CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
City of Anaheim
PLANNING AND BUILDING DEPARTMENT
DATE: JANUARY 10, 2023
FROM: PLANNING AND BUILDING DEPARTMENT
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
SUBJECT: AMENDMENT TO THE CIRCULATION ELEMENT OF
THE GENERAL PLAN (DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION
NO. 2021-00193)
ATTACHMENT (Y/N): YES ITEM # 25
RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council, by Resolution, take the following action:
1) Approve a City-initiated General Plan Amendment to amend the Circulation Element of the City’s General Plan including the Bicycle Master Plan to facilitate the Yorba Linda Boulevard Widening Project; and approve Addendum No. 4 to the previously certified Environmental Impact Report No.
No. 330 (EIR 330) and Supplemental Environmental Impact Report No. 346 (SEIR 346) determining that the Addendum is the appropriate environmental documentation for this request.
DISCUSSION:
On May 11, 2020, the Yorba Linda Boulevard Widening Project (Project) was selected by the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) to receive grant funds for design engineering and project administration. In order to proceed with the Project and maintain grant funding, amendments to the OCTA Master Plan of Arterial Highways (MPAH) and the General Plans of the cities of Yorba Linda and Anaheim are required.
The following are proposed amendments to the City’s Circulation Element, including the Bicycle Master Plan. All of these amendments would result in associated revisions to appropriate maps, figures, text, and tables throughout the General Plan to reflect the changes described below.
Reclassify Yorba Linda Boulevard1 (six-lane divided facility) from a Primary Arterial to a Major Arterial from the SR-91 eastbound on-ramp on the south to La Palma Avenue on the north in order to match the existing configuration of the roadway. The Scenic Expressway designation would remain in place beginning south of the SR-91 interchange on Weir Canyon Road. 1 Yorba Linda Boulevard becomes Weir Canyon Road south of SR-91. 200 S. Anaheim Blvd.
Suite 162
Anaheim, CA 92805
Tel: (714) 765-5139
Fax: (714) 765-5280
www.anaheim.net
General Plan Amendment – Yorba Linda Boulevard Widening Project January 10, 2023
Add a planned Class I Bike Path on the east side of Yorba Linda Boulevard between Old Canal Road on the south and La Palma Avenue on the north. Add Savi Ranch Parkway (four-lane divided facility) as a Primary Arterial from the City’s boundary line at Yorba Linda Boulevard on the east to Pullman Street on the west to match the existing configuration of the roadway.
Add Crystal Drive / Pullman Street / Old Canal Road (two-lane divided facility) as Collector Streets serving Savi Ranch Parkway west of the City’s boundary line at Yorba Linda Boulevard to match the existing configuration of the roadway. Add a planned Class I Bike Path on the south side of La Palma Avenue between the City boundary on the east and Yorba Linda Boulevard on the west.
The proposed General Plan Amendment supports General Plan goals and policies including to provide a comprehensive multimodal transportation system that facilitates current and long-term circulation of people and goods in and through the City; to assign street classifications to provide an acceptable level of service based on projected traffic demands, circulation functions, and the areas they are intended to serve while maintaining coordination with the OCTA MPAH and circulation plans of adjacent cities; to protect and encourage bicycle travel; to provide safe, direct, and continuous bicycle routes for commuter and recreational cyclists; and to implement a bikeway system with linkages to routes in neighboring jurisdictions and regional bicycle routes (Goal 1.1 and Policy 1; Goal 7.1 and Policies 1 and 6).
Other actions to date in support of the Project include:
January 19, 2021 – City Council of the City of Yorba Linda, as the Lead Agency for the Project, adopted a Mitigated Negative Declaration for construction and operation of the Project.
July 12, 2021 – OCTA Board of Directors approved the MPAH amendments requested by the cities of Anaheim and Yorba Linda with the condition that OCTA must receive the corresponding approved amendments to the Circulation Elements within three years. February 15, 2022 – City Council of the City of Anaheim authorized the Public Works Department to execute a Cooperative Agreement with the City of Yorba Linda addressing Project O local match requirements.
March 1, 2022 – City Council of the City of Yorba Linda approved their amendment to the Circulation Element.
On December 5, 2022, the Planning Commission unanimously recommended City Council approval on a 6-0 vote. A copy of the Planning Commission resolution is included as Attachment No. 2.
Environmental Impact Analysis
An Addendum to the previously-certified EIR 330 and SEIR 346, has been prepared pursuant to provision of State CEQA Guidelines Section 15164 in order to determine whether the proposed General Plan Amendment would cause any significant environmental impacts which were not previously identified or cause previously identified significant impacts to be substantially more General Plan Amendment – Yorba Linda Boulevard Widening Project January 10, 2023
severe. As more thoroughly described in Addendum No. 4, none of the conditions described in Sections 15162 of the State CEQA Guidelines calling for the preparation of a subsequent or supplemental EIR or negative declaration have occurred. Addendum No. 4 compared anticipated environmental effects of the General Plan Amendment with those disclosed in the EIR 330 and SEIR 346 and concluded that the prior conclusions remain valid.
CONCLUSION:
The Planning Commission found that the proposed General Plan Amendment satisfies the required General Plan Amendment findings and further supports goals and policies of the General Plan. Therefore, staff and the Planning Commission recommend approval of the proposed request.
IMPACT ON BUDGET:
There is no budgetary impact. The costs associated with this hearing are included in the Planning and Building Department’s FY 2022/23 General Fund budget.
Respectfully submitted,
Ted White Rudy Emami
Planning and Building Director Director of Public Works Attachments:
1. City Council Resolution
2. Planning Commission Resolution (without attachments)