HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Reso No 2008-027RESOLUTION NO. 2008- 27
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF LAKE ELSINORE, CALIFORNIA, CERTIFYING
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT NO. 2007-01
WHEREAS, Spyglass Ranch LLC has filed an application with the City of
Lake Elsinore requesting approval of General Plan Amendment No. 2005-06, Specific
Plan No. 2005-02, and Zone Change No. 2005-07 for the Project identified as the
Spyglass Ranch Specific Plan (the "ProjecY'); and
WHEREAS, the City of Lake Elsinore (the "City") has caused an
Environmental Impact Report (State Clearinghouse No. 2006121069: the "EIR") to be
prepared on the Project pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (Public
Resources Code Sections 21000, et seq. "CEQA"), the State Guidelines for
Implementation of the California Environmentai Quality Act (14 California Code of
Regulations, Sections 15000, et seq.: the "CEQA Guidelines"), and the City's
procedures relating to environmental evaluation of public and private projects; and
WHEREAS, the City transmitted for filing a Notice of Completion of the
Final EIR and thereafter, in accordance with the CEQA Guidelines, forwarded the Final
EIR to the State Clearinghouse for distribution to those agencies which have jurisdiction
by law with respect to the Project and to other interested persons and agencies, and
sought the comments of such persons and agencies; and
WHEREAS, notice to all interested persons and agencies inviting
comments on the Final EIR was published in accordance with the provisions of CEQA
and the State CEQA Guidelines; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines, Section 15082(c)(1), on
January 11, 2007 the City held a duly noticed scoping meeting in order to expedite
consultation regarding the scope and content of the environmental information in the
Draft EIR; and
WHEREAS, the Draft EIR prepared for the project was sent to the
Planning Commission, and the Planning Commission held a pubiic hearing to receive
public input on the adequacy of the Draft EIR on January 15, 2008; and
WHEREAS, all actions required to be taken by applicable law related to
the preparation, circulation, and review of the Final EIR have been taken; and
WHEREAS, the Final EIR prepared for the Project was sent to the City
Council of the City of Lake Elsinore and the City Council held a public hearing to receive
pubiic input on the adequacy of the Final EIR on February 26, 2008.
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NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LAKE
ELSINORE, CALIFORNIA, DOES HEREBY RESOLVE, DETERMINE AND ORDER
AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The City Council has evaluated all comments, written and
oral, received from persons who have reviewed the Final EIR.
Section 2. The City Council does hereby find that the EIR for the
Project is adequate and has been completed in compliance with CEQA, the State
CEQA Guidelines, and local procedures adopted by the City pursuant thereto; the City
Council has reviewed and considered the information contained in the Final EIR and
finds that the Final EIR represents the independent judgment of the City.
Section 3. The City Council hereby makes, adopts, and incorporates
herein as its "findings of facY' regarding the potential environmental impacts of the
Project, the analysis and conclusions set forth in the Final EIR (including, without
limitation, the mitigation measures therein set forth); the following summarizes those
conclusions:
a. The initial Study and the Final EIR determined that impacts related
to the implementation of the Project would be less than significant without mitigation for
aesthetics, agricultural resources, geology/soils, hydrology/water quality, mineral
resources, population/housing, public services, and recreation.
b. The Final EIR identified potentiaily significant adverse impacts
related to the implementation of the Project, but which will be mitigated to an
insignificant levei by conditions imposed upon the Project. Biological resources, cultural
resources, hazards and hazardous materials, land use, and noise are impacts that can
be mitigated to less than a significant level. Most air quality and transportation and
traffic impacts would also be mitigated to a level of less than significant through
implementation of the identified mitigation measures. For those impacts that are not
mitigable, see subsection (e) below. The type of impact for which mitigation was
designed and the associated mitigation measures are identified in Section 4.0
Environmental Analysis of the Final EIR, and are summarized in the Executive
Summary of the Final EIR.
c. All feasible mitigation measures, which are within the jurisdiction of
the City, as identified in the Finat EIR have been incorporated into the Project and
represent the fullest extent to which the Project-related impacts can be reasonably
avoided and/or substantially lessened.
d. The Final EIR did not identify alternatives to the Project which
would reduce environmental impacts while still substantially achieving Project
objectives, and as such, the proposed Project was determined to be the environmentally
superior alternative.
e. The Project and associated discretionary approvals will result in
significant unavoidable impacts related to: emissions of ROG, NOx, PM~o, and PMZ.S
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during construction; emissions of ROG, NOx, and CO during operations; conflicts with
the regional Air Quality Management Plan; and, queuing impacts at the I-15/Main Street
interchange during General Plan Build-out. Pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section
15093, the City Council has determined that the unavoidable adverse impacts that will
result from project implementation are acceptable and outweighed by specific social,
economic and other benefits of the project. Therefore, a Statement of Overriding
Considerations has been prepared and is attached hereto as Exhibit A and incorporated
herein.
Section 4. A mitigation monitoring program for the Project has been
prepared in accordance with Section 21081.6 of CEQA, and the City Council hereby
adopts the mitigation monitoring program.
Section 5. Based upon all of the evidence presented and the above
findings, the City Council of the City of Lake Eisinore certifies Environmental Impact
Report No. 2007-01.
Section 6. This resolution shall take effect from and after the date of its
passage and adoption.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED on this 26th day of February
2008.
G~G'
D RYL HICKM N, MAYOR
CITY OF LAKE ELSINORE
AT EST:
~. ~
VI IAN M. MUNSON
CITY CLERK
AP ROVED O O
RBARA ID LEIBOLD
CITY ATTORNEY
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STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE ) ss.
