SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA
OF THE CITY OF DEL REY OAKS CITY COUNCIL
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2023 AT 6:00 PM
Notice is hereby given that the City Council of the City of Del Rey Oaks has called and will convene a special meeting of the City Council at the time and location stated on this agenda. The public may view the meeting online or may participate in-person in the Council Chamber.
View Via Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83774161698
1. ROLL CALL - Council
2. PUBLIC COMMENTS: General Public Comment must deal with matters subject to the jurisdiction of the City and the Council that are not on the Agenda. Anyone wishing to address the City Council on matters not appearing on the Agenda may do so now. The public may comment on any other matter listed on the Agenda at the time the matter is being considered. There will be a time limit of not more than three minutes for each speaker. No action will be taken on matters brought up under this item and all comments will be referred to staff.
3. NEW BUSINESS:
A. The City Council will consider approval of the 2023 5th Cycle Housing Element Update, to amend the General Plan, and to amend the Del Rey Oaks Municipal Code to add an affordable housing overlay zone to defined areas within former Fort Ord within the City in order to meet the City’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation requirements under the 5th Cycle Housing Element Update. The City Council will certify the Environmental Impact Report prepared for this action under the California Environmental Quality
Act.
4. NEXT MEETING DATE: Tuesday October 24, 2023 6:00pm
5. ADJOURNMENT
Information distributed to the Council at the meeting becomes part of the public record. A copy of written material, pictures, etc. must be provided to the secretary for- this purpose.
All enclosures and materials regarding these agenda items are available for public review at the Del Rey Oaks City Hall, 650 Canyon Del Rey Road, Del Rey Oaks. 1 City Council Staff Report Page 1
DATE: October 18, 2023
TO: City Council
FROM: Denise Duffy, DD&A, Housing Element Planning Consultant SUBJECT: 5th Cycle Housing Element Update and Waive First Reading and Introduce an Ordinance to Amend Del Rey Oaks Municipal Code Chapter 17.90 Pertaining to Affordable Housing Overlay Zone
Items under Consideration
Housing Element Update/General Plan Amendment/EIR: Consider approval of a Resolution to approve the 2023 5th Cycle Housing Element Update and amend the General Plan as required to meet the City’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation requirements under the 5th Cycle Housing Element Update. The General Plan amendment would amend the General Plan Land Use Element to add an affordable housing overlay designation. The resolution also includes approval of the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP) and certification of the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) prepared for this action under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
First Reading, Zoning Ordinance: Consider the following actions: 1) Waive First Reading and introduce an ordinance to amend Del Rey Oaks Municipal Code Chapter 17.90 Pertaining to Affordable Housing Overlay Zone; and 2). Direct that publication of the ordinance will be satisfied by publication of a summary approved by the City Attorney.
Approval of this action would amend the Del Rey Oaks Municipal Code to add an affordable housing overlay zone to defined areas within former Fort Ord, as required to meet the City’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation requirements under the 5th Cycle Housing Element Update.
Planning Commission Action
The Planning Commission held a public hearing on October 11, 2023. The Commission took testimony on the items above, and also considered public testimony on the Final EIR. Planning Commission considered all information related to the project, including public testimony received in writing and presented orally.
The Planning Commission voted to recommend approval to the Council of the 2023 5th Cycle Housing Element Update, General Plan and Zoning Amendments that would add a new Affordable Housing Overlay designation and establish land use and development standards to guide the future development of the overlay zone designated sites. The Commission also recommended certification of the EIR.
2 Item A.
City Council Staff Report Page 2
Staff Report
The following staff report was also provided to the Planning Commission and provides background on the proposed actions before the Council.
Background
In accordance with applicable State housing law, local government agencies are legally required to adopt plans and programs for housing that provide opportunities for and do not unduly constrain housing development. The Housing Element, which is one of seven State-mandated components of the City’s General Plan, is therefore a mechanism by which the State requires local jurisdictions to provide a variety of housing options and strive toward reaching regional housing needs while maintaining civic and local responsibility toward economic, environmental, and fiscal factors and community goals stated within adopted General Plan documents. Housing Elements are required to be updated every eight years and are required to be certified by the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) prior to finalization, in order for HCD to ensure that cities are taking necessary steps to promote the creation of housing for all income categories and of all housing types.
The 5th Cycle Housing Element Update (HEU) draft was finalized and sent to HCD for a 60-day review on April 24, 2023, to June 23, 2023. DD&A conferred with HCD during this review. HCD final review indicates the emergency shelter ordinance was approved by HCD as adopted with no required changes. HCD staff also reviewed the HEU document and indicated the City can adopt the HEU; no changes are requested. (They noted that the City should adopt the HEU that HCD reviewed without changes, as this will expedite their final compliance review). HCD also noted the City will need to complete rezoning of Sites 1 and 1a for final HCD certification for compliance.
Del Rey Oaks’ Housing Assignment
This public hearing marks the start of the final phase in a long and complex process prescribed by State law and involves three levels of government -state, regional and local. The role of the State is to determine the number of homes that each region must accommodate to meet the housing needs for people of all income levels in California. The Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (AMBAG) as the regional agency allocates a share of the region’s housing assignment to each of its cities and counties through the “Regional Housing Needs Allocation” (RHNA) process. The role of local governments is to update their Housing Elements to demonstrate how their RHNA assignment would be accommodated.
One key task of this process is to identify where - which specific parcels of land - have the realistic potential to accommodate those assigned units. The areas must be adequately zoned to provide for residential uses. In addition, the City must also demonstrate how these units are accommodated across a range of affordability levels. State law dictates that units within the “very low” and “low” income categories must be accommodated on lands with a land use designation of 20 units/acre (or greater). The Del Rey Oaks 5th Cycle also includes a 4th Cycle carry-over of housing units, since the City had not previously approved a housing element during previous cycles. The housing unit allocation by income category is often referred to as the “RHNA assignment” is shown below.
