HomeMy WebLinkAboutO.B. 2 IBC EIR 04-06-92AuENuy_6"sy
DATE: APRIL 61 1992
OLD BUSINESS NO. 2
4-6-92
r
TO: WILLIAM A. HUSTON, CITY MANAGER
FROM: COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
DEPARTMENT/ENGINEERING DIVISION
SUBJECT: IRVINE BUSINESS COMPLEX (IBC) - RECIRCULATED DRAFT PROGRAM
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT (EIR) GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT AND
REZQNSNG__.PROJECT _------------------....._._--- -._----------.`_----------------- ----
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council authorize staff to transmit
comments and response (Attachment A) to the City of Irvine on the
Irvine Business Complex (IBC) project.
BACKGROUND
The Irvine Business Center (IBC) Planning Area 36, is a business
and industrial complex comprised of approximately 21800 acres in
the western portion of the City of Irvine adjacent to the City of
Tustin. The IBC Phase I General Plan Amendment and. Rezoning
Project includes a Zone Change, General Plan Amendment, Circulation
Mitigation Program and revised Funding Program including a Fee
Program. The purpose of the project will be to amend the present
General Plan and Zoning intensity standards to increase
approximately 48.255 million gross square feet of existing and
approved non-residential development to a maximum of 53.111 million
gross square feet of ,existing, approved and projected non-
residential development, and increase existing and approved
residential units from 3,571 to 3,896 units.
The Notice of Preparation (NOP) for the original Draft
Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the IBC Rezoning Project was
circulated on December 28, 1990 and the DEIR was circulated for
public comment between March 20, 1991 to May 3, 1991. The City of
Tustin provided comments on both the NOP and the DEIR. The City
Council discussed potential litigation on the project during closed
session. Primary comments related to the traffic analysis for the
project and specific circulation system improvements. Primarily
based on issues raised by the cities of Tustin, Santa Ana, Costa
Mesa and Newport Beach in their response to the original DEIR for
the project, the City of Irvine acknowledged that the original DEIR
did not adequately address these issues and they agreed to meet
with adjacent cities and revise the original EIR in an attempt to
address these concerns.
- City Council Report
Irvine Business Center (IBC)
April 6, 1992
Page 2
Since July 1991 the staffs of the cities of Tustin, Santa Ana,
Costa Mesa and Newport Beach have been meeting regularly with the
City of Irvine staff to attempt to resolve outstanding issues
relative to the EIR and the Rezoning and General related to ons.
Several issues of concern to the City of Tustin
the
General Plan Amendment and Rezoning Project were identified by
Tustin staff. These issues primarily included traffic impacts,
funding and phasing of circulation improvements.
A revised comment DEIR
and
has now been prepared and recirculated public
review. The public review period is from March 51 1992 to April
,20, 1992.
While there has been some agreement between the adjacent cities and
the City of Irvine regarding the preparation of a traffic analysis
of intersections and link volumes identified in the original NOP
and DEIRr many issues remain unresolved and have not been
adequately addressed or mitigated in the recirculated Draft EIR.
In reviewing the revised DEIR, staff have determined that the
proposed project will have significant transportation/circulation
impacts on the City of Tustin as well as regional traffic impacts
since access routes to the SR -55 and I-5 Freeways will directly
utilize the local Tustin street system. Severe traffic impacts to
the adjacent streets such as Barranca Parkway, Red Hill Avenue,
Jamboree Road, and Edinger Avenue are anticipated to occur as a
result of the IBC project. It should be noted and considered in
any traffic analysis study that two of these potentially y
impacted streets Jamboree Road and Edinger Avenue, are identified
as part of the Orange County Congestion Management Highway System.
The DEIR states that the proposed project will only have a 1%
traffic increase over the existing Gen ral lan Planaffic establishedsa
GPA 16, the City of Irvine's existing General
maximum building intensity standard of 48.255 million square feet
for IBC, the General Plan Amendment and Rezoning project increases
that square footage by 4.8 million square feet. It seems highly
questionable that traffic levels would only increase by 1% based on
an increase of 4.8 million square feet of new business/industrial
development. New traffic volumes may be misrepresented
ed on -
the consolidation and compression of land use categories proposed
by new zoning standards.
