected from the
developer through the City’s cost recovery program. All staff administrative time and
consultant costs are paid from the applicant’s fees. No General Fund budgets will be
allocated or used for the completion of the CEQA documents for the Nichols Mine
Expansion project.
Prepared by: Justin Kirk,
Principal Planner
Reviewed by: Grant Taylor
Community Development Director
Approved by: Grant Yates
City Manager
Exhibits:
A. Personal Services Agreement
B. First Amendment
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