1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: January 11, 2022
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Patrick Prescott, Community Development Director BY: David Kriske, Assistant Community Development Director
SUBJECT: Approval of a Comment Letter to the California High Speed Rail Authority’s Final Environmental Impact Report / Environmental Impact Statement
RECOMMENDATION
Approve a comment letter to the California High Speed Rail Authority’s Final Environmental Impact Report / Environmental Impact Statement (Attachment 1) and direct staff to submit it prior to the Authority Board of Directors’ meeting on January 19, 2022.
BACKGROUND
The California High Speed Rail project is a proposed steel-wheel-on-steel-track, electrically-powered “bullet-train” system operating at speeds of up to 220 miles per hour that would connect the major metropolitan centers of California. The primary alignment consists of a corridor extending south from Sacramento and Sa n Francisco through the Central Valley to Los Angeles . The purpose of this project is to provide an alternative intercity transportation system between the major cities in California. A number of intermediate stops are planned along this rail system inclu ding a proposed stop in the City of Burbank near the Hollywood Burbank Airport. The system would be built and operated in phases, with initial service occurring in the Central Valley and later extending north to San Francisco and then south to Los Angeles. A map of the proposed statewide alignment and project phasing is attached as Attachment 2, and a map of the alignment for the project segment through Burbank to Los Angeles is attached as Attachment 3.
Significant environmental review and alignment studies have been conducted throughout the development of the project. The Authority completed a statewide Program Environmental Impact Report / Environmental Impact Statement in 2005, and conducted
COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT
2 several alignment studies for the Palmdale to Los Angeles Segment that would affect Burbank. A Notice of Preparation (NOP) of a Draft Environmental Impact Report / Environmental Impact Statement1 (DEIR/DEIS) for two project segments in Burbank was released in 2014. In 2020, the Authority released the DEIR/DIES for the Burbank to Los Angeles section, which covers the segment of the project between the Hollywood Burbank Airport south to Los Angeles Union Station. As part of the public comment period for the DEIR/DEIS, the City of Burbank and other members of the community had the opportunity to comment on the Authority’s findings of the project’s impacts and mitigation measures. In addition to these environmental documents, the Authority is required to update a project Business Plan to disclose how they propose to build and operate the project and last updated this plan in 2020.
The City of Burbank provided input during various stages of the project’s environmental review, including comments on the Program EIR/EIS in 2005, a prior NOP in 2007, an Alternatives A nalysis in 2010, the most recent NOP in 2014 , a major update to the Business Plan in 2016, and the Burbank to Los Angeles DEIR/DEIS in 2020. These comments are documented in previous City Council staff reports and comment letters which are included in Attachment 4.
During these project development activities, the City Council has not taken a formal position on the project. However, over the year s the City Council has provided formal input on certain aspects of the project, including its preference for a station location at the Airport versus Downtown Burbank, a concern over Burbank acting as an interim “terminus” during any phased construction, and concerns over different project alignment characteristics and environmental concerns.
DISCUSSION
As discussed above, in July 2020 the City Council approved a comment letter for the Authority’s DEIR/DEIS for the Burbank to Los Angeles section ( see Attachment 4-1 through 4- 12). This comment letter included several comments related to several environmental topics included in the Authority’s analysis. The City Council’s comment letter included comments about the following environmental topics:
• Project Alternatives
• Transportation
• Land Use
• Noise and Vibration
• Geology, Soils, Seismicity, and Paleontological Resources • Public Infrastructure
1 An Environmental Impact Report satisfies the California Environmental Quality Act state law, while an Environmental Impact Statement is required under the federal National Environmental Policy Act. The California High Speed Rail Project requires both state and federal environmental documents because it is partially funded with federal funds.
3 With the release of the Final Environmental Impact Report / Environmental Impact Statement (FEIR/FEIS), the Authori ty has provided written response to all comments received as part of the DEIR/DEIS comment period. The purpose of the FEIR/FEIS is to provide written responses to all comments, provide updated documentation and/or analysis in response to comments that the Authority believes have merit, and potentially modify elements of the project in response to comments received.