A draft memo to the City of Irvine addressing City of Tustin
concerns is attached for the City Council's review. Preparation of
_ City Council Report
Irvine Business Center (IBC)
April 6, 1992
Page 3
these comments has been a joint effort between the Public Works
Department and the Community Development Department.
R Westfield
Assistant Director of
Community Development
RTW:CAS:kbc\ibcrcdrf.mem
/,-� Y . -
Christine A. Shingl n
Assistant City Manager
�T Y O
Community Development Department
April 2, 1992
Mr. Robert Johnson
Community Development Department
City of Irvine
One Civic Center Plaza
Irvine, California 92714
City Of Tustin
15222 Del Amo Avenue
Tustin, CA 92680
(714) 544-8890
FAX (714) 832-0825
SUBJECT: COMMENTS ON IRVINE BUSINESS COMPLEX (IBC) RECIRCULATED
DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT (DEIR) FOR GENERAL PLAN
AMENDMENT (7234 -GA) AND ZONE CHANGE (88-2C-0135)
Dear Mr. Johnson:
The City of Tustin appreciates the opportunity to review and
respond to the Draft recirculated Environmental Impact Report for
the Irvine Business Complex (IBC). At the April 6, 1992 City
Council meeting the proposed General Plan Amendment and Rezoning
Project for the Irvine Business Complex (IBC) and the Recirculated
Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) were discussed in detail.
Based on our review of the document, the City of Tustin appreciates
the City of Irvine's providing additional traffic information on
some intersections and link volumes as originally requested by the
City of Tustin. However, there are still many unresolved issues
associated with the project and the Environmental Impact Report
prepared for the project. The City of Tustin's principal concerns
with the DEIR for the project are that:
1. The proposed Project will have signif icant traf f is impacts on
the City of Tustin.
2. Proposed traffic mitigation measures are not fully funded and
may be infeasible.
3. The Project has been designed as a two-phase work program with
Phase II, the long range development potential of the IBC,
being deferred to a later date.
4. A traffic shares analysis would occur after instead of before
rezoning action.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) establishes
regulations for the preparation of an Environmental Impact Report
(EIR) for a Project. Section 15143 of the Public Resources Code
requires that an EIR shall focus on the significant effects on the
environment. The significant effects should be discussed with
Letter to Robert Johnson
Irvine Business Complex
April 2, 1992
Page 2
emphasis in proportion to their severity and probability of
occurrence. Through the Notice of Preparation and Draft
Environmental Impact Report Review public comment period the City
of Tustin identified that the adoption of General Plan Amendment
7734 -GA and Zone Change 88-ZC-0135 would have a significant traffic
impact upon the City of Tustin. We believe that the recirculated
Draft Environmental Impact Report does not adequately respond to
the severity of the IBC traffic impacts upon the City of Tustin,
and the following items are not adequately addressed.
1. The City of Tustin has previously prepared a response to both
the Notice of Preparation and the original draft EIR. While
we recognize that there has been some effort to respond to .our
previous comments and concerns, the draft EIR fails to
adequately mitigate traffic/circulation impacts which would be
created by the approval of the General Plan Amendment and
Rezoning Project. The City has continually stressed the
necessity for the City of Irvine to prepare a comprehensive
traffic study as part of the EIR process which identifies
improvements, phasing and funding necessary to mitigate IBC
impacts. Identification of significant impacts and
appropriate mitigation is required by CEQA.
2. The AM and PM peak hour ICU analysis that was prepared is not
complete it fails to draw conclusions and identify appropriate
mitigation measures. Without a complete traffic study it
cannot be determined that the list of roadway improvements
proposed for the IBC is complete and accurate. The phasing
plan that is proposed is also unclear and subject to
reprioritization by the City of Irvine. Improvements in the
City of Tustin are all scheduled to occur in Stage II and III,
we believe that improvements should be reprioritized to Stage
I. rather than Stages II and III, where funding for
improvements is not currently available.
