From: jordan@jrsissonlaw. com < jordan@jrsissonlaw. com> Sent: Tuesday, March 22, 2022 1: 47 PM
To: Genevieve Hernandez < ghernandez@chulavistaca. gov>; CityClerk < CityClerk@chulavistaca. gov> Cc: ' Sal Abrica' < sabrica@teamsters542. org>
Subject: ITEM 7.1: HERITAGE INDUSTRIAL CENTER APPEAL
Dear Honorable City Councilmembers:
Onbehalf of SalvadorAbrica and TeamstersLocal 542 (Appellants), this office submits the attached comments for the abovereferenced item involving the its appealof the three industrial shell buildings totaling 201,200 square feet of warehouse/ office/ e-commerceuse.
In short, The Teamster’s appeal centers on the City’s failure to conduct additional CEQAreview for the Project. Appellants respectfully urge the City to either ( a) grant the appeal and denygranting the requestedentitlements, or (b) any granting of the entitlement shouldbesubjectto the following (1) operating conditions concerning traffic and (2) expert-recommendedenvironmental mitigation measures:
1. Expert- Recommended Environmental Conditions:
The 11.6-acre Siteshallnot exceed1,044 averagedailytrips takingappropriate considerationof passenger-car equivalentrates for larger trucks, trailers, andother larger-multi-axle vehiclesaccessingthe Site.
The Siteoperator shallmonitor dailytrip rates in real-time via automatedtrip counts andvideo monitoring that will be provided to the City on a monthly or quarterly basis.
The site operator shallkeepdailyrecords for a period of no lessthan one year.
Violationsof the aboveconditions shallbe subjectto all remedialactionsavailableto the City, includingbut not limited to revocation of its Entitlements.
2. Expert- Recommended Environmental Conditions:
Warning:
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Thank you for your consideration of thesecomments.
Very truly yours,
JORDANR. SISSON
Law Office of Jordan R. Sisson
P.O. Box 569
Riverside, CA92502
Direct: 951-542-2735
jordan@jrsissonlaw. com
PRIVILEGEDANDCONFIDENTIAL: This electronic messagecontains information from the Law Officeof JordanR. Sissonand is attorney work product confidential or privileged. The information is intended solely for the useof the individual( s)or entity( ies) named above. If you have received this transmission in error, pleasedestroy the original transmission and its attachments without reading or saving in any manner.
LAW OFFICEOF JORDANR. SISSON
P.O. Box 569, Riverside, CA 92502
JordanR. Sisson, Esq. Direct Dial: 951-542-2735 Email: [email protected] March 22, 2022
VIA EMAIL:
City Council
c/o City Clerk ([email protected])
c/o GenevieveHernandez ([email protected])
City of ChulaVista
276 Fourth Avenue
ChulaVista, California 91910
RE: ITEM7.1: HERITAGEINDUSTRIALCENTER; APPEALCOMMENTSTO CITY COUNCIL Dear Honorable City Councilmembers:
On behalfof SalvadorAbrica andTeamstersLocal542 (collectively “Teamsters” or Appellant”), this office submitsthe following commentsto the City of ChulaVista (“City”) regarding the above-referenceditem regardingthe developmentof three industrial shellbuildingstotaling 201,200 squarefeet (“SF”) of warehouse/office/e-commerceuse (“Project”) on an11.6-acre property located near the intersection of Heritage RoadandSantaMaya (“Site”) proposed by RockefellerGroup Applicant”). In furtheranceof the Project, ApplicantsoughtandPlanningCommissiongranteda DesignReviewPermit andVariancePermit (collectively “Entitlements”). In doingso, the Commission determined that, for the purposeof the California EnvironmentalQuality Act (“CEQA”), 1 the Project wasadequatelyanalyzedunder a previouslycertified EnvironmentalImpactReport (“EIR”).2 In short, The Teamster’s appealcenters on the City’s failure to conduct additionalCEQA review for the Project. AppellantsrespectfullyurgetheCityto either (a) granttheappealanddenygranting theEntitlements, or if soincline (b) grantthe Entitlementsubjectto the environmentalmitigationmeasures highlightedbelow (pages3 and4) andtheproposedoperatingconditionsconcerningtraffic (page5).
Generally, CEQA requires additionalCEQA documentationto a previouslypreparedEIRwhen there is either: (1) substantialchangesto a project or ( 2) circumstancesinvolvingthe project that result in new or more severesignificantimpacts; or ( 3) substantialnew information showing either new or more severesignificanteffects not previously disclosed, or new feasiblemitigation measuresor alternativesthat would substantiallyreduce significantimpacts. (Seee.g., CEQA Guidelines §§ 15162(a) subsequentEIRs], 15163(a) [supplementalEIRs], 15164(a) [EIRaddendums].) Here, there are at least three reasonsto find the need for additional CEQA review. First, the potential useof the Site asa last-mile delivery, e-commerce facility is not speculativegiventhe specific facts about the project size, Applicant, existing relationshipswith tenants, and the proposed 24 hours per day sevendaysa week operation.3 This type of useis a modern invention largelycreated by Amazon after the EIRwasprepared. To claimsucha usewasanalyzedbefore its creation stretchescredulity. 1 Inclusiveof 14 Cal. Code Regs. § 15000 et seq. (“CEQA Guidelines”). 2 Inclusiveof final and draft EIRprovided by the City in four parts totaling 1960 pagesin the combined PDF documentavailableat https://www.dropbox.com/s/jb3z1e4q3nw94vg/Combined%20EIR.pdf?dl=0. 3 SeeProject Plans (https://pub-chulavista.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=18979) andNoise Study, PDFp. 4 (https://pub-chulavista.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=18980 ).
