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Home My WebLink About06 RSCCD EIR RESPONSE 06-06-05 A G END A REPORT Agenda Item ~ Reviewed: ~ City Manager r.£li- Finance Director ~ MEETING DATE: JUNE 6, 2005 FROM: SUBJECT: WILLIAM A. HUSTON, CITY MANAGER COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT TO: CITY OF TUSTIN RESPONSE TO RANCHO SANTIAGO COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FOR SANTIAGO CANYON COLLEGE FACILITIES MASTER PLAN PROJECT SUMMARY City Council authorization is requested for the City of Tustin's response to the subject Draft Environmental Impact Report for a proposed Rancho Santiago Community College District Facilities Master Plan for Santiago Canyon College in the City of Orange (Attachment A). The Facilities Master Plan proposes the renovation of existing campus facilities and the construction of 188,300 square feet of new building space, new parking areas, and new sports facilities on the campus. RECOMMENDATION: That the City Council authorize staff to forward the attached response letter to the Rancho Santiago Community College District. FISCAL IMPACT: There are no fiscal impacts associated with this action. BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION: The proposed project is a Facilities Master Plan that includes a long-term program for the development of the Santiago Canyon College campus. The college is located in the City of Orange on a site that is bordered by Santiago Canyon Road to the north, Jamboree Road to the east, Newport Boulevard to the west, and Chapman Avenue to the south (see Location Map). The Facilities Master Plan proposes the renovation of existing campus facilities and the construction of 188,300 square feet of new building space, new parking areas, and new sports facilities on the campus. City Council Report Page 2 The Draft EIR concludes that the project would result in significant and unavoidable impacts related to short-term and long-term air emissions, agricultural resources, and nuisance noise associated with sports field use. The Community Development and Public Works Departments have reviewed the subject Draft EIR and have identified concerns related to potential traffic impacts. Staff also believes that it is in the City's interest to be on record regarding this matter and has prepared correspondence expressing the City's concerns regarding the Draft EIR document (see Attachment A). Staff requests that the Tustin City Council review and consider these comments and, if acceptable, authorize their formal transmission to the Rancho Santiago Community College District. ~~~ Scott Reekstin Senior Planner û:~ ;¡~J Elizabeth A. Binsack Community Development Director Attachments: A. B. Draft Comment Response Letter Location Map S:\CddlCCReportsIDEIR Rancho Santiago Facilities Master Plan.doc ATTACHMENT A DRAFT COMMENT RESONSE LETTER June 7, 2005 Mr. Robert C. Partridge Assistant Vice Chancellor Rancho Santiago Community College District District Operations Center 2323 North Broadway, Suite 112 Santa Ana, CA 92706-1640 SUBJECT: REVIEW OF DEIR FOR SANTIAGO CANYON COLLEGE MASTER PLAN Dear Mr. Partridge: Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the Santiago Canyon College Master Plan. The project includes the addition of 188,300 square feet of building space to the existing campus, for a total of 306,688 square feet. Traffic generation is estimated to increase from the existing 9,700 trips per day to 20,400 trips per day by the year 2025. The City of Tustin has identified the following comments and concerns: Noise 1. The potential noise impacts to Tustin residential areas should be addressed and mitigated in the EIR. To be consistent with the City of Tustin Noise Ordinance and mitigate the impacts to Tustin residents, there should be a mitigation measure in the EIR that requires significant construction-related traffic near Tustin residential areas to be limited to 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday. Transportation and Circulation 1. A primary concern stated in the City's comments on the Notice of Preparation (NOP) is that Master Plan of Arterial Highways (MPAH) amendments are being processed, but there is no assurance that adequate mitigation for these changes will be provided. There are both project-related and cumulative traffic impacts in the City of Tustin that have been identified through the preliminary MPAH amendment process, as well as in this DEIR document, that have not been fully addressed. Page 3.5-58 shows a significant Project impact related to average daily traffic (ADT) for Jamboree Road between Tustin Ranch Road and Portola Parkway. 2. It should be noted that Jamboree Road north of the Interstate 5 Freeway is within the City of Tustin. Various tables within the DEIR document should be updated to correctly note the correct "jurisdiction." The City of Tustin also shares jurisdiction with the County of Orange at the Red Hill Avenue/Irvine Boulevard and Browning Avenue/Irvine Boulevard intersections, which should be correctly noted in the DEIR. 3. The capacity of 3,200 vehicles per hour for two lanes of travel does not accurately reflect arterial conditions where there are intervening intersections. Jamboree Road between Tustin Ranch Road and Portola Parkway is impacted based on the ADT Mr. Robert Partridge Santiago Canyon College NOP June 7,2005 Page 2 findings presented in the DEIR. The mitigation approach for this impact should be the same procedure as was applied to the Cannon StreeVSantiago Canyon Road intersection (Pages 3.5-66 and 67), and the mitigation measure should reflect the same type of requirements as provided in measure 3.5.1. 4. Page 3.5-22: Table 3.5.G indicates the Irvine Boulevard improvement is "committed." The City of Tustin does not have a committed improvement for this location. It should be analyzed at the four-lane configuration and mitigation provided as necessary. The same process requested above and currently used in the DEIR should be applied to this location. 5. Figure 3.5.6: Please provide a description of the assumed improvements for the Jamboree Road/Irvine Boulevard intersection. The City of Tustin shares jurisdiction at this intersection, so assumed improvements need to be verified with the City of Tustin. 6. Page 3.5-46:The trip distribution methodology used in the analyses should be described in this section. It would appear that Santiago Canyon College would have student enrollment data that would serve to confirm the distribution assumptions. 7. The City's NOP comments indicated that for locations within the City of Tustin the traffic analyses must be consistent with City of Tustin criteria and methodologies. It was noted that City of Irvine requirements were used to eliminate a Project impact on Jamboree Road, which is not appropriate. Thank you again for the opportunity to provide comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Report. The City of Tustin would appreciate receiving the Final EIR documents with the responses to our comments when they become available. If you have any questions regarding the City's comments, please call Scott Reekstin, Senior Planner, at (714) 573-3016 or Terry Lutz, Principal Engineer, at (714) 573-3263. Sincerely, Tim Serlet Director of Public Works cc: Elizabeth Binsack Dana Kasdan Doug Anderson Terry Lutz Steve Sasaki Scott Reekstin SR:environmental etcJSantiago Canyon College 2005 DEIR Comment Letter.doc ATTACHMENT B LOCATION MAP . LSA $ FIGURE 2.1 . 0 ,....- FEET 2000 Santiago Carryon College Project Location . SOURCE: USGS 7.'" OUADS, ORANGE, & BLACK STAR CANYON. CA. 1:\RSC430IGILo<arion-USGS.oo, (4/14/0')