Se9tion 15147 of the Public Resources Code requires an EIR to
include summarized technical data, maps, plot plans, diagrams and
similar relevant information sufficient to permit full assessment
of significant environmental impacts. The following items are not
adequately addressed in the DEIR:
1. The recirculated DEIR fails to provide the requested
comprehensive traffic analysis of intersections and links
within the impact area of the City of Tustin. Without this
analysis, information on significant environmental traffic
Letter to Robert Johnson
Irvine Business Complex
April 2, 1992
Page 3
impacts of the IBC- to the City of Tustin can not be
sufficiently assessed.
2. CEQA requires that when significant environmental impacts are
identified that they be mitigated to a level of
insignificance. The IBC EIR does recognize that there will be
significant traffic/circulation impacts to areas outside of
the City of Irvine. In addition, roadway improvement
mitigation measures proposed for the City of Tustin are not
feasible. Mitigation measures must be reasonable and
implementable, those shown for the City of Tustin are not and
therefore should not be considered adequate mitigation for the
IBC project.
3. Land Use assumptions have been generalized for IBC. For
example, the maximum IBC average daily trips (ADT Is) per
square foot is 14.9 ADT/S.F. in comparison to adjacent cities
who identify office use at higher ADT/S.F. This penalizes
other cities while underassigning traffic generation of IBC at
a lower rate.
The IBC DEIR has also been reviewed against standards for adequacy
of an EIR. Section 15151 of the Public Resources Code requires an
EIR to contain a sufficient degree of analysis to provide decision -
makers with information enabling them to make a decision taking
account the environmental consequences of an action. The IBC EIR
fails to provide sufficient analysis on traffic and circulation
impacts to the City of Tustin; feasible traffic mitigation
measures, funding sources to accommodate shortfall revenues for
implementing roadway improvements, as well as items identified in
Attachment A. The specific following items are not adequately
addressed:
1. The City has reviewed the IBC traffic/circulation mitigation
measures. We have continually requested that the DEIR address
the constraints and feasibility of the mitigation measures
identified within the City of Tustin. As an example, the DEIR
includes the widening of Red Hill Avenue from six to eight
lanes between Barranca Parkway and Edinger Avenue as a
mitigation measure and Red Hill Avenue/Barranca Parkway future
laneage. Due to a variety of potential constraints Red Hill
Avenue and Red Hill Avenue/Barranca Parkway roadway
improvements in Tustin may not be feasible. The DEIR must
identify non -feasible mitigation measures and provide
alternatives.
Letter to Robert Johnson
Irvine Business Complex
April 2, 1992
Page 4
2. Revenue sources proposed to fund the traffic mitigation
improvements are questionable, and the method of funding the
identified shortfall of approximately $100 million needs to be
developed as part of the DEIR.
3. The City believes that "trip budget" method proposed by the
City of Irvine as a method to establish development intensity
for each non-residential parcel in the IBC planning area is a
worthy idea in concept. However regulating and monitoring
total number of AM and PM peak hour trips allocated to and
generated by each parcel in the IBC would be a costly and
unmanageable task. This could only be accomplished by
conducting regular or at a minimum annual driveway counts for
each parcel. CEQA requires a mitigation monitoring program,
the DEIR fails to adequately describe a monitoring process
which will guarantee that peak hour trips per parcel are not
exceeded, as well the DEIR does not address the
consequences/penalties for a development project exceeding
their allocated trip budget.
4. The City has continued to oppose the concept "traffic shares
analysis" which the City of Irvine proposes as a
traffic/circulation mitigation measure. We believe the City
of Irvine must identify and mitigate IBC traffic/circulation
impacts and that surrounding cities should not be responsible
for sharing in the expense of studies or transportation
improvements created by the IBC project (as recommended by
mitigation #10, page IV.A-47).