3 Item A.
City Council Staff Report Page 3
Housing Element Requirements of State Law
As required by State law, Del Rey Oaks completed its 5th Cycle Draft Housing Element of the General Plan for the 2015-2023 eight-year planning cycle, which includes these required components:
• Existing Needs and Projected Needs Analysis,
• Sites Inventory and Analysis,
• Analysis of Constraints,
• Housing Programs, and
• Quantified Objectives.
Sites Inventory Background
The Sites Inventory must demonstrate in its Housing Element the ability to meet its RHNA allocation, through the provision of sites suitable for residential development. To meet the assigned housing needs, the Housing Element identified sites that may be suitable for residential development, including vacant and non- vacant sites throughout the City. Based on comprehensive analysis, Sites 1 and 1a were selected as appropriate sites to meet the City’s RHNA allocation. Furthermore, HCD’s specific requirements (as noted in their March 2020 letter) advised the City that the December 2019 Housing Element must be amended to commit the City to amend the General Plan and the Zoning Code to allow housing on Sites 1 and 1a and provide for year-round emergency shelters under Government Code section 65583, subdivision (a)(4)(A). The letter noted these items must be completed in order to achieve compliance for the Housing Element from HCD.
The City amended their zoning ordinance to adopt an emergency shelter ordinance in March, 2023.
Specific to HCD’s comments on rezoning, the 2023 5th Cycle Housing Element Update revised Program A.1 to commit the City to rezone Sites 1 and 1a in former Fort Ord in order to achieve required 5th Cycle compliance. On March 28, 2023, the City Council confirmed the final changes to Program A.1 and reaffirmed the Sites Inventory analysis to focus on Sites 1 and 1a for rezoning. Per this direction, the City revised and updated the 5th Cycle Housing Element and provided the 5th Cycle Housing Element Update Table 1
Regional Housing Need Allocation
Income Category 5th Cycle Allocation 4th Cycle Allocation* Total Very low- (31-50% of area of median
income) 7 34 41
Low-income (51-80% of area median
income) 4 25 29
Moderate-income (81-120% of area
median income) 5 5
Above moderate (over 120% of area
median income) 11 11
Total 27 59 86
Source: HCD, n.d.
*4th Planning Cycle carry over requirements
4 Item A.
City Council Staff Report Page 4
to HCD in April, 2023 for their required review.
HCD Compliance Zoning Amendment Background
In June 2023, after a 60-day review period of the 5th Cycle Draft Housing Element Update, HCD provided comments on the 5th Cycle Housing Element Update. HCD reaffirmed their requirement that the City must rezone Sites 1 and 1a to allow for residential uses to accommodate future housing and to meet RHNA.
This action needs to be completed by the City prior to HCD certification for compliance.
For RHNA purposes, the State requires sites zoned at a density of at least 20 dwelling units per acre (du/ac) to qualify as affordable to low and very low-income households. Therefore, Sites 1 and 1a are proposed to incorporate an affordable housing overlay zoning designation to allow for housing development at a density minimum of 20 du/ac to maximum 25du/ac1
. This is a new density range and thusrequires general
plan land use and zoning text amendments. These are discussed below and presented in the attachments to this staff report.
General Plan and Zoning Amendments
General Plan: To provide for residential uses at densities to accommodate the Del Rey Oaks’ RHNA assignment, the General Plan Land Use Element must be amended to add an affordable housing land use designation. In parallel, the City’s General Plan and Land Use Map would be amended to add an Affordable Housing Overlay Designation to accommodate the proposed affordable residential sites within Sites 1 and 1a.
Zoning: The zoning designations and zoning map would also be amended to add an Affordable Housing Overlay Zone. Lastly, the City would approve an ordinance to amend the Zoning Code and address development standards for the Affordable Housing Overlay zoning ordinance2 .
The Zoning Text Amendment provides for a new zoning designation and ordinance (Chapter 17.90) to establish housing densities and site-specific land use and development standards. Chapter 17. 90 adds Affordable Housing Overlay Zone. The draft ordinance Section 17.90.010 states: The purpose and intent of the Affordable Housing Overlay Zone is to facilitate housing opportunities within the community via implementation of required rezone programs pursuant to the City’s adopted Housing Element where required for compliance with State Housing Element Law. The draft ordinance provides requirements for overlay zones applicable to residential uses and affordable housing for residential areas. The ordinance also establishes standards and regulations and defines the specific areas for the affordable housing overlay zone to accommodate the City’s RHNA.
1 Per HCD, the City must require a minimum density of 20 du/ac. Additionally, to encourage and facilitate for a variety of housing types and not constrain multifamily development, the City’s rezone strategy must provide for a range of densities. The attached shows the range of 20 to 25 du/ac. This is consistent with the September 19, 2023 workshop and presentation.
2 Actions have been clarified to note that the City Council would Waive First Reading and introduce an ordinance to amend Del Rey Oaks Municipal Code Chapter 17.90 Pertaining to Affordable Housing Overlay Zone; and 2). Direct that publication of the ordinance will be satisfied by publication of a summary approved by the City Attorney.” 5 Item A.
City Council Staff Report Page 5
“Overlay zone” means an additional zoning district as shown on the zoning map that prescribes special regulations to a parcel in combination with the base zoning district. The Affordable Housing Overlay Zone (AH-OZ) is only applicable to a specific area. The overlay zone is applied to the parcels in the area of South Boundary Road, north and south of South Boundary Road and east of General Jim Moore Boulevard, specifically to the City owned properties identified as Sites 1 and 1a of the former Fort Ord area.
