Notice of Preparation – PEIR
Item 13-A
15240 Lakewood Boulevard, 9030-9146 Somerset Boulevard, and 9215 Flora Vista Street.
1 Subject Properties
Formerly a golf course and open space
Approximately 22 acres
Currently under lease to Hollywood Sports Park as an outdoor recreation opportunity to residents of the community and surrounding areas. 15240 Lakewood Boulevard, 9030-9146 Somerset Boulevard, and 9215 Flora Vista Street.
2 Background
25 Year term of current lease with options to extend by tenant (earliest extension request - Oct. 2024)
Under consideration by METRO for potential Maintenance Service Facility (MSF)
City Council initially expressed opposition to the MSF citing concerns regarding a lack of open space in the community among other issues.
In 2018 (Resolution No. 18-67) the City expressed the specific conditions under which it could support METRO’s acquisition of the property and establishment of the MSF on the site. 1) “…the Light Rail Maintenance Facility will be developed as an aesthetically pleasing, state of the art yard that meets all current noise, air quality, and traffic mitigation measures and coexists harmoniously with the surrounding business and residential communities;
2) the MTA will develop a valid "Bellflower First" hiring policy when staffing the facility;
3) the purchase price paid for the property will be based on the fair market and will be sufficient to offset the cost of establishing adequate supplemental and/or replacement open space opportunities within the City of Bellflower;
4) the establishment of a rail maintenance facility at the Lakewood/Somerset site will satisfy completely the MTA's "3% Local Match" in funding from each City along the light rail construction route;
5) the MTA will set aside and develop a location of not less than 1.5 acres of active "open space" within or adjacent to the proposed light rail maintenance facility site to serve the residential community living on Somerset Boulevard and the Bellflower Community as a whole in a manner to be approved by the Bellflower City Council;
6) upon development of the facility, MTA will be solely responsible for compensation and relocation, if necessary, of the long-term leaseholder currently operating a paintball facility at the Lakewood/Somerset Site.”
3 Context
81% of residents identified a lack of affordable housing as a very or somewhat serious problem facing Bellflower
82% identified the number of homeless individuals in the City as very or somewhat serious
73% identified gangs and juvenile violence
59% identified the number of vacant buildings
46% identified a lack of public transportation
2023 Resident Survey
4 Context (cont’d)
The State of California has determined that there is a significant regional and statewide need for housing available to various income levels
Local plans have identified a significant need to maintain and create more open space in the community
Bellflower is required to plan for 3,735 Housing Units by 2029
State has mandated “No Net Loss” provisions
City Council Adopted, and the State Certified the City’s 2021-2029 Housing Element in September 2022 including a planned buffer over and above it’s RHNA requirements.
5 General Plan Amendments and Zone Change
The City intends to consider amendments to its General Plan and Zoning Code to rezone the site to maintain the ability to meet the community’s most pressing needs in the future.
The rezone would allow for alternative uses in the future to include mixed uses, such as high density residential and open spaces uses
Addresses the priorities of our residents by allowing for the development of housing units affordable to working families
Would assist the City in meeting its State mandated obligations under the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (“RHNA”) in the future.
Would secure the City’s ability to maintain open space and recreational opportunities in Bellflower
Would maintain the existing protections for the current tenant on the site No specific development project proposed at this time
6 Notice of Preparation
The appropriate CEQA document for the General Plan Amendments and Zone Change is a Program Environmental Impact Report (“PEIR”)
The first step in the process of preparing a PEIR is to issue a Notice of Preparation (“NOP”) to be sent to stakeholders and the public
The purpose of the NOP is to seek public comments on what should be addressed in the scope of the PEIR. A scoping meeting is also held during the NOP process
City has an existing agreement with Dudek for consulting services related to CEQA review. The preparation and completion of the NOP and the scoping meeting can be accomplished under the existing agreement by Task Order
Following completion of the NOP and scoping meeting, the City can work with Dudek to develop a more accurate cost estimate to complete the PEIR or seek additional proposals as necessary.
7 Tonight’s Recommendation
Authorize the City Manager to release the Notice of Preparation and execute a Task order with Dudek for preparation of a Program Environmental Impact Report; or
Alternatively, discuss and take other action related to this item.
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