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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04 RESPONSES TO RUTAN AND TUCKET LETTER DATED 7.9.19Responses to Rutan and Tucker letter dated July 9, 2019 i U TA N Hans Van Ligten ,.. Direct Dial: (714) 662-4640 RUT/1N & TUCKER, LLP E-mail: hvanligtenorutan.com July 9, 2019 VIA E-MAIL Honorable Chairperson and Members of the Tustin Planning Commission City of Tustin 300 Centennial Way Tustin, CA 92780 Re: July 9 Agenda Item No. 2: Proposed Costco Tustin Gas Station Project Dear Commissioners: Mazza a local business owner who will be adversely This office represents Mr. Charlie y affected by the potential impacts of the proposed Costco Gas Station Project on your agenda as Item No. 2. Mr. Mazza objects to the City's proposed use of Categorical Exemption No. 32, Infill Projects to deprive the community of the regular environmental review process that such a project deserves. j '1 First, please find attached the professional opinion of Thomas Brohard, a licensed civil engineer and traffic engineer with 50 years of experience pointing out the short -comings of the applicant's traffic report. As such, the City is unable to make the finding required by CEQA Guidelines, Section 15332 (d), that approval of the project would not result in significant traffic, noise, air quality or water quality. Absent a thorough traffic study, the City cannot make this 1 affirmative finding of no impact, for the reasons stated in Mr. Brohard's report. Second, and perhaps even more clear, is the fact that the record on its face now makes clear that Section .15332 cannot be applied to exempt this project. Section 15332 (b) requires that it only applies to projects "on a project site of no more than 5 acres ...." While the original i Staff Report never clearly explained why Section 15332 was being relied upon, the additional materials now included in the July 9 Staff Report make it clear the exemption does not apply. Specifically, the Costco Wholesale Site Plan, dated April 15, 2019, and included in the Kittleson & Associates Memorandum, clearly identifies the "Existing Site Area" as 10.96 acres, the "Goodyear Site Area" as 1.00 acre, and the "Total Site Area" as 11.97 acres. Nowhere is there any indication of a project site "not more than 5 acres." This project is being proposed, by the applicant's own admission, on more than 10 acres. Logically, this must be true because the gas station will be utilizing all the common area parking and drive aisles. Rutan & Tucker, LLP 1 611 Anton Blvd, Suite 1400, Costa Mesa, CA 92626 PO Box 1950, Costa Mesa, CA 92628-1950 1 714-641-5100 1 Fax 714-546-9035 235/016052-0005 Orange County I Palo Alto I San Francisco I www.rutan.coni 10991593.3a07/09/19 f RUTAN p6TAN K T44k[R, kit• Honorable Chairperson and Members of the Tustin Planning Commission July 9, 2019 Page 2 As you know, CEQA requires a stable, finite project description. Here the record now admits this project is far larger than 5 acres. As such reliance on Category 32, Section 15332, is not appropriate. Accordingly, we respectfully submit this proposal cannot be approved at this time until a fully compliant CEQA document has been prepared. Failure to do so would be an abuse of discretion subject to being overturned by a court. Sincerely, RUTAN & TUCKER, LLP Hans Van Ligten 235/016052-0005 109915933 a07/09/19 m Brohadf; ��. � y ire W .7 � 3July 7, 2019 `s Mr. Hans Van Ligten Rutan & Tucker LLP 611 Anton Boulevard, 14th Floor Costa .Mesa, California 92626 SUBJECT. Review of Urban Infill Exemption to Demolish the Existing Goodyear Tire Center at 2541 'El Camino Real and Construct a Costco Gasoline fuel Station with 32 Fueling Dispensers at 2655 EI Camino Real in the City of Tustin -- Traffic and Transportation Issues Dear Mr. Van Ligten 1 As requested, 1, Tom Brohard, P.E., have reviewed the traffic and transportation portions of various documents regarding the Proposed Project to demolish the existing Goodyear Tire Center at 2541 El Camino Real and to construct a Costco Gasoline Fuel Station with 32 fueling dispensers at 2655 EI Camino Real in the City of Tustin. The documents I reviewed included': June 11, 2019 Agenda Report to the Planning Commission ➢ April 15, 2019 Site Plans Prepared by MG2 ➢ April 17, 2019 Traffic Analysis for the Tustin Ranch Costco Fuel Station j Addition prepared by Kittelson & Associates t Proposed operating hours for the proposed Fuel Station are from 5 AM to 10 PM while operating hours at the Costco Fuel Stations in Temecula (the largest with 30 pumps) and at the other Costco in Tustin (22 pumps) are from 5:30 AM to "9:30 PM. Most Costco Fuel Stations operate from 6 AM to 9 PM. Until the various