Public Participation
The City conducted public workshops and hearings to discuss existing programs and available sites for affordable housing for the City’s 5th Cycle Housing Element Update on June 9, 2021, March 30, 2022, March 16, 2023, and March 28, 2023. In addition to the previous workshops and public participation, the City conducted a Planning Commission and City Council workshop on September 19, 2023 to discuss the overlay zoning ordinance and general plan amendments. The 2023 5th Cycle Housing Element Update has been on the City’s website since April 2023. In addition to the meetings above, regular updates were provided to the City Council and Planning Commission on the ongoing progress of the work to complete the Housing Element Updates in 2023.
Environmental Documentation
The City of Del Rey Oaks (the City), as Lead Agency, prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Report (Draft EIR) under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Public Resources Code §21000 et seq. The Draft EIR was prepared to provide the public and responsible and trustee agencies with information on the potential environmental effects of implementation of the City of Del Rey Oaks’ 2023 5th Cycle Draft Housing Element Update (Proposed Project). The Draft EIR was circulated for a 45-day public review period, between August 14, 2023 and September 27, 2023. The Draft EIR recommended mitigation measures which would reduce potential environmental impacts to a less than significant level. A Final EIR has been prepared and is available for review on the City’s website. The Final EIR contains a list of the comments submitted on the Draft EIR, copies of the comment letters received on the Draft EIR during the public review period, responses to the environmental points raised in those comments, and revisions to the Draft EIR made as a result of the public review process.
City of Del Rey Oaks 5th Cycle Housing Element Documents The following are links are provided to key workshops, meetings and public for the City’s 5th Cycle Housing Element Update and EIR:
5th Cycle: April 2023 5th Cycle Housing Element Update and Appendices https://www.delreyoaks.org/sites/default/files/fileattachments/city_clerk/page/2692/dro_5th_ cycle_housing_element_update_2023.pdf
https://www.delreyoaks.org/sites/default/files/fileattachments/city_clerk/page/2692/dro_5th_ cycle_housing_element_appendices_2023_1.pdf
Draft and Final EIR: October 2023 Draft and Final Housing Element Update EIR 6 Item A.
City Council Staff Report Page 6
https://www.delreyoaks.org/sites/default/files/fileattachments/community_development_and _planning/page/2692/draft_eir_city_of_dro_housing_element_updateaug14_2023.pdf https://www.delreyoaks.org/sites/default/files/fileattachments/planning_commission/meeting/ packets/6058/dro_he_update_feir_10-6-2023.pdf
___________________________________________________________________________________ Planning Commission Recommendation
The Planning Commission held a public hearing on October 11, 2023. The Commission took testimony on the Housing Element Update, General Plan and Zoning Amendments, and also considered public testimony on the Final EIR. Planning Commission considered all information related to the project, including public testimony received in writing and presented orally.
The Planning Commission voted to recommend approval to the Council of the 5th Cycle Housing Element Update, General Plan and Zoning Amendments that would amend the City’s Municipal Code (Chapter 17), Zoning, to add a new Affordable Housing Overlay zoning district and establish land use and development standards to guide the future development of the overlay zone designated sites. The Commission also recommended certification of the EIR.
Zoning Ordinance
The Commission reviewed the Draft Zoning Ordinance and had a minor change to the table on the attached Draft Ordinance, to clarify the dwelling units per acre. Staff added a maximum of units per acre, per HCD requirements. These two changes are shown below and are reflected on the attached Draft Zoning Ordinance: Density, H. Design Review item 2 (table):
Under subject of Dwelling Units per Acre Subject line, text is added to identify both minimum and maximum standard of 20 - 25 units per acre per HCD requirements.
Lot Area Minimum, under column Standard: 2 acres (43,560 square feet added “per acre”) to clarify per a comment by Planning Commission.)
No other changes were identified by the Commission at the meeting. 7 Item A.
City Council Staff Report Page 7
City Council Consideration
Attachments to this City Council staff report include a City Council resolution of approval for the approval of the 5th Cycle Housing Element Update and related General Plan amendments. The Resolution also now adds the Final EIR Executive Summary with Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program as shown below.
Attachment A - City Council Resolution
a. Exhibit A: Amendments to the General Plan
b. Exhibit B: Final EIR Executive Summary
c. Exhibit C: Final EIR Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program Attachment B- Draft Affordable Housing Overlay Zoning Ordinance Recommendation
Consider staff recommendation to approve the attached Resolution for the 2023 5th Cycle Housing Element Update, including approval of the General Plan amendments to defined areas within former Fort Ord within the City in order to meet the City’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation requirements under the 5th Cycle. The resolution would also approve the MMRP and certify the Final EIR, with the findings.
Consider action to Waive First Reading and introduce an ordinance to amend Del Rey Oaks Municipal Code Chapter 17.90 Pertaining to Affordable Housing Overlay Zone; and 2). Direct that publication of the ordinance will be satisfied by publication of a summary approved by the City Attorney.
Process:
1. Open public hearing and take public comments.
2. Close public hearing.
3. Discussion and action.
Recommended Language of Motion for Approval:
Move to approve Resolution adopting City’s 2015-2023 General Plan 5th Cycle Housing Element Update, approving the General Plan Amendments, and certifying the 5th Cycle 2015-2023 Housing Element Update EIR, with approval of MMRP.
And to:
1) Waive First Reading and introduce an ordinance to amend Del Rey Oaks Municipal Code Chapter 17.90 Pertaining to Affordable Housing Overlay Zone; and
2). Direct that publication of the ordinance will be satisfied by publication of a summary approved by the City Attorney.