CEQA is -intended to be interpreted in such a manner as to
afford the fullest possible protection of the environment
within a reasonable scope of statutory language; that
environmental considerations should not become submerged by
chopping a larger project up into little ones, each with a
minimal impact, which cumulatively would have disastrous
consequences. The term "project" under 15378 of the Public
Resources Code means the whole of the action which has a
potential for resulting in physical change in the environment,
directly or ultimately. The lead agency must also consider
both primary or direct and secondary or indirect consequences
of a project. The DEIR proposes to defer the comprehensive
traffic/circulation study which would determine the
circulation impacts resulting from the IBC project to a later
date (within twelve (12) months of the adoption of the IBC
GPA/Rezoning). By deferring this study, the EIR only
addresses a portion of the impact, the full picture is not
available for review. The City of Irvine is "chopping up" its
Letter to Robert Johnson
Irvine Business Complex
April 2, 1992
Page 5
approval process for projects which will cumulatively have a
significant environmental impact on surrounding areas.
In addition to the above concerns, Attachment A, lists additional
comments from the City of Tustin regarding the Draft EIR and
technical appendices. These comments should be addressed and
appropriate revisions made to the environmental document.
Thank you for providing the City of Tustin with the opportunity to
review and comment on the IBC and the Draft EIR.
Sincerely yours,
Charles E. Puckett
Mayor
CEP:kbc\johnson.#3
ATTACHMENT A
DRAFT (RECIRCULATED) PROGRAM EIR
FOR THE IRVINE BUSINESS COMPLEX
GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT AND REZONING PROJECT
Description of Environmental Setting, Impacts and Mitigation
Measures
A. Circulation and Traffic
1. In our previous comments on the Notice of Preparation and
Draft EIR, it was identified that link analysis should be
performed for the following streets:
a. Red Hill Ave - Barranca Pkwy/Dyer Road to El Camino Real
b. Barranca Pkwy - Red Hill Ave to Jamboree Road
C. Jamboree Road - Barranca Pkwy to I-5 Frwy
d. Proposed Tustin Ranch Road - Edinger Ave to I-5 Frwy
e. Edinger Ave - Harvard Ave to SR -55 Frwy
f. Newport Ave - (Proposed Extension) from SR -55 Frwy to the
I-5 Frwy
Only a partial analysis has been performed on Red Hill Avenue
and Jamboree Road north of Barranca Pkwy. However, for the
remaining portions of these streets as well as the other noted
streets, the link analysis should be completed. Conclusions
should be drawn and mitigation measures identified.
2. In our previous comments on the Notice of Preparation and
Draft EIR, the City of Tustin requested that A.M. and P.M.
peak hour ICU analysis should be performed for a list of
identified intersections for proposed opening year and year
2010. Although this was done, the peak hour ICU analysis
should be comprehensive, this includes drawing conclusions and
identifying mitigation measures.
3. We had also previously requested that all proposed mitigation
should be reviewed with the responsible Agencies to assure
that the proposed mitigation is feasible, and the percent
contribution by Irvine Business Complex Rezoning is equitable.
The DEIR contains numerous traffic improvements as mitigation
measures, many of which affect the City of Tustin. City of
Irvine staff has been informed that these may not be feasible
due to existing roadway configuration and other right-of-way
constraints. The recirculated DEIR continues to be proposed
non -feasible improvements within the City of Tustin as
mitigation measures.
As an example, Mitigation Measure "k." on page IV.A-42 states
that Red Hill Avenue will be widened from the existing six
lanes to eight lanes between Barranca Parkway and Edinger
Avenue. Since widening cannot be achieved north of Edinger -
this will for all practical purposes, create an immediate
Attachment A
April 6, 1992
Page 2
bottleneck. Further analysis is required to explain what
happens to traffic north of Edinger Avenue. As noted in
comment No. 1 above, Red Hill Avenue needs to be analyzed from
Edinger Avenue to E1 Camino Real just north of the I-5
Freeway. Tustin does not support eight lanes for Red Hill.
4. In our previous comments on the Notice of Preparation and
Draft EIR, we identified that the following proposed projects
in the City of Tustin should be considered in the
Infrastructure Analysis for the Irvine Business Complex
Rezoning:
a. Moulton Parkway Super Street
b. Pacific Center East
C. Eastern Transportation Corridor
d. Bedford Properties.