issues and concerns raised in this letter are addressed, there is substantial evidence that the Proposed Project with 32 fueling- dispensers will have adverse traffic and transportation impacts that have not been properly disclosed, analyzed, and mitigated. Trip credits for the 5,200 SF* existing Goodyear Tire Center facility to be demolished on the site may be overstated. The April 17, 2019 Traffic Analysis does not properly calculate, evaluate, or analyze the substantial increase in vehicle trips that will be created by the Proposed Project during weekdays and does not analyze weekend conditions when project trips will be even higher. Additionally, there are significant traffic issues associated with the traffic queueing plans onsite that must be addressed and resolved as pointed out in this letter. Education and Experience Since receiving a. Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina in 1969, I have gained 50 years of professional 81905 Mountain View Lane, La QHioa, California 92253-701 Plione (760) 398-8885 E-mail ibmhard@,eartblink.net Mr. Hans Van Ligton Tustin Ranch Costco Fuel Station Addition — Traffic/Transportation Issues July 7, 2019 engineering experience. I am licensed as a Professional Civil Engineer both, in. California and Hawaii and as a Professional Traffic Engineer in California. 'I formed Tom Brohard and Associates in 2000 and have served as the City Traffic Engineer for the City of Indio for the last 14 years and as Consulting Transportation Engineer for the City of San Fernando since 2003. 1 have, extensive experience in traffic -engineering and transportation planning. During my career in both the public and private sectors, I have reviewed numerous environmental documents and traffic studies for various projects as indicated on the enclosed resume. Traffic and Transportation — External Issues .Based on my review of various documents, there is at least a "fair argument" that. the Proposed Project to add a Fuel Station with 32 fueling dispensers will have significant traffic and transportation impacts external to the site as follows: 1) Credit Volumes from Existing Goodyear Tire Center Are. Overstated — The existing Goodyear Tire Center attached to the closed K -Mart building contains about 5,200 square feet. Costco itself sells tires in an attached structure on the south side of their main building just east of the main pedestrian, entrance/exit to the store and then installs these tires in one of four bays in an area of about 6,500 square feet. With two facilities selling tires within about, 500 linear feet, it is doubtful that the existing Goodyear Tire Store Will continue as a viable operation. To determine the credit traffic volumes to be given for the closure of the existing Goodyear Tire Store, actual counts, must: be made during peak hours on typical weekdays, and weekends. Without actual counts, the credit values in the traffic analysis are. merely speculation and likely are overstated. When the existing Goodyear Tire Center is removed by redevelopment of the site, the most appropriate method to determine, the existing trip generation is to actually count peak hour and daily trips to and from the site: with the existing Tire Center operating, It appears that the Traffic, Analysis instead relied on national trip generation averages which can significantly overstate the volume of trips generated by the existing use. In turn this. faulty methodology then underestimates the net number, of new 'trips, and decreases the number of potentially significant traffic impacts that would otherwise result. A higher number of not new trips: may result in additional , . significant traffic impacts that must be identified and analyzed. Feasible 900 enforceable mitigation measures must be imposed. 2) Existing Baseline Traffic Volumes and Level of Service — The Traffic;Analysis for the Proposed Project gathered traffic volumes on the Wednesday after Thanksgiving, in 2018. This was not a typical traffic day in that It was raining 2 Mr. Hans Van Ligten Tustin Ranch Costco Fuel Station Addition — Traffic/Transportation Issues July 7, 201"9 and traffic volumes during the week after Thanksgiving in commercial areas are typically less than those measured during most other days during the Holiday Shopping Season. The lower than normal traffic volumes counted on a day with inclement weather during a lull in the Holiday Shopping Season artificially reduce baseline traffic volumes, significantly reducing the number of potentially significant traffic impacts that would otherwise require mitigation. 