OtayRanchProjectAppealComments
March22, 2022
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Second, the Project is a significantlydifferent project that wasassumedfor the areain 2014.
Nowhere doesthe EIRmention warehousesor e-commercefacilitiesor includea vehiclemilestraveled VMT”) analysisfor industrialusesunder the plan. At most, the EIRmentions roughly 28.6 acresof industrialusesin the planarea (i.e., VillageThree North/ Portion of VillageFour), built out over 15 years aswith other uses, with light industrialusesgenerating90 trips per acre. (SeeEIR, PDFpp. 490, 624, 711, 952, [EIRpp. 1-4, 4-10, 4-97, 5.3-34].) At that rate, the EIRassumedthis 11.6-acre Sitewould generate1,044 averagedailytrips— roughly 5.18 trips per thousandsquarefeet (“KSF”) for this 201.2 KSFProject. Here, however, the Project is estimatedto generate1,669 total dailytrips or 8.29 trips per KSF. (SeeNoise Study, p. 26 [fn. 7].) This is a 60 percent increasein dailytrips that havenever been analyzedanda changein the assumedproject for this area. This will result in more noise, traffic, air quality, andother impactstied to traffic. Clearly, 60 percent more traffic will havea significantlylarger VMT profile for this area,4 which hasnever beenassessedunder the EIRor now.
Third, asdiscussedat great length in the LozeauDrury letter dated February9, 2022, there has beena significantchangein circumstanceandnew information regardingsignificantbiological, air quality, andgreenhousegas (“GHG”) impacts. (Drury Letter, pp. 5-10.5) Attached to the Dury letter were expert commentsby wildlife biology expert ShawnSmallwood, Ph.D., andair quality experts Matt Hagemann, P.G., C.Hg., andPaulE. Rosenfeld, Ph.D., of the Soil/Water/ Air Protection Enterprise (“SWAPE”), which determined that anEIRor MND wasrequired for this Project. For example, SWAPEfound construction-related ROG emissionsexceedandGHG emissionsexceedapplicablethresholds, aswell asadditionalmitigation measuresavailableto reduce air/GHG emissions. (SeeDrury Letter, PDFpp. 35, 41- 44; seealsoexcerpt below [highlightsadded].) Nor is there anydiscussionof the Projects incorporation of renewableenergyfeaturesmeetingapplicablegoalsunder the CEQA Guidelines.6 4 SeeDrury Letter, PDFp. 65 (experts estimate 2.6 million VMTs for the Project), http://cvapps.chulavistaca.gov/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=242309&dbid=0&repo=CityClerk . 5 http://cvapps.chulavistaca.gov/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=242309&dbid=0&repo=CityClerk . 6 Seee.g., Leagueto SaveLakeTahoeMountainetc. v. Countyof Placer (2022) 75 Cal.App.5th 63, 166 (critical of energyconsumptionanalysislackingdiscussionof CEQA GuidelinesAppendix F goalsof (1) decreasingoverall per capitaenergyconsumption, (2) decreasingrelianceon fossilfuelssuchascoal, natural gasandoil, and (3) increasing reliance on renewable energy sources.)
OtayRanchProjectAppealComments
March22, 2022
Page3 of 5
OtayRanchProjectAppealComments
March22, 2022
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OtayRanchProjectAppealComments
March22, 2022
Page5 of 5
In sum, the Project asproposed goesbeyondwhat wasanalyzedin the 2014 EIR. Teamster’s respectfullyrequest that the City grantsthe appealandwithhold the Entitlementsuntil the Applicanthas conducteda CEQA-compliantreview (e.g., subsequent, supplemental, addendumEIRor project-specific mitigatednegativedeclaration) that analyzesandmitigatesfor the additionaltraffic, VMTs, air/GHG emissionsassociatedwith the potential useof the Siteasa last-mile delivery station andconsiderationof feasiblemitigationmeasures, especiallythosehighlightedaboveonpage3 and4. Absent additionalCEQA documentation, the City must properly condition the Project to staywithin the confinesof what was analyzedandanticipatedin the EIR. To this end, the City shouldconsiderthe followingoperatingconditions to be placedon the Entitlements:
The 11.6-acre Siteshallnot exceed1,044 averagedailytrips takingappropriate considerationof passenger-car equivalentrates for larger trucks, trailers, andother larger-multi-axle vehiclesaccessingthe Site.
The Siteoperator shallmonitor dailytrip rates in real-time via automatedtrip counts andvideo monitoring that will be provided to the City on a monthly or quarterly basis.
The site operator shallkeep dailyrecords for a period of no lessthan one year.
Violationsof the aboveconditions shallbe subjectto all remedialactionsavailableto the City, includingbut not limited to revocation of its Entitlements.
Appellantsrespectfullyurge the City to either (a) granttheappealanddenygrantingthe Entitlements, or if soincline (b) granttheEntitlementsubjectto theaboveoperationalconditionsand mitigationshighlightedonpages3 and4.
Thankyou for your consideration. Pleaseplacethis letter in the administrativerecord for the Projet.
Sincerely,
LAW OFFICEOF JORDAN R. SISSON
JordanR. Sisson
Attorney for Teamsters