HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998-05-12 - AGENDA REPORTS - WESTRIDGE PROJ LACO PLANNING (2)AGENDA REPORT
City Manager Approval
Item to be presented Laura Stotler
NEW BUSINESS
DATE: May 12,1998
SUBJECT: REVISED WESTRIDGE PROJECT BEFORE LOS ANGELES
COUNTY REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION
DEPARTMENT: Planning and Building Services
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council to receive information on the revised Westridge project and provide
direction for further action.
BACKGROUND
The City has commented on a Draft Environmental Impact Report prepared for
the revised Westridge project, located west of the I-5 between McBean Parkway
and Valencia Blvd. in LA County. A copy of this letter is attached for your
review. The revised project includes 1,712 dwelling units (874 single-family and
838 multi -family), 5 acres of commercial uses, a golf course, a 9 -acre public park,
an elementary school and trails. Construction would occur on a portion of
Significant Ecological Area (SEA) 64, the Valley Oak Savannah, and removal of
up to 147 of the 1,246 oak trees on the site is proposed.
In 1992, the City commented on the previous Westridge proposal for 1,890 units
(1,056 single-family and 834 multi -family), 41.5 acres of commercial uses, removal
of up to195 oak trees, a golf course, a 9 -acre public park, an elementary school
and trails. At that time, the City expressed objections to the amount of
development within SEA 64, the amount of commercial acreage, and the number
of oak tree removals. The revised Westridge addresses some of those concerns.
The revised project proposes the dedication of 153 acres of open space, including
143 acres within SEA 64 and 10 acres of oak tree woodland adjoining the SEA
The revised project design would retain 1,099 oak trees, or 88.2 percent of the oak
trees on the site (991 of these trees are within SEA 64). The proposed commercial
acreage has been reduced by 36 acres or 81%.
The project includes construction of a portion of The Old Road between McBean
Parkway and Valencia Boulevard as a four lane secondary arterial highway. The
Council has recommended removal of this roadway from the City's Circulation
Ir' `uCU' Agenda Item:-/ ..
Element Master Plan of Arterial Highways. However, the Council's decision to
remove this roadway from the Circulation Element remains pending due to a
lawsuit over the Council's action. This portion of The Old Road remains on the
County's circulation plans. The revised Westridge project proposes improvements
to the Valencia Boulevard/Golden State Freeway interchange, including widening
of the freeway bridge, improvements to existing ramps, and construction of a new
southbound on-ramp.
The LA County Regional Planning Commission has scheduled a public hearing for
the revised Westridge project on May 20, 1998. Staff is planning to present the
Council's concerns with this project, if any, at this hearing.
FISCAL IMPACTS
No fiscal impacts are anticipated.
ATTACHMENTS
Revised Westridge Project DEIR Comment Letter dated April 28, 1998
Copy of Revised Westridge Project Site Plan
GAC:JJL:LHS
S:pbs\advance-westrarl
City of
Santa Clarita
23920 Valencia Blvd.
Phone
Suite 300
(805) 259-2489
Santa Clarita
Fax
Califomia 91355-2196
(805) 259-8125
April 28,1998
Mr. James Hard
Director of Regional Planning
320 West Temple Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
RE: Comments on Draft Environmental Impact Report for .the Westridge
Project
County Project No. 87-222 (5), VT'IM 45433, SCH No. 90011146
ATTENTION: Impact Analysis Section
Dear Mr. Hard:
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Draft Environmental Impact
Report (DEIR) prepared for the Westridge Project. The project area is located
adjacent to the City of Santa Clarita in the Santa Clarity Valley (SCV) and is
within the planning area of the City of Santa Clarita General Plan. The City will
ultimately be responsible for providing various services to this development,
including transit and cultural/recreational programs. In addition to these
services, the project will create demands upon City infrastructure, including
roadways and park facilities. The project would also impact existing
development and residents within the City through impacts upon noise, air
quality and views.