3) No Analysis of Weekend Peak Hour Conditions Has Been Conducted Erroneously, the Traffic Analysis did not count or evaluate weekend traffic volumes. Table 6 on Page 7 of the Traffic Analysis shows the results of five Costco Gasoline Stacking Observations for weekday PM peak queues and for weekend Midday peak queues. These observations, while mostly made in 2016 or 2017, show the vehicles in the queues for the weekend midday peak j hour were greater than the number of vehicles in the queues for the weekday PM peak hour. This indicates that the worst case with higher traffic volumes during weekend traffic conditions must also be studied for the Proposed Project as well. 4) Auto Center Drive Must Be Widened North of EI Camino Real — In the area just to the west of the proposed Fuel Station, Auto Center Drive north of El { Camino Real varies in width north of EI Camino Real from about 48' to about 60'. Drawings in the Traffic Analysis show the restriping of Auto Center Drive but the roadway must also be widened to provide two 12' wide northbound lanes for access to the Fuel Station as depicted on this drawing. Without widening and restriping, the second northbound lane that turns into the Fuel Station cannot be provided. i 5) EI Camino Real East of Auto Center Drive Must be Widened By At Least 12' — From Google Earth, EI Camino Real provides 5 lanes, each about 12' wide, in the short block between Auto Center Drive and Myford Road. Queue l Management Plan 1 (Figure 3) shows a very short westbound taper that shifts i lanes to the south on EI Camino Real to install a westbound right turn lane to enter Auto Center Drive_: The existing 60' width however does not provide sufficient space to add a sixth lane without widening the bridge on EI Camino Real over the flood control channel adjacent to Myford Road. Dropping one of the westbound lanes on EI Camino Real will adversely impact the capacity of 1 the Auto Center Drive/EI Camino Real intersection and will cause significant trafhc impacts. According to Table 5, constructing a 155' long westbound right turn lane in the existing parkway (without widening the bridge) will not accommodate the industry standard methodology design queue (95th percentile) for existing plus project volumes. Additional study of the intersection of EI Camino Real and Auto Center Drive is required to install an adequately long westbound right turn lane for traffic entering the Fuel Station queue. 3 Mr. Hans Van Ligten Tustin Ranch Costco Fuel Station Addition — Traffic/Transportation Issues July 7, 2019 Traffic and Transportation -- Internal Issues Based on my review of various documents, there is at least a "fair argument" that the Proposed Project to add a Fuel Station with 32 fueling dispensers will have. significant internal traffic and transportation impacts as follows: 1) Angled Parking Spaces East of the Fuel Station Cannot Be Accessed Queue Management Plan 1 reorients the existing perpendicular parking spaces east of the Fuel Station to angled parking spaces oriented to the southeast. This will then require motorists to back out of the stalls to the northwest and then head south into an area where they can only join the queue for .gasoline. This will make these 13 parking spaces largely ineffective and unusable. 2) North-South Aisle West of Fuel Station Encourages Exiting Double Stacking The north -south aisle west of the Fuel Station is shown as 45' wide, much too wide for only one-way northbound traffic in a single lane. Anything over 12' wide will encourage a second northbound exiting lane into the "KEEP CLEAR" area where all exiting traffic will be required to turn left and will be immediately faced with northbound traffic turning right to enter the queue to get gas. This geometry is extremely confusing and potentially unsafe. Requiring the queue to cross itself 'twice before exiting the Costco parking area is poor practice and that creates additional conflicts and confusion. 3) Pap Up Bollards Extending the Inbound Queue Are Not Safe — The entering queue is planned to be extended as shown in Queue Management Plan 2 in Figure 4 with the use of pop-up bollards that are .intended to force traffic into the second east -west aisle north of the Fuel Station. When the bollards are activated and are popping up, traffic must be held back from crossing the bollards so the rising bollards do not impale the underside of vehicles passing over the bollards. Additional pop-up bollard's or other devices will be required to prevent northbound traffic on Auto Center Drive from continuing to reach the second east -west aisle rather than making ;a right turn into the first aisle. Without continuous monitoring,,, it will also be very difficult to maintain cones and delineators in place during high traffic volumes, 4) Only Employees Park on the South Side of the First East-West Aisle — Parking along this aisle just north of the Fuel Station is closer to the front door of the store than the majority of other spaces in the parking lot. It will be very difficult to identify employee cars and then to keep customer cars from parking in these 36 spaces. This proposed measure is not practical or feasible.:. 