ATTACHMENTS
A. City Council Resolution
8 Item A.
City Council Staff Report Page 8
Exhibit A: Amendments to the General Plan
Exhibit B: Final EIR Executive Summary
Exhibit C: Final EIR Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program B. Draft Affordable Housing Overlay Zoning Ordinance with Exhibit of Zoning Map Additional Attachments:
The October 2023 Final EIR is also attached.
9 Item A.
ATTACHMENT A
City Council Resolution
10 Item A.
Resolution City Council Page | 1
CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION NO. 2023-______
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DEL REY OAKS ADOPTING THE CITY’S 2023 GENERAL PLAN 5TH CYCLE HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE AND GENERAL PLAN LAND USE
PLAN AMENDMENT AND APPROVING CERTIFICATION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FOR THE 2023 HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE PURSUANT TO THE CALIFORNIA
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT
WHEREAS, the California Legislature has determined that the availability of housing is a matter of statewide importance and that cooperation between government and the private sector is critical to attainment of the State's housing goals; and WHEREAS, California Government Code Section 65588(b) requires the City of Del Rey Oaks to periodically prepare an update to the Housing Element of its General Plan; and WHEREAS, as provided in Government Code Section 65350 et. seq., and Public Resources Code this Housing Element Update constitutes a General Plan Amendment (Project); and WHEREAS, the City of Del Rey Oaks prepared the Draft 2023 5th Cycle Housing Element Update in accordance with California Housing Element Law (Government Code section 65580 et seq.); and
WHEREAS, California Government Code Section 65583 requires that the Housing Element Update contain: (i) an assessment of the City’s housing needs and an analysis of the resources and constraints, both governmental and non-governmental, relevant to the meeting of these needs; (ii) an inventory of land suitable and available for residential development and an analysis of the development potential of such sites; (iii) a statement of the community's goals, quantified objectives, and policies relative to the maintenance, preservation, improvement, and development of housing; and (iv) programs that set forth a schedule of actions the local government is undertaking or intends to undertake to implement the policies and achieve the goals and objectives of the Housing Element Update; and WHEREAS, the City’s share of the regional housing need was established in the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) prepared and adopted by the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (AMBAG) for 5th Cycle. The allocation establishes the number of new units needed, by income category, to accommodate expected population growth over the planning period of the Housing Element; and
WHEREAS, Housing Element Law requires the Housing Element to identify adequate sites to accommodate the City's Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) for all income categories, and the Housing Element Update identifies sites that can accommodate housing exceeding the City's RHNA; and
11 Item A.
Resolution City Council Page | 2
WHEREAS, in compliance with State Housing Element Law, the City identified sites that can accommodate housing units meeting the City’s RHNA; and WHEREAS, as provided in Government Code Section 65350 et. seq., adoption of the Housing Element constitutes a General Plan Amendment; and WHEREAS, proposed General Plan Amendment amends the text of the City’s General Plan to add a new General Plan Land Use Designation termed Affordable Housing Overlay Designation; and
WHEREAS, in accordance with Government Code Section 65585(b), on December 17, 2019, the City Council adopted the 5th Cycle Housing Element Update and submitted the 2019 Update to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) in January 2020; and
WHEREAS, the City received a letter from HCD dated March 20, 2020, which found that the City’s draft Housing Element required revisions and actions to comply with Housing Element Law. HCD’s comments on the 2019 5th Cycle Housing Element required the City adopt an emergency shelter ordinance and revise Program A.1 to commit to rezone Sites 1 and 1a, as shown on Exhibit A, attached hereto; and
WHEREAS, on March 28, 2023, the City Council confirmed the final changes to Program A.1 and directed that the 2023 Housing Element Update site inventory analysis focus on Sites 1 and 1a to meet RHNA, consistent with HCD requirements; and WHEREAS, the City incorporated each of HCD's specific requirements identified in the March 20, 2020 letter into the City’s 2023 5th Cycle Housing Element Update; and WHEREAS, on April 21, 2023, the City submitted the 2023 5th Cycle Housing Element Update to HCD, Division of Housing Policy and Development, for the required 60-day review period, with a cover letter specifying how the City revised the document as required per the HCD Letter of March 2020. The City also posted the 2023 5th Cycle Housing Element Update on the City’s website; and
WHEREAS, upon completion of HCD’s review of the 2023 5th Cycle Housing Element Update, HCD informed the City that no changes were needed to the document, and directed the City to adopt the Housing Element and complete the required rezoning to rezone Sites 1 and 1a in former Fort Ord to achieve 5th Cycle compliance; and WHEREAS, the City conducted substantial and broad public engagement including outreach, on-line meetings, live presentations, and public workshops, as documented in the 2023 5th Cycle Housing Element Update submitted to HCD and City’s website; and 12 Item A.