The Westridge project has been substantially altered since the City first reviewed
this plan in 1992. The project now includes a request for 1,712 units (874 single
family units, 838 multi -family units), 5 -acres of commercial uses, removal of up to
147 oak trees, a park, a golf course and a 9 -acre elementary school. The previous
project included a request for 1,890 units (1,056 single-family units, 834 multi-
family units), 41.5 acres of commercial uses, removal of up to 195 oak trees, a
park, a golf course and an elementary school. A portion of the site is within
Significant Ecological Area (SEA) 64, Valley Oak Savannah The project
proposes increases in open space within this SEA from 176.2 acres to 177.3 acres.
The increase in open space, reductionin oak tree removals reduction of
commercial uses and revision in the number and types of.residential units are .
consistent with the recommendations expressed by the City in previous letters.
PRIMED ON RECYCLED PAPER
Westridge DEIR Comment Letter
April 28, 1998
Page 2 of 5
On June 25, 1997, the City responded to the Notice of Preparation circulated for
this revised project. This DEIR includes most of the analyses requested by the
City. Please consider the following comments on the DEIR:
Circulation -DEIR Section 4.5
On December 9, 1997, the City Council adopted an amendment to the City of
Santa Clarita General Plan Circulation Element. This amendment included the
removal of the secondary highway designation from a segment of The Old Road
between Valencia Boulevard and Stevenson Ranch Parkway (McBean Parkway)
from the City's Master Plan of Arterial Highways. A lawsuit has been filed
challenging the City Council's action to amend the Circulation Element. With
the advent of this lawsuit, the Council approval of the Circulation Element
amendment remains pending. Therefore, the location and designation of The Old
Road as a secondary highway as proposed in Westridge is consistent with the
City's existing Circulation Element. The City requests, however, that the Final
EIR. note that the City Council has recommended against creating a secondary
highway in this location because of concerns over impacts to SEA 64.
Noise —DEIR Section 4.6
In the City's NOP response letter of June 25, 1997; the City requested that a
noise contour map be prepared to address existing and anticipated Community
Noise Equivalent Level (CNEL) impacts upon surrounding developed properties.
Of particular concern are the cumulative impacts to CNEL levels for areas within
the City that will occur with buildout of this project.
The City has concerns with the roadway width assumptions used for the
cumulative noise analysis. Technical Appendix 4.6 Table N-6 shows cumulative
off-site noise conditions with the project based on the Alternative Highway Plan.
This cumulative analysis assumes that McBean Parkway has four lanes, Magic
Mountain Parkway has four lanes and Valencia Boulevard has six lanes. To
provide a worst-case scenario for noise, an analysis of cumulative off-site noise
conditions using the number of lanes presently approved by the City either
through its General Plan or through individual project approvals should also be
included in the EIR. This analysis should assume that McBean Parkway has six
lanes (City of - Santa Clarita Circulation Element recommendation), Magic
Mountain Parkway has eight lanes (City of Santa Clarita Circulation Element
recommendation and approved North Valencia Specific Plan project), and
Valencia Boulevard has eight lanes (City of Santa Clarita Circulation Element
recommendation and approved North Hills project). Furthermore, the City
requests that a build -out noise contour map be included in the Final EIR that
shows the cumulative noise impacts upon existing City residents.
Westridge DEIR. Comment Letter
April 28, 1998
Page 3 of 5
The Noise Analysis did include a discussion of the Magic Mountain Theme Park.
The analysis did not discuss the noise from the fireworks displays that occur
every night during the summer and on weekends during other times of the year.
While this may not be a significant source of noise, the City does receive
occasional complaints about them. It is suggested that disclosure documents
provided to new residents include notice of the frequent fireworks displays.
Geotechnical and Soil Resource —DEIR Section.4.1
The seismicity section of the DEIR (Pages 4.1-8 to 4.1-18) referenced the most
recent USGS Newhall Quadrangle map (Revised 1995), yet the closest fault to
the project, the Stevenson Ranch Fault, was not specifically mentioned in .the
DEIR. In fact, DEIR Map #20 is the outdated 1988 version of that map, not the
current 1995 version that notes the presence of a new Alquist-Priolo Special
Studies Zone and the newly identified Stevenson Ranch fault in close proximity
to this project. Additional information regarding the Stevenson Ranch fault and
the building setback zone identified in Figure 4.1-2 should be provided to disclose
this seismic hazard.