4 Mr. Hans Van Ligten Tustin Ranch Costco Fuel Station Addition — Traffic/Transportation Issues July 7, 2019 As discussed in this letter, there is substantial evidence that the Proposed Project will have adverse environmental impacts that have not been properly disclosed, analyzed, and mitigated. The Traffic Analysis must be revised to address the issues in this letter. Feasible and effective mitigation measures for the significant traffic impacts that will occur in peak hour at the intersections, particularly at Auto Center Drive and EI Camino Real where traffic lanes are proposed to be eliminated, must be proposed. Internal queuing issues and conflicts must also be addressed and resolved. 3 If you have questions regarding these comments, please call me at your convenience, j Tom Brohard, PE Licenses: 1975 / Professional Engineer / California — Civil, No. 24577 1977 / Professional Engineer / California — Traffic, No. 724 2006 / Professional Engineer / Hawaii -- Civil, No. 12321 Education: 1969 / BSE / Civil Engineering / Duke University Experiences 50 Years Memberships: 1977 / Institute of Transportation Engineers — Fellow; Life 1978 / Orange County Traffic Engineers Council - Chair 1982-1983 1981 / American Public Works Association -- Life Member Tom is a recognized expert in the field of traffic engineering and transportation planning. His background also includes responsibility for leading and managing the delivery of various contract services to numerous cities in Southern California, Tom has extensive experience in providing transportation planning and traffic engineering services to public agencies. From May 2005 through June 2019, he served as Consulting City TrafficEngineer for the City of Indio. He also currently provides "on' call" Traffic and Transportation Engineer service to the City of San Fernando. In addition to conducting traffic engineering investigations for Los Angeles County from 1972 to 1978, he has previously served as City Traffic Engineer in the following communities:' o Bellflower ..................................................1997 1998 o Bell Gardens..............................................1982 1995 o Big Bear Lake ........................... .,........... 2006-2015 o Huntington Beach. 1998-2004 o Lawndale.................................................. 1973-1978 o Los Alamitos .............................................. 1981' 1982 o Oceanside,....... .....................................'1981 -1982 o Paramount .... .......................................... 1982-1988 o Rancho Palos. .................. ............... 1973 -1978 Q Rolling Hills .....................— ....................... 1973 1978, 1,985-1993 o Rolling Hills Estates........................................ 1973-1978, 198,4-1091 o San Marcos ................................................. 1981 o Santa Ana. .................. .. .. 1078-1981 o Westlake Village........... ....... ...................... 1983-1994 During these assignments, Tom has supervised City staff and directed other consultants including traffic engineers and transportation planners, traffic signal and street lighting personnel, and signing, striping, and marking crews. He has secured over $10 million in grant funding for various improvements. He has managed and directed many traffic and transportation studies and projects. While serving these communities, he has personally conducted 'investigations of hundreds of citizen requests for various traffic control devices,. Tom has also successfully presented numerous engineering reports at City Council, Planning Commission, and Traffic Commission meetings in these and other municipalities, Tom Brohard and Associates Tom Brohard, PE, Page 2 his service to the City of Indio since May 2005, Tom has accomplished the following. +:• Oversaw preparation and adoption of the 2008 Circulation Element Update of the General Plan including development of Year 2035 buildout traffic volumes, revised and simplified arterial roadway cross sections, and reduction in acceptable Level of Service criteria under certain conditions. +• Oversaw preparation of fact sheets/design exceptions to reduce shoulder widths on Jackson Street and on Monroe Street over 1-10 as well as justifications for protected permissive left turn phasing at 1-10 on -ramps, the first such installations in Caltrans District 8 in Riverside County; reviewed plans and provided assistance during construction of both $2 million projects to install traffic signals and widen three of four ramps at these two interchanges under Caltrans encroachment permits. 