Resolution City Council Page | 3
WHEREAS, as provided in Government Code sections 65352 – 65352.5, the City mailed a public notice to all California Native American tribes provided by the Native American Heritage Commission and to other entities listed, and no California Native American tribe requested consultation; and
WHEREAS, in accordance with CEQA Guidelines Section 15082, the City circulated a Notice of Preparation (NOP) of a Draft EIR for the proposed project on April 25, 2023, to trustee and responsible agencies, the State Clearinghouse, and the public for the required 30-day public review period; and
WHEREAS, the City, as Lead Agency, prepared a Draft EIR in accordance with CEQA Guidelines and Public Resources Code §21000 et seq., to provide the public and responsible and trustee agencies with information on the potential environmental effects of implementation of the 2023 Draft Housing Element Update. The Draft EIR addressed the environmental consequences of the proposed project, including revisions to specific adopted programs in the 2019 document related to general plan amendment and rezoning of former Fort Ord, and an analysis of cumulative impacts and alternatives; and
WHEREAS, the Draft EIR was prepared and circulated for a 45-day public review period, between August 14, 2023 and September 27, 2023, and pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sec. 15087(a), the City mailed copies of the Notice of Availability (NOA) to all parties who previously requested such notice in writing, posted the NOA of the Draft EIR at the office of the Monterey County Clerk and submitted the Draft EIR for review by State agencies through the State Clearinghouse; and
WHEREAS, the City received six (6) comments letters at the close of the public review period. A Final EIR was completed and made available to public agencies and members of the public on October 6, 2023. The Final EIR contains all comments received during the public comment period on the Draft EIR, together with written responses to significant environmental issues raised in those comments, which were prepared in accordance with CEQA and the CEQA Guidelines; and
WHEREAS, the Planning Commission held a duly noticed public hearing on October 11, 2023, as prescribed by law; and
WHEREAS, notification regarding the Planning Commission public hearing was published in a newspaper of general circulation, posted on the City website and public kiosks, and emailed to the City’s email list; and
WHEREAS, a staff report was submitted recommending the Planning Commission recommend the City Council approve the 2023 5th Cycle Housing Element Update and amendments; and
13 Item A.
Resolution City Council Page | 4
WHEREAS, the Planning Commission considered all information related to the project, including public testimony received in writing and presented orally; and WHEREAS, the Planning Commission hearing considered the 2023 5th Cycle Housing Element Update, General Plan and Zoning Amendments that would amend the City’s Municipal Code (Chapter 17), Zoning, to add a new Affordable Housing Overlay zoning district and establish land use and development standards to guide the future development of the overlay zone designated sites, and also considered public testimony on the Final EIR; and WHEREAS, on October 11, 2023, the Planning Commission, in its independent judgment and after fully considering all alternatives, recommended approval of the 2023 5th Cycle Housing Element Update and related General Plan Amendments, Zoning Overlay, and Zoning Text Amendments, and certification of the EIR for the 2023 Draft Housing Element Update; and WHEREAS, the 2023 5th Cycle Housing Element Update replaces the City’s December 2019 Housing Element of the General Plan previously adopted by the City Council on December 17, 2019; and
WHEREAS, the proposed update to the Housing Element is not a General Plan update that is comprehensive in nature in that it is not titled as such and does not, except where specifically directed, substantially change or re-adopt the text and maps of the existing elements of the General Plan; and
WHEREAS, the City Council held a duly noticed public hearing on October 18, 2023, as prescribed by law; and
WHEREAS, notification regarding the City Council public hearing was published in a newspaper of general circulation, posted on the City website and public kiosks, and emailed to the City’s email list; and
WHEREAS, a staff report was submitted recommending the City Council rescind their December 2019 approval of the 5th Cycle Housing Element and approve the 2023 5th Cycle Housing Element Update, and related amendments; and
WHEREAS, the City Council considered all information related to the project, including public testimony received in writing and presented orally; and WHEREAS, based on the totality of the record and evidence described and referenced in this Resolution, the City Council finds that the proposed 2023 5th Cycle Housing Element Update is consistent with the requirement of State Housing Element Law and the associated General Plan Amendments are consistent with the purposes of the General Plan and will provide adequate sites with corresponding density to meet the City’s RHNA allocation; and 14 Item A.
Resolution City Council Page | 5
WHEREAS, adopting State mandated and locally desired programs is necessary to implement the Housing Element effectively; and
WHEREAS, the City as the lead agency for the project, prepared an EIR for the project pursuant to and in accordance with the CEQA Guidelines for Implementation of CEQA (Title 14, Cal. Code of Regs., Section 15000 et seq., “the CEQA Guidelines”). CEQA requires that, in connection with the approval of a project for which an EIR has been prepared, the decisionmaking agency make certain findings regarding those effects; and WHEREAS, the EIR evaluates the proposed project actions, which involve implementing the 2023 5th Cycle Housing Element Update, including amending land use designations in the General Plan and adding a zoning designation that would allow residential uses to meet affordable housing requirements of RHNA and State Law; and WHEREAS, the EIR is a program EIR, as authorized by CEQA Guidelines Section 15168, which analyzes the potentially significant environmental effects of overall development potential of the project area and not the site-specific impacts of any individual development project, the details of which are not known at this time. The EIR also evaluates the cumulative effects of reasonably foreseeable cumulative development and considers baseline conditions. Consistent with CEQA Guidelines Section 15125(a), the EIR focuses on implementation of the proposed changes since the previous Housing Element was adopted.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DEL REY OAKS, STATE OF CALIFORNIA, DOES HEREBY FIND, DETERMINE AND RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
1. That the above recitals are true and correct; and
2. The City Council was presented with, and has independently reviewed and analyzed, the Final EIR and other information in the record and has considered the information contained therein prior to acting upon or approving the project, and has found that the Final EIR represents the independent judgment of the City of Del Rey Oaks as lead agency under CEQA for the project; and
3. The City Council finds and recognizes that the Final EIR contains additions, clarifications, modifications, and other information in its responses to comments on the Draft EIR and also incorporates information obtained by the City of Del Rey Oakssince the Draft EIR was issued and circulated for public review. The City Council does hereby find and determine that such changes and additional information are not significant new information, as that term is defined under the provisions of CEQA, from that information disclosed in the Final EIR because such changes and additional information do not indicate that any new significant environmental impacts not already evaluated would result from the project and they do not reflect a substantial increase in severity of any environmental impact; no feasible mitigation measures considerably different from those previously analyzed in the Draft EIR have been proposed that would lessen significant environmental impacts of the 15 Item A.
