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REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL
To:Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From:Grant Yates, City Manager
Prepared by: Grant Taylor, Community Development Director
Date:November 15, 2016
Subject:Professional Services Agreement (PSA) for Preparation of a Noise Analysis
for Amendment No. 11 to the East Lake Specific Plan
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council:
Authorize the City Manager to enter into a Professional Services Agreement with VCS
Environmental to have A/E Tech LLC prepare a Noise Study Report for Amendment No. 11 to
the East Lake Specific Plan in an amount not to exceed $24,400.
Background
The East Lake Specific Plan (ELSP) is a blueprint guide for the development of approximately
3,000 acres at the southern end of the City of Lake Elsinore. Originally, adopted in 1993, the
ELSP has been amended ten times in a piecemeal fashion, without the preparation of a single
complete ELSP document.
City Planning staff is currently preparing Amendment No. 11 to the ELSP, which is a complete
overhaul of the land uses and development regulations, circulation and drainage, and
architectural guidelines; in order to streamline development, make the ELSP document user-
friendly, protect the natural resources in the back basin, and ensure that the City’s “Action
Sports Capital of the World” activities have a permanent location in the City.
The City of Lake Elsinore serves as the lead agency to evaluate the environmental impacts of
development projects proposed within the City. On October 14, 2014 the City Council approved
a Professional Services Agreement with VCS Environmental for preparation of planning and
CEQA compliance documents for the East Lake Specific Plan update Phase 1 in an amount not
to exceed $233,440. VCS has completed the Opportunities and Constraints Analysis and is
proceeding with CEQA documents including an EIR scoping meeting scheduled for December
1, 2016. VCS has sufficient funding to complete the CEQA process except for technical studies
for noise and traffic.
PSA ELSP Noise
City Council Report
November 15, 2016
Page 2 of 2
City staff will complete the update of the Specific Plan in-house. A schedule has been prepared
that has the updated East Lake Specific Plan and Environmental Impact Report going to
Planning Commission in May 2017 and City Council in June 2017.
Discussion
Staff has determined that the proposed amendment of the ELSP requires the preparation of an
Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The current ELSP zoning has significant residential areas
that are not realistic due to flood storage, regulatory requirements and market conditions. The
Specific Plan Update will propose action sports, recreation, and commercial uses. The purpose
of the EIR is to evaluate the potential impacts of the revised specific plan and to provide
mitigation measures that will reduce or eliminate any potentially significant impacts. The EIR
will be prepared in sufficient detail to provide most, if not all, of the CEQA clearance required for
projects within the ELSP approved during the 2017-2022 period, and to provide a document that
will support subsequent CEQA analysis for ELSP projects approved between 2022 and 2040.
Although VCS Environmental is the City’s CEQA consultant preparing the EIR, the required
Noise Analysis and Report will be prepared under contract with VCS by A/E Tech LLC, an
experienced acoustical noise analysis firm that was highly recommended by VCS. The
proposed action sports zoning and land uses will require a robust noise analysis to ensure
potentially significant impacts are identified and appropriate mitigation measures incorporated to
reduce impacts and protect the public health, safety and welfare.
Because action sports uses and supporting uses in the ELSP have the potential to generate
potentially significant noise impacts A/E Tech LLC includes noise analysis of vibrations, areas
along future roadways, long term changes in traffic noise, neighboring noise-sensitive uses, and
noise associated with fortifying the wetlands earthen berm.
Noise mitigation is a critical component of a defensible environmental document.
Fiscal Impact
Sufficient funds were approved in the fiscal year 2016-2017 operating budget for this
agreement. The original bid from VCS Environmental to perform all aspects of the East Lake
Specific Plan Update was $578,960. Significant cost savings will result from staff preparing the
Specific Plan Update in-house. The requested additional funding for this noise analysis and the
traffic analysis totals $113,296 bringing the consultant total cost to $346,736. Total cost savings
overall would be $232,224.
Exhibits
A ELSP Noise AGMT
B. A/E Letter l