Although it appears that this document did consider Pacific
Center East and Bedford Properties, it should also include the
Moulton Parkway Super Street and the Eastern Transportation
Corridor in the analysis (including recommended alternative
alignments and how these impact traffic volumes).
5. The original DEIR did not adequately address the City of
Irvine's Traffic Demand Management Program (TDM), Appendix F,
Traffic Study discusses the Traffic Demand Management Program.
The traf f is study assumes a change in driving habits that will
result in a 15% reduction in AM and PM peak hour IBC commuter
trips based on enforcement of the South Coast Air Quality
Management Districts Regulation XV program, and staggered work
hours. While the 15% reduction is a goal that all cities are
striving to achieve, it has not been shown that the City of
Irvine is presently or can in the immediate future realize the
15% reduction. According to a recent, article in the ITE
Journal, August 1991, "Evaluating the Effectiveness of Travel
Demand Management," by Ken Orski, it is stated that "The
analysis so far suggest that travel demand management can have
a negligible impact on regional levels of VMT, congestion, and
automotive emissions. Further research remains to be done,
and much more experience needs to be acquired before we can
confidently regard TDM as the primary instrument of attaining
and maintaining our congestion reduction and air quality
goals." The City of Tustin feels that taking a 15% trip
reduction may be premature and somewhat extreme and should not
be used as the maximum achievable for every new trip in this
analysis without a track record.
Attachment A
April 6, 1992
Page 3
6. Jamboree Road and Edinger Avenue are identified as part of the
Orange County Congestion Management Highway System. Traffic
analysis for these streets should be performed in accordance
with the adopted Orange County Congestion Management Program
guidelines.
7. Jamboree Road: In Table 5 "IBC Roadway Improvements - Current
General Plan (GP) Network" Jamboree Road - Irvine Center Drive
(ICD) to Barranca is identified to be an 8 -lane roadway. This
conflicts with Table 9 "IBC Roadway Improvements - 1985
Mitigation Program" in which the program to widen Jamboree
Road to 8 -lanes has been reduced to 6 -lanes only. Then in
Table 10 "IBC Roadway Improvements - 1991 Mitigation Program,"
Jamboree Road in this stretch has dropped out completely.
Please explain this, as this facility is vital to mitigating
traffic from the Irvine Business Complex.
The future laneage of Jamboree Road north of Barranca Pkwy and
Edinger Avenue has to be compatible with the plans for the
Eastern Transportation Corridor. Future expansion of the
Jamboree Road laneage north of Barranca Pkwy needs to be
coordinated with the expansion of adjacent north -south
arterials such as Harvard Avenue and Tustin Ranch Road.
Please provide a complete analysis of this and also identify
any other impacts to the adjacent north -south arterials:
Tustin Ranch Road and Harvard Avenue.
8. Mitigation Measure #10, on page IV.A-47, the City has taken a
position in numerous previous correspondence opposed to the
use of the 5 -City Study as the basis for identifying and
mitigating IBC impacts. (See our letters on 5 City
Study/Nexus to Irvine. What your EIR calls the Nexus Study to
be performed within 12 months of adoption of this document.)
We continue to maintain the position that the IBC project
under CEQA should identify at this time and mitigate all of
its adverse impacts to the surrounding communities.
9. Appendix A, pg. 55 -57, the cover letter to the City of Irvine
regarding the Notice of Preparation and the Initial Study is
missing here, but it is included as pages 92 and 93. These
two documents should be rearranged to reflect that pages
55-57 are an attachment to pages 92-93.
10. Intersection Analysis, Group A - Red Hill/Barranca/Dyer, on
page IV. A-4 and Exhibit 7, the ICU maximum value should be LOS
Attachment A
April 6, 1992
Page 4
D, and not LOS E, since this is a shared intersection with the
Cities of Santa Ana and Tustin.