CITY OF LAKE ELSINORE )
I, VIVIAN M. MUNSON, City Clerk of the City of Lake Elsinore, California, hereby
certify that Resolution No. 2008-27 was adopted by the City Council of the City of
Lake Elsinore at a regular meeting held on the 26th day of February 2008, and that the
same was adopted by the following vote:
AYES: Mayor Daryl Hickman, Mayor Pro Tem Genie Kelley,
Council Members Robert E. Magee and Robert Schiffner
NOES: Council Member Thomas Buckley
ABSTAIN: None
ABSENT: None
~- ~~o-e.~
VI IAN M. MUNSON
CITY CLERK
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"EXHIBIT A"
STATEMENT OF OVERRIDING CONSIDERATIONS
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a public agency to
balance the benefits of a proposed project against its unavoidable environmental
risks in determining whether to approve the project. The Final Environmental
Impact Report (EIR) for the Spyglass Ranch Specific Plan has identified and
discussed significant effects that may occur as a resuit of the Project. With the
implementation of project design features, standard conditions, and/or mitigation
identified for each environmental topic, most of the potentially significant impacts
can be reduced to a level of less than significant, except for unavoidable
significant impacts as discussed in Section III of the Findings.
The City of Lake Elsinore has made a reasonable and good faith effort to
eliminate or substantially mitigate the potential impacts resulting from the Specific
Plan. Impacts, in these and all other cases, have been mitigated to the extent
considered feasible. Ali significant adverse impacts are identified in the Final EIR
and are addressed in the Findings, which accompany this Statement of
Overriding Considerations.
The Project will result in the following significant impacts that cannot be mitigated
to less than significant levels:
1. Air Quality
Consfruction Emissions: Implementation of the proposed Project would
result in significant emissions of ROG, NOX, PM~o, and PM2.5 during the
ProjecYs construction phase (Final EIR pp. 4.2-8 and 4.2-9). As a condition
of project approval, the Project must adhere to SCAQMD Rules 403 (Fugitive
Dust Control) and 1113 (VOCs) during construction-related activities.
However, compliance with these rules would minimize but not eliminate
construction-related impacts.
Operational Emissions: Implementation of the proposed Project would
exceed SCAQMD thresholds for ROG, NOx, and CO (Final EIR pp. 4.2-10
and 4.2-11). The daily operational and area source emissions cannot be
reduced to less than significant levels for emissions of ROG, NOX, and CO
even with implementation of the mitigation measures identified in Section III,
Findings.
AQMD Consistency: implementation of the proposed Project would result in
conflicts with the AQMP (Final EIR pp. 4.2-7 - 4.2-8). No feasible mitigation
measures exist to minimize impacts to below a level of significance.
2. Transportation and Traffic
Main Streef Interchange Queuing: Implementation of the proposed Project
would result in heavy vehicle queuing on Main Street between Camino del
Norte and the I-15 southbound ramps during the peak hours due to the
proximity of the intersections and other physical topographical constraints
(Final EIR pp. 4.13-15). Even with impiementation of Mitigation Measure
4.13-5, which requires that the Project contribute on a fair share basis to the
funding of the Project Study Report (PSR), the impact to the I-15/Main Street
interchange wouid remain significant and unmitigated.
Summary
Pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 15093, the City Council must
balance the benefits of the proposed Project against any unavoidable
environmental impacts in determining whether to approve the Project. If the
benefits of the proposed Project outweigh the unavoidabie adverse
environmental impacts, those impacts may be considered "acceptable."
Staff has determined that the unavoidable adverse impacts that will result
from proposed Project implementation are acceptable and outweighed by
specific social, economic and other benefits of the Project. In making this
determination, the factors and public benefits specified below were
considered. Staff further finds that except for the proposed Project, all other
alternatives set forth in the EIR are infeasible because they would prohibit the
realization of Project objectives and/or of specific economic, social, and other
benefits that staff finds outweigh any environmental benefits of the
alternatives.
Having reduced the adverse significant environmental effects of the proposed
Project to the extent feasible by adopting the mitigation measures; having
considered the entire administrative record on the Project; and having
weighed the benefits of the Project against its unavoidable adverse impacts
after mitigation, the staff has determined that the following social, economic,
and environmental benefits of the Project outweigh the potential unavoidable
adverse impacts and render those potential adverse environmental impacts
acceptable based upon the following overriding considerations:
Social Benefits of the Project
. The Project will provide housing for the City of Lake Elsinore and
Inland Empire's growing population.
. The Project will provide a variety of housing opportunities, ranging in
size and affordability to meet the housing needs of the region.
. The Project will provide neighborhood park space and open space.
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Economic Benefits of the Project
. Construction of the proposed Project will generate its fair share of
property tax revenues to the City of Lake Elsinore annually.
Construction of the Project will also generate utifity user tax revenues
to the City.
. If the commercial alternative is adopted, the Project will generate sales
tax revenue for the City of Lake Elsinore.
. The Project will be built out over several phases, providing steady
construction jobs over the construction period.
• The Project wiil contribute fees toward traffic improvements, school
facilities, park facilities, fire services, and police services.
• The Project includes substantia~ upgrades to regional traffic circulation
and public utilities (sewer, water, and reclaimed water) around the
Project site. Specifically, the Project includes construction of three
water tanks to serve its residents and adjacent project sites. Spyglass
LLC's share of these infrastructure costs alone would exceed 15
miilion dollars and do not include the ProjecYs on-site infrastructure
costs.
Staff has determined that the foregoing benefits provided to the public, through
approval and implementation of the proposed Project, outweigh the identified
significant adverse environmental impacts of the Project which cannot be
mitigated. Staff finds that each of the proposed Project benefits outweighs the
unavoidable adverse environmental effects identified in the EIR and, therefore,
finds those impacts to be acceptable.
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