Resolution City Council Page | 6
project. Accordingly, the City Council hereby finds and determines that recirculation of the Final EIR for further public review and comment is not warranted; and
4. The Council recognizes that the Final EIR contains an Executive Summary of Impacts and Mitigations Measures (Final EIR Summary) for the proposed project. The Final EIR Summary, attached to these findings as Exhibit B and incorporated herein by reference, summarizes the environmental determinations about the proposed project’s significant impacts before and after mitigation. This exhibit does not attempt to describe the full analysis of each environmental impact contained in the Final EIR. Instead, Exhibit B provides a summary description of each significant impact, describes the applicable mitigation measures identified in the Final EIR where the measure is within the City Council’s jurisdiction to adopt, and states the findings on the significance of each impact after imposition of the adopted mitigation measures. Further, the City Council recognizes that the Final EIR, includes a mitigation monitoring and reporting program (MMRP) which has been prepared to meet the requirements of Public Resources Code Section 21081.6., and incorporated in the Final EIR and this resolution and attached hereto as Exhibit C; and
5. Based on the foregoing findings, and the conclusions and findings in the Draft and Final EIR, as well as the information contained in the administrative record, the City Council has found that all significant effects on the environment due to approval of the proposed project have been eliminated or substantially lessened where feasible. The City Council does hereby make these findings with respect to the significant effects on the environment of such project, identified in the hereinbefore mentioned Final EIR, with the stipulations that all information in these findings is intended as a summary of the full administrative record supporting the Final EIR, which full administrative record should be consulted for the full details supporting these findings and which consists of, but is not limited to, the Draft EIR, the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program, all testimony, documentary evidence and all correspondence submitted to the City of Del Rey Oaks in connection with the project, and other documents relied upon or prepared by City Staff or consultants related to the project and this Resolution. In making these findings, the City Council has considered the opinions of other agencies and members of the public, including opinions that disagree with some of the analysis and significance thresholds used in the EIR. The City Council finds that the determination of significance thresholds is a judgment that is within the discretion of the City Council; the significance thresholds used in the EIR are supported by substantial evidence in the record, including the expert opinion of the EIR preparers and the City staff; and the significance thresholds used in the EIR provide reasonable and appropriate means of assessing the significance of the adverse environmental effects of the proposed project. In particular, the EIR relied on significance criteria for evaluating impacts that are tailored to this type of project. The criteria used in the EIR to determine whether an impact is or is not “significant” are based on (a) CEQA-stipulated “mandatory findings of significance” listed in CEQA Guidelines section 15065; (b) the relationship of the project effect to the adopted policies, ordinances, and standards of the City and of responsible agencies; and (c) commonly accepted practice and the professional judgment of the EIR authors and the City staff. 16 Item A.
Resolution City Council Page | 7
6. The City Council finds that the range of alternatives evaluated in the EIR reflects a reasonable attempt to identify and evaluate various types of alternatives that would potentially be capable of reducing the proposed project’s environmental effects, while accomplishing most of the project objectives. The City Council finds that the alternatives analysis is sufficient to inform the City Council and the public regarding the tradeoffs between the degree to which alternatives could reduce environmental impacts and the corresponding degree to which the alternatives would hinder the ability to achieve the project objectives.
SECTION 1. That pursuant to due notice as required by law, a full and fair public hearing was held by and before the Del Rey Oaks City Council on October 18, 2023, at which time, all interested persons were given full opportunity to be heard and present evidence.
SECTION 2. That the City Council, based upon consideration, review and acknowledgement of the receipt of the staff report and presentation made at the public hearing, and resolution on the proposed actions, the draft Housing Element Update, and public input, found that there is no evidence that a significance unavoidable adverse effect on the environment, as defined under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), will occur as a result of the approval of the Housing Element Update and amendments to the General Plan and Zoning Code, and in accordance with the criteria and authority contained in CEQA and the CEQA Guidelines, it has been determined that the proposed actions will not result in any significant environmental impacts that cannot be mitigated to less than significant, consistent with the findings in the EIR, and supported by the Draft EIR, the Final EIR, Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program, all testimony, documentary evidence and all correspondence submitted to the City of Del Rey Oaks in connection with the project, and other documents relied upon or prepared by City Staff or consultants related to the project and this Resolution.
SECTION 3. That the Housing Element Update is in the public interest and that the public health, safety and welfare will be served by the adoption of the proposed Housing Element Update, and corresponding amendments to the General Plan Land Use Element, attached hereto.
SECTION 4. That the City, as the lead agency for the project, prepared the EIR for the project pursuant to and in accordance with the CEQA Guidelines for Implementation of CEQA (Title 14, Cal. Code of Regs., Section 15000 et seq., “the CEQA Guidelines”). Various documents and other materials constitute the record upon which the City Council bases these findings and the approvals contained herein. The location and custodian of these documents and materialsis:
Karen Minami, City Clerk, City Hall, City of Del Rey Oaks, 650 Canyon Del Rey, Del Rey Oaks, California, 93940.
SECTION 5. That the City certifies that the Final EIR has been completed in compliance with CEQA and the CEQA Guidelines and that the mitigation monitoring and reporting program has been prepared to meet the requirements of Public Resources Code Section 21081.6.. The Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program is designed to ensure compliance with project 17 Item A.
Resolution City Council Page | 8
mitigation measures imposed to avoid or substantially lessen the significant effects identified in the EIR for the project. In accordance with CEQA and the CEQA Guidelines, the City Council must adopt a mitigation monitoring program to ensure that the mitigation measures adopted herein are implemented.
SECTION 6. That the December 17, 2019, adopted City Housing 5th Cycle Del Rey Oaks Housing Element Update is hereby repealed in its entirety, and the 2023 5th Cycle Housing Element Update, is adopted.