Table 4.1-1 Area Faults (Page 4.1-9) should be revised to include the Stevenson
Ranch Fault since it is clearly an active fault that will impact this project. The
DEIR. should include a discussion of this fault and a detailed map that shows
exactly how this project lies in relationship to the fault. This map should show
the location of any planned water storage tanks, since a water storage tank in the
area failed following the 1994 Northridge Earthquake.
The DEIR geotechnical section does not reference the Pacific Oil pipeline
presently under construction along the Westridge project Golden State Freeway
frontage. This DEIR section should mention provisions that will be taken so that
this pipeline is not impacted by proposed grading.
Biota 4.3
The City remains concerned with proposed development within Significant
Ecological Area (SEA) 64, the Valley Oak Savannah. The City supports the
preservation of oak trees and open space and is pleased to see that the proposed
oak tree impacts have been reduced compared to the previously approved project.
The revised Westridge project reduces the number of oak trees removed from 195
(including 7 heritage size oaks) to 147 (including 2 heritage size oaks). Of the oak
trees to be removed, 63 would be removed for construction of regional
infrastructure including The Old Road as shown on both the County's and the
City's Master Plans of Arterial Highways.
Westridge DEIR Comment Letter
April 28,1998
Page 4 of 5
While -portions of the proposed golf course impact some of the SEA, the proposed
golf course will provide open space, preserve oak trees, and appears to provide a
reasonable balance between land use and habitat protection. Other development
within the SEA includes 64 dwelling units and a 5 -acre commercial site. The
residential and commercial land uses have been clustered into the northerly
portions of the SEA and lie primarily within areas of the SEA that do not contain
oak trees. The City agrees that clustering of residential and commercial land
uses on this site is appropriate, however, it would be preferable if these land uses
avoided the SEA entirely.
The DEIR includes a Resource Management and Monitoring Plan (R MMP) and
the dedication and endowment of 154 acres of undisturbed open space (143.4 _
acres of SEA) to a conservation organization. The RMMP provides methods for
restoration and enhancement activities that includes a proposed oak tree
mitigation bank requiring more trees that would be. required under the Los
Angeles County Oak Tree Ordinance. The City supports the DEIR
recommendations that recommend a number of the replacement oak trees be
planted as street trees. Please consider adding a mitigation measure that
encourages the planting of replacement oak trees in other areas visible to the
public such as at entryways into the project and around the freeway interchange.
The geotechnical section of the DEIR mentioned that several temporary drainage
features would be provided during construction. The biota section does not
appear to differentiate between the impacts for permanent drainage structures
and temporary ones. Please note which oak trees may be impacted by temporary
drainage structures as opposed to permanent ones. Consideration should be
given to avoiding oak tree removals to accommodate any temporary structure.
Recreation -Public Golf Course
The proposed project includes a 9 -acre public park site and a privately owned golf
course that will be open to the public. The park is proposed to be maintained by
Los Angeles County. Mitigation measures should be added for long-term funding
for park maintenance. Mitigation measures for the project should include
provisions not just for active park space, but also for recreational programming to
serve fixture residents. '
Jobs -Housing Balance
The City's NOP response letter requested that the issue of jobs -housing balance
be addressed in the DEIR. Please provide this information.
Westridge DEER Comment Letter
April 28, 1998
Page 5 of 5
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this DEIR. If you should have any
questions, please contact Laura Stotler, AICP, Associate Planner, at (805) 255 -
JL:LHS.lep
Pbs/advance/westrll
CC: Laura Stotler, City of Santa Clarita
Lee Stark, Los Angeles County Regional Planning
Dave Vannatta, Fifth District
Paul Calderwook, Impact Sciences
Dave Crowder, Newhall Land and Farming
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