HomeMy WebLinkAbout10 - Draft EIR for Pacific City Project, Pacific Coast Highway, Huntington BeachCITY OF NEWPORT BEACH
CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Agenda Item No. 10
November 25, 2003
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: City Manager's Office
Sharon Wood, Assistant City Manager
644 -3222, swood @city.newport- beach.ca.us
SUBJECT: Draft EIR for Pacific City Project, Pacific Coast Highway, Huntington
Beach
ISSUE:
Should the City of Newport Beach send comments on the Draft EIR to the City of Huntington
Beach?
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve and authorize the Mayor to send the comments in the attached letter
DISCUSSION:
The City of Huntington Beach issued a Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact
Report (DEIR) for the Pacific City Project on October 17, 2003. The Pacific City Project consists
of the development of 31.5 acres of vacant land in the downtown area of Huntington Beach.
The site is located east of First Street, west of Huntington Street, south of Atlanta Avenue, and
north of Pacific Coast Highway. The project includes a neighborhood commercial center
adjacent to Pacific Coast Highway with up to 400 hotel rooms, up to 240,000 square feet of
retail, office, restaurant, cultural and entertainment uses with 1,543 subterranean parking
spaces; a residential village with 516 condominiums, 1,360 parking spaces and private and
public open space; and public improvements including a pedestrian overpass across Pacific
Coast Highway.
Staff determined that this project could have impacts on the City of Newport Beach, and referred
the document to the Environmental Quality Affairs Committee (EQAC) for review. EQAC
prepared comments, and approved them at their meeting of November 17. In addition, the
Transportation and Development Services Manager reviewed the traffic section of the DEIR and
prepared comments. All of these comments are incorporated in the attached letter.
Submitted by
Sharon Wood
Assistant City Manager
Attachment: Comment letter
CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
Mayor
Steven Bromberg
November 26, 2003
Mayor Pro Tem
Tod W Ridgeway
Council Members
Garold B. Adams
Ms. Mary Beth Broeren
John Heffernan
Planning Department
Richard A. Nichols
2000 Main Street
Steven Rosansky
Huntington Beach, CA 92648
Don Webb
Dear Ms. Broeren:
Pacific City Proiect Draft Environmental Impact Report
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Pacific City Project
Draft Environmental Impact Report (Draft EIR). The City of Newport
Beach did not receive or provide comments on the ISINOP, but has
reviewed the summary of comments provided as an appendix to the
Draft EIR as part of our review of this document.
Air Quality
Section 3.2.2 — Regulatory Framework. The existing localized carbon
monoxide concentrations shown on Table 3.2 -5 exceed the future
(2010) with project localized carbon monoxide concentrations shown
on Table 3.2 -7. This outcome is counterintuitive. An explanation of
why air quality improves in the future with the project should be
provided.
Section 3.2.4 — Project Impacts, indicates the current and projected
population and employment for Orange County. These figures are
incorrect and should be updated.
Section 3.2.6 — Mitigation Measures and Residual Impacts. The
mitigation measures as currently written are too vague and uncertain,
and will not necessarily result in reductions in air quality impact.
Comments on specific mitigation measures are presented below:
CR AQ -E — An explanation of the type of wind barrier that will be
implemented should be provided.
City Hall • 3300 Newport Boulevard • Post Office Box 1768
Newport Beach, California 92658 -8915 • www.city.newport- beach.ca.us
(949) 644 -3004
Page 2
Pacific City Project Draft Environmental Impact Report
November 26, 2003
CR AQ- F- An explanation of what is meant by a remedial operation
and how it will reduce fugitive dust should be provided.
MM AQ —1 through AQ -6 rely on contract specifications as an
implementation method.
The developer and the contractor have a financial incentive not to
comply with these mitigation measures. A description of the City's
inspection program and how it will function to ensure mitigation
measures are carried through should be provided.
MM AQ -4 — The contractor should be required to rely on electric
utilities, and not be given the option of using electric utilities to the
extent feasible.
MM AQ -6 — It is suggested that performance standards be required to
ensure that energy efficient appliances are installed.
Hydrology and Water Quality
Table 3.8 -4, Policies Applicable to Hydrology and Water Quality. Policy
6.1.25 states that new development will minimize the creation of
impervious areas. We suggest that the developer strongly consider
using porous pavement and swales wherever possible, especially in
the street and parking areas, to help divert run -off water back into the
earth.
Transportation and Traffic
The City of Newport Beach is concerned about the size of the project
relative to the area covered by the traffic study. The draft EIR traffic
study includes Pacific Coast Highway only as far as the Brookhurst
intersection within the City of Huntington Beach. The scope of the
study should be extended along Pacific Coast Highway up to the
intersection with Dover Drive. This will cover several major arterial
intersections, such as PCH /Superior and PCH /Newport Boulevard that
would potentially be impacted by a project of this size. The Project
Trip Distribution diagrams indicate that almost 25% of the project traffic
is anticipated to use P acific Coast Highway in Newport Beach. T he
impacts of this additional traffic, some 3000 daily trips, must be
analyzed in detail.
In addition to extending the geographical scope of the traffic study, the
key intersection analysis, as described on page 3.14 -52, should
include scenario 4 (without the 19th Street Bridge over the Santa Ana
River). The completion of this link is not a certainty, and our
Page 3
Pacific City Project Draft Environmental Impact Report
November 26, 2003
understanding is that the City of Huntington Beach has agreed to
analyze projects with and without the 19th Street Bridge.
The Congestion Management Program (CMP) analysis is incomplete
and further substantiates the need to extend the boundary of the
study. The CMP, as adopted in Orange County, requires the analysis
to extend to the point that project traffic falls below 3% of the
roadway's LOS E capacity. In the case of West Coast Highway in
Newport Beach, this threshold is 1689 daily trips and the traffic study
indicates the project volume is around 3000 daily trips, well in excess
of the threshold,
The City appreciates the opportunity to comment on this DEIR, and we
look forward to reviewing responses to our comments. If Newport
Beach staff can assist in the preparation of responses, please call
Assistant City Manager Sharon Wood at 644 -3222 or Traffic and
Development Services Manager Rich Edmonston at 644 -3345.
Sincerely,
Steve Bromberg
Mayor