In response to the FEIR/FEIS, staff reviewed the Authority’s response to comments for each of the City’s comments submitted with the DEIR/DEIS, and ascertained whether the Authority’s response adequately addressed the City’s concern. In some cases, the Authority clarified or modified the document in response to the City’s comments, and these adjustments were sufficient to address the City’s concerns. In other areas, the Authority’s response did not adequately address the City’s concern, and in those cases staff recommends the City submit a follow-up comment in a comment letter that responds to the FEIR/FEIS.
In response to the FEIR/FEIS, staff recommends the City Council direct staff to submit a comment letter to identify issues raised in the DEIR/DEIS that have not been addressed.
Below is a summary of some of the remaining issues identified by staff to be included in the City’s comments to the Authority.
• Project Alternatives
The City Council’s previous comment letter stated that the DEIR/DEIS did not include an adequate range of alternatives for the alignment that extends from Hollywood Way / Empire Avenue to Downtown Burbank that could better mitigate identified construction, land use, noise, and vibration impacts, as well as impacts to city infrastructure. While the Authority responded to the City’s comment, staff recommends the City Council reiterate concerns that this segment should be reconfigured to travel below grade or be constructed to better mitigate these impacts.
• Transportation Construction Impacts
The City Council’s previous comment letter raised concerns with how the DEIR/DEIS lacked adequate mitigations for construction impacts including impacts on several concurrent long-term detours and damage to city roadways during the 10-year construction tim eline. The FEIR/FEIS clarified how these construction impacts will be mitigated, but did not adequately respond to several City concerns.
The proposed FEIR/FEIS comment letter further expands on the City’s concerns. • Land Use and Impacts on TOD Opportunities
The proposed FEIR/FEIS comment letter reiterates the City’s concern that the way in which the project is constructed mostly as a surface alignment will further divide 4 established communities, eliminate Transit -oriented Dev elopment opportunities near Downtown Burbank, and misses opportunities to reconstruct nearby conventional rail infrastructure in combination with high speed rail infrastructures that would lessen impacts to adjacent land uses.
• Noise and Vibration
The City Council’s previous comment letter identified that the DEIR/DEIS was inadequate in identifying and mitigating noise and vibration impacts to sensitive land uses adjacent to the project, particularly within residential neighborhoods between Hollywood Way / Empire Avenue and Victory Place. The FEIR/FEIS does not address the breadth of the City’s concerns, and the proposed FEIR/FEIS comment letter includes additional comments and concerns regarding noise and vibration impacts.
• Certain City Transportation Facilities to be Impacted and/or Relinquished The proposed comment letter includes further comments expressing concern over the Authority’s inadequate plan to address city street infrastructure impacted by construction, and asks for clarification regarding how city streets that are needed for the project (either temporarily or permanently) will be acquired. • Inconsistency in how Tree Canopy Impacts are Mitigated The proposed comment letter asks for clarification on inconsistencies with how the Authority proposes to address impacts to the City’s street tree canopy.
Staff recommends the City Council review the proposed comment letter and provide any further staff direction for what to include in the City’s comments. These comments will be transmitted to the Authority prior to the Board considering whether to certify the FEIR/FEIS and approve the project. I ncluding comments in the public record as part of the environmental process preserves the City’s legal rights should the project be approved without ensuring that the City’s interests and infrastructure are protected.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact to the City should the City Council wish to submit comments as part of the FEIR/FEIS. Providing comments will help ensure that the high speed rail project’s impacts are fully disclosed and that mitigation measures to these impacts is fully explored.
CONCLUSION
The California High Speed Rail Authority has released a FEIR/FEIS for the Burbank to Los Angeles project segment which lies within the City of Burbank. The FEIR/FEIS documents the Authority’s response to the City’s comments raised as part of the DEIR/DEIS. In some cases, the Authority has addressed the City’s concerns, while in other areas, staff recommends the City Council send follow-up comments. Staff requests that the City Council review the proposed comment letter and provide any additional 5 comments to be included, and then direct staff to submit the comments prior to the Authority Board’s January 19, 2022 meeting where the Board may make a decision to approve the project.
ATTACHMENT
Attachment 1 – Draft FEIR/FEIS Comment Letter
Attachment 2 – Overall Project Alignment and Phasing
Attachment 3 – Project Alignment for Burbank to Los Angeles Segment Attachment 4 – Previous Sent Letters/City Council Staff Reports