SECTION 7. That the City Council hereby approves the 2023 5th Cycle Housing Element Update as consistent with the requirement of State Housing Element Law and approves the associated General Plan Amendments and hereby certifies the EIR, including approval of the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program.
SECTION 8. This Resolution shall become effective upon adoption by the City Council. That the City Manager or designee is hereby directed to distribute copies of the Housing Element in the manner provided in Government Code Sections 65357 and 65589.7 and to file all additional material including this signed resolution with the Department of Housing and Community Development for the Department to find that the Housing Element is in conformance with State Housing Element Law and is further directed and authorized to make all non-substantive changes to the Housing Element to make it internally consistent or to address any non-substantive changes or amendments requested by the Department to achieve certification.
SECTION 9. This Resolution shall become effective upon adoption by the City Council.
PASSED AND ADOPTED at a special meeting of the Del Rey Oaks City Council duly held on October 18, 2023, by the following vote:
AYES:
NAYS:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
APPROVED:
_______________________________
Scott Donaldson, Mayor
ATTEST:
_____________________________
Karen Minami, City Clerk
18 Item A.
Resolution City Council Page | 9
Exhibit A: General Plan Amendment
Exhibit B: Final EIR Executive Summary
Exhibit C: MMRP
19 Item A.
EXHIBIT A TO RESOLUTION
Amendments to the General Plan
20 Item A.
EXHIBIT A
City of Del Rey General Plan
Summary of Revisions to Del Rey Oaks General Plan
Section Current Language Revised Language Notes
City of Del Rey Oak
General Plan Land Use
Map (Figure 2 in the City
General Plan p. 30, Figure
1 in the Housing Element)
The Del Rey Oaks General Plan Land Use Map
(Figure 2 General Plan) is amended as depicted in
the attached map (Exhibit A) to reflect the
Affordable Housing Overlay District.
The existing General
Commercial-Visitor
(Neighborhood
Commercial-Visitor)
designation for Site 1 and
Office-Professional
designation for Site 1a
were left in place, with
cross-hatching added to
depict the Affordable
Housing Overlay District.
Land Use Element
Land Use Element Map
(p. 27-28 in the General
Plan)
“Figure 2 is the Land Use
Element Map for the City
of Del Rey Oaks. The Land
Use Element Map assigns a
land use designation to all
property within the City,
both public and private.
The Land Use designations
illustrated on Figure 2 are
described below: “
Add the following designation and text:
"Affordable Housing Overlay District".
"The purpose of the Affordable Housing Overlay
District, depicted on Figure 2 Land Use Map, is to
facilitate housing opportunities within the
community via implementation of required rezone
programs pursuant to the City’s adopted Housing
Element where required for compliance with State
Housing Element law. The Affordable Housing
Overlay District will facilitate the provision of
affordable housing units through the designation of
land zoned for residential uses in addition to the
already allowable uses."
This section of the
General Plan is amended
to include a section
describing the Affordable
Housing Overlay District,
in order to make the link
to the changes being
made in the Zoning Code.
Table 1, Summary of
Del Rey Oaks General
Plan Update Land Use
Designations (p. 29 in
the City General Plan)
Add Affordable Housing to the table. The table will be
updated to provide for
affordable housing
project types in the
build out of the City.
21 Item A.
EXHIBIT A Land Use Plan Amendment Map
Del Rey Oaks Housing Element Update 1 in = 1,000 ft
9/19/2023
¯
Path: E:\GIS\GIS_Projects\9614\Final Products\Housing Element IS\6th Cycle\Fig 1 - Housing Zone Overlay.mxd Scale
Date
0 1,000 2,000 Feet Del Rey Oaks Parcels
Site 1 and Site 1a
Affordable Housing
Overlay District
Former Fort Ord Property
Affordable
Housing Overlay 22
Item A.
EXHIBIT B TO RESOLUTION
Final EIR Executive Summary
23 Item A.
Executive Summary
October 2023 ES-1 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
OVERVIEW OF PROPOSED PROJECT
This Draft EIR for the proposed project addresses the environmental impacts, environmental issues, and alternatives in substantial compliance with CEQA. This Draft EIR evaluates the Housing Element for the 5th Cycle Planning Period, including 2023 updates to existing policies and programs contained within the adopted 2019 Draft Housing Element. The City is also considering adoption of a draft 6th Cycle Housing Element Update. This EIR also considers the cumulative impacts of adoption and implementation of the 6 th Cycle Housing Element Update. The City has prepared this Draft EIR in accordance with the requirements of CEQA and the CEQA Guidelines (14 California Code of Regulations [CCR] Section 15000 et seq.).
Under Government Code section 65588, the State of California requires that all local governments address and plan for future local and regional housing needs by preparing a housing element. The Housing Element provides the framework for future decisions and actions that affect the development of housing and accessory uses in the City. Section 65583 also requires that the Housing Element of each jurisdiction include an estimate of its “fair share” of the regional housing needs. The City’s determination of fair share is identified through the Regional Housing Need Allocation (RHNA) process discussed further below. An overview of the proposed project is provided in Chapter 1, Introduction, Section 1.4, Proposed Project Overview, and a full description of the proposed project is presented in Chapter 2, Proposed Project, of this document.