14 Reviewed traffic signal, signing, striping, and work area traffic control plans for the County's $45 million 1-10 Interchange Improvement Project at Jefferson Street; Reviewed traffic. impact analyses for Project Study Reports evaluating different` alternatives for buildout improvements of the 1-10 Interchanges at Jefferson Street, Monroe Street, Jackson Street and Golf Center Parkway. •3 Oversaw preparation of plans, specifications, and contract documents and. provided construction assistance for over 70 traffic signal installations and modifications. 4* Reviewed and approved over 2,000 work area traffic control plans as well as signing and striping plans for all City and developer funded roadway improvement projects. +:• Oversaw preparation of a City-wide traffic safety study of conditions at all schools. 42! Obtained $47,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety and implemented the City's Traffic Collision Database System. Annually reviews "Top 25" collision locations and provides traffic engineering recommendations to reduce collisions. Prepared over 1,500 work orders directing City forces to install, modify, and/or remove traffic signs, pavement and curb markings, and roadway striping. v+ Oversaw preparation of engineering and traffic surveys to establish enforceable speed limits on over 500 street segments. 1- Reviewed and approved traffic impact studies for more than 35 major projects and special events including the annual Coachella and Stagecoach Music Festivals. *• Developed and implemented the City's Golf Cart Transportation Program. Since forming Tom Brohard and Associates in 2000, Tom has reviewed many traffic impact reports and environmental documents for various development projects. He has provided expert witness services and also prepared traffic studies for public agencies and private sector clients. Tom Brohard and Associates Responses to Rutan and Tucker letter dated July 9, 2019 Traffic and Transportation — External Issues 1. Credit Volumes from Existing Goodyear Tire Center are Overstated — The credit traffic volumes to be given for the closure of the Goodyear Tire Center is minuscule and irrelevant. Applicant reviewed center as being fully operational in the traffic analysis. With the project, adjacent intersections are at LOS A or B, which is the existing level of service. Tustin City Code allows an LOS D without any traffic mitigation requirements. 2. Existing Baseline Traffic Volumes and Level of Service — Traffic volumes were gathered on the Wednesday after Thanksgiving. Staff analyzed past rainfall data and did not find any evidence that it rained that day unless it was the early morning hours if at all. Nevertheless, traffic volumes are always taken at rush hours during a middle weekday. A Wednesday after Thanksgiving is optimal for analysis (i.e. includes additional holiday traffic without school closures or holiday business closures). 3. No Analysis of Weekend Peak Hour Conditions Has Been Conducted —Traffic volume impacts is different than queuing analysis. Traffic volume is analyzed during weekday rush hour traffic. As a side note Costco did analyze weekend traffic but as expected the weekday rush hour traffic was greater. Costco analyzed weekend queuing because that is when stacking is heaviest. 4. Auto Center Drive Must Be Widened North of El Camino Real - The entry off of EI Camino Real is being widened and re -striped. 5. EI Camino Real East of Auto Center Drive Must Be Widened By At Least 12' —The proposed westbound right turn lane for traffic entering the fuel station queue can be accommodated within the existing 64' curb -to -curb width of EI Camino Real by re - striping only. Traffic and Transportation — Internal Issues 1. Angled Parking Spaces East of the Fuel Station Cannot Be Accessed —These spaces are reserved for employee parking only. 2. North-South Aisle West of Fuel Station Encourages Exiting Double Stacking — With striping and channelization only one northbound lane plus one fuel station only lane will be available. 3. Pop Up Bollards Extending The Inbound Queue Are Not Safe — Bollards can be retractable or removeable. These only become necessary in the unlikely event Queue Management Plan 2 is implemented. Costco personnel will ensure safety to vehicles when this condition is implemented. 4. Only Employees Park on the South Side of the First East-West Aisle - These spaces, as well as the spaces east of the fuel station, will be marked and signed accordingly for employee parking only.