11. Although the DEIR represents that the implementation of an
Advanced Traffic Management Systems (AIMS) system in the
subject area may produce a six percent improvement in traffic
flow, it will not increase roadway capacity and has limited
experience . Furthermore, we are curious as to what happens
to this IBC traffic when it reaches adjacent cities that do
not have an ATMS system. It appears that any benefits derived
from an ATMS system in Irvine will be lost in adjacent
communities that do not have an ATMS system. Justification of
any improvements derived from the implementation of an ATMS
system should be provided and the 6% reduction should not be
added to traffic as it moves into adjacent cities.
12. Thus far this document has not identified any impacts due to
capacity constraints of the freeway system on arterial
streets. Please analyze this situation and provide suitable
mitigation to offset any adverse impacts.
13. IBC roadway improvements have been prioritized into three
stages. Stages I and II roadway improvements will serve the
interim phase level of development for IBC, the remainder of
the City of Irvine and, adjacent cities. The EIR defines
interim as short range which includes entitled and existing
development projects. Stage III adds the improvements needed
for buildout. The DEIR states that the City of Irvine can
make minor deviations, over time and adjust the hierarchy of
improvements. The City of Tustin does not agree that the City
of Irvine should be able to adjust the timing/phasing of
improvements and in addition does not agree with the
prioritization of improvements which put all the improvements
in adjacent cities in Stage II. It is also unclear as to how
the improvements are prioritized within each Stage. Are we to
assume that the order of intersection and arterial
improvements within in stage is the prioritization ranking,
please clarify.
"Roadway Improvement Phasing," page IV.A-30 and Appendix F,
Chapter VI, "Interim Phase Analysis." Identify the mechanism
that determines the implementation of Stage I, II, III
improvements. How are these going to be prioritized? Provide
additional discussion to clearly demonstrate that future
impacts will be appropriately mitigated when they occur.
Attachment A
April 6, 1992
Page 5
14. We are concerned that the implementation of a "Trip Budget"
concept provides the opportunity for a change in the mix of
land uses thereby presenting the possibility of exceeding the
trip generation levels in the analysis. Furthermore, a mix in
land uses could also alter trip distribution patterns.
Additional information on this concept needs to be provided.
15. Appendix F, Table VII -4, "Incremental ICU Contributions,"
please revisit and correct intersection ICU's that show A.M.
peak hour ICU's substantially higher than P.M. peak hour
ICU's. This requires further analysis. The intersections in
question are: Jamboree Road & I-5 NB Ramps, Jamboree Road &
I-5 SB Ramps, Jamboree Road & Walnut Ave, Red Hill Ave &
Edinger Ave, and Red Hill Ave & Warner Ave.
16. "Traffic Shares Analysis," Appendix F, page VII -9 and Table
VII -6, also referenced in text on page IV.A-21, "Impact on
Adjacent Cities." Provide methodology for the traffic shares
analysis. From the information provided, it is difficult to
determine the equitability of the analysis.
B. Land Use
1. In our previous comments we requested expanded discussion and
definition of what constituted "approved development". The
Recirculated DEIR responds that approved development includes
all Vesting Maps, Development Agreements, Conditional Use
Permits, Master Plans, Zoning Compliance and building permits
within the IBC. There are ten (10 ) major IBC projects that
constitute these "approved developments", and they account for
approximately seven (7) million square feet of additional
development above existing conditions. The Draft EIR does not
respond to what actions can or should be taken to reduce the
intensity of these "approved developments". The City of
Irvine staff in response has indicated that they legally are
prohibited from reducing square footages of existing
agreements, entitlements or approvals. The alternatives
section of the DEIR should respond to reduction of approved
intensities and/or revocation of "approved developments" and
entitlements.
2. The DEIR states that for purpose of determining build -out a
building intensity of 0.25 Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of office
equivalent development will be applied to identified
vacant/underutilized parcels, but does not identify the number
or locations of these parcels considered vacant/underutilized.
Attachment A
April 6, 1992
Page 6
The DEIR has a table indicating an increase of 2.308 million
square feet of zoning potential over and above the entitled
development, it is assumed that this zoning potential refers
to the vacant/underutilized parcels, although the DEIR is not
clear on this point, please clarify.
3. Page IV.B-3 of the DEIR provides discussion of existing
surrounding land uses, the description is brief and there is
no substantial discussion or evidence regarding compatibility
of adjacent existing land uses in other cities and the
proposed project, this should be included in the DEIR.
On Page IV.B-7 there is a statement that no significant land
use impacts are anticipated to commercial/ industrial land uses
adjacent' to the IBC, as these are considered substantially
compatible with proposed IBC uses. Light and glare impacts
from high-rise buildings and electromagnetic interference has
been identified as maybe having a significant impact on John
Wayne Airport and United States Marine Corps Air Station,
Tustin.
C. Employment and Housing
The DEIR provides a relatively extensive discussion on the
jobs/housing balance issues. The City of Irvine is considered
a jobs rich/housing poor city, development of the IBC Rezoning
and General Plan Amendment project will result in worsening
this imbalance by providing more employment. The entire
buildout of the IBC project proposes a total of 153,673 jobs
this includes an additional 39,646 jobs through implementation
of the proposed general plan amendment and rezoning action and
3,896 dwelling units resulting in a jobs housing ratio of
1.76. The jobs/housing balance ratio established for the
southeast Orange Subregion is 1.44. In order for the City of
Irvine to achieve a jobs/housing balance of 1.44 and
additional 19,403 dwelling units would need to be constructed.
The City of Irvine's Housing Element will not account for the
full 19,403 additional units therefore other areas and
adjacent cities will be impacted by providing housing
opportunities for employees of the IBC. Please provide more
discussion on the effect to the City of Tustin on providing
housing for IBC employees.
Attachment A
April 6, 1992
Page 7
D. Funding Program
1. Traffic Mitigation improvements for the IBC projects is
estimated at a cost of $250 million (1991 dollars
including a 15% - 20% contingency) . Included in the $250
million is a cost of $35 - $45 million for circulation
mitigation program improvements in surrounding
jurisdictions Appendix D, IBC Circulation Improvements
Funding Program discusses funding sources to provide
revenue for the implementation of the circulation
improvements. The funding program consists of a new IBC
Development Fee Program, Local, Regional and Federal
Grant programs, a Benefit Assessment District and/or
other alternative funding mechanisms. There is currently
approximately $30 million available through previously
collected fees, it is estimated that the new IBC
Development Fee Program will generate an additional $80
million over the life of the IBC Project, an estimated
additional $11 million generated by vested projects which
have not yet received their building permits and an
estimated approximate $31 million through local, regional
and federal sources (Measure M, Arterial Highways Finance
Program, Proposition 111 and Combined Road Program).
Assuming that these revenue projections are correct,
there will still be a $98 million dollar circulation
improvement shortfall. This shortfall is anticipated to
be covered by either the establishment of a Benefit
Assessment District or an Advanced Payment Program
whereby developers could make a cash payment or post
surety of their share of funding shortfall allowing them
to bypass a development phasing program. It should be
noted that the City of Tustin does not agree with the
revenue projections anticipated from local, regional and
federal sources ($31 million). There are too many
variables that could affect revenues from these sources
already the estimated Measure M revenues to cities has
dramatically decreased because of the current economic
recession and the continued viability of other federal
and state programs are uncertain at this time. In
addition there is no basis to estimate that revenue from
alternative funding sources (Benefit Assessment District,
Advanced Payment) can cover the shortfall. The DEIR
states that the studies to determine the exact amount and
allocation of funds required by the Assessment District
has not been completed at this time. CEQA requires all
impacts and mitigation measures must be identified.
Attachment A
April 6, 1992
Page 8
2. As part of our previous comments on the Notice of
Preparation and the Draft EIR, the City of Tustin
requested that all capital improvement mitigation
involving Tustin should be clearly documented in the EIR,
identifying the proposed source(s) for funding; timing
for construction; and responsible parties for
coordinating project construction. This has not been
done for all locations identified in this document that
are impacted by this project. Specifically,
intersections identified in Appendix F where incremental
ICU contributions by IBC are substantial; intersections
85, 86, 92, 34, 95, 100, 102, and 104 require further
analysis to mitigate impacts from the IBC project.
RN:kbc\ibcrcdrf.mem