Project Summary
The project under consideration is the City of Del Rey Oaks 2023 Draft Housing Element Update. The City must prepare a Housing Element as part of its General Plan under the requirements of California State law. All local governments must implement solutions to address local and regional housing needs. The Draft Housing Element represents the 5th Cycle Planning Period update and covers the 2015-2023 planning period. The City’s Housing Element was last officially updated in December 2019. This 2023 Draft Housing Element Update revises specific adopted programs in the 2019 document related to general plan amendment and rezoning for specified areas of the City, as further described below. Thus, the proposed project evaluated in this EIR includes the adoption of the 2023 Housing Element Update, as well as the general plan amendment and rezoning proposed. The City is also considering adoption of a draft 6th Cycle Housing Element Update for the planning period 2023-2031. This EIR also considers the cumulative impacts of adoption and implementation of the 6th Cycle Housing Element Update. Cumulative analyses are provided for each CEQA checklist topic in their respective sections under Chapter 3, Environmental Setting and Environmental Impacts.
The Draft Housing Element is a policy document rather than a proposal for a specific action. The Draft Housing Element includes an analysis of the City’s housing needs; identifies various governmental and non-governmental constraints to meeting those needs; establishes reasonable goals, objectives and policies based on those needs; and sets forth a comprehensive list of actions to achieve the identified goals and objectives.
Additionally, Section 15146(b) of the CEQA Guidelines states that an EIR on a project such as the adoption or amendment of a local general plan “should focus on the secondary effects that can be expected to follow from the adoption or amendment, but the EIR need not be as detailed as an EIR on the specific 24 Item A.
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October 2023 ES-2 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
construction projects that might follow.” The purpose of this Draft EIR is to provide analysis on the effects that can be expected from implementation of the proposed project, including adoption of the Housing Element Updates and amendment to the general plan and rezoning. The City does not have adequate land designated for residential use, and thus, the proposed project includes revisions to the general plan and rezoning to provide land appropriately designated for affordable housing to meet the RHNA. The State does not require cities and counties to actually build the housing necessary to meet the community's needs. However, it does require that each community adopt policies and programs to support housing development, as well as designate adequate land at appropriate densities to meet the housing needs. As the location and specifics of future construction of residential development facilitated by the proposed project is not known, the EIR will not provide detail on the impacts of specific construction projects that might follow.
The Draft Housing Element has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of California Government Code sections 65580-65589.8 and updates the current Housing Element of the City’s General Plan. Upon its adoption, the Housing Element would become part of the City’s General Plan.
Project Objectives
The primary goal of the proposed project is to update the Housing Element for the City. The Housing Element’s key policy objectives are as follows:
▪ Maintain and improve a range of housing opportunities to address the existing and projected needs of the community;
▪ Maintain and improve existing neighborhoods and housing; ▪ Promote the development of housing to meet the needs of all segments of the population; and ▪ Continue to ensure that all segments of the community have access to safe and decent housing that meets their special needs.
Under California Housing Element law, the housing element must also include an identification of goals, policies, quantified objectives, and housing programs for the maintenance, improvement, and development of housing. The Draft Housing Element contains five goal categories the City has identified to address major housing related issues facing the community. The City’s adopted Housing Element goals are presented below:
▪ Goal A: The City Will Provide Adequate Sites to Build New Housing Units for All Income Levels and to Meet the City’s Fair Share of Housing Needs;
▪ Goal B: The City Will Encourage the Provision of a Wide Range of Housing by Location, Type of Unit, and Price to Meet the Existing and Future Housing Needs in the City; ▪ Goal C: The City Will Work to Remove Governmental and Non-Governmental Constraints to Housing Development;
▪ Goal D: The City Will Promote Equal Housing Opportunities for All Persons; and, ▪ Goal E: The City Will Continue to Conserve and Improve the Condition of the Existing Housing Stock to Ensure the Safety, Welfare, and Affordability of Residents.
The City has also identified the following key objectives for the Housing Element:
25 Item A.
Executive Summary
October 2023 ES-3 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
▪ Adopt 5th Cycle Housing Element Update and complete rezoning actions necessary for an HCD compliant Housing Element in 2023.
▪ Meet the State required Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) allocation for the 5th Cycle and 6th Cycle Housing Element Updates by identifying housing sites with a collective capacity to meet the City’s combined 5th and 6th Cycle RHNA.
Resource Topics Considered
The scoping process determined that the proposed project could lead to potential environmental impacts on specific natural resources and on the human environment. Based on comments received during the scoping process and preliminary review, Chapter 3, Environmental Setting and Environmental Impacts of this Draft EIR includes a detailed evaluation of resource topics with respect to direct and indirect impacts that may result from the proposed project, and also provides a discussion of cumulative impacts.
Chapter 4, Cumulative Impacts & Other CEQA Requirements includes further discussion of cumulative impacts, as well as growth-inducing impacts, and significant and unavoidable impacts to comply with other requirements of CEQA. Chapter 5, Alternatives discusses impacts of the proposed project compared to feasible project alternatives. The resource topics evaluated include:
▪ Aesthetics;
▪ Agricultural Resources;
▪ Air Quality;
▪ Biological Resources;
▪ Cultural and Tribal Resources;
▪ Energy;
▪ Geology and Soils;
▪ Greenhouse Gas Emissions;
▪ Hazards and Hazardous Materials;
▪ Hydrology and Water Quality;
▪ Land Use and Planning;
▪ Mineral Resources;
▪ Noise;
▪ Population and Housing;
▪ Public Services and Recreation;
▪ Transportation;
▪ Utilities and Service Systems; and
▪ Wildfire.
26 Item A.
Executive Summary
October 2023 ES-4 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
OVERVIEW OF ALTERNATIVES
CEQA Guidelines Sec. 15126.6 requires the consideration of a range of reasonable alternatives to the proposed project that could feasibly attain most of the basic project objectives and would avoid or substantially lessen the significant effects of the project. The discussion of alternatives should focus on alternatives capable of eliminating the significant adverse impacts of the project or reducing them to a less-than-significant level, even if the alternative would not fully attain most of the basic project objectives or would be more costly (CEQA Guidelines Sec. 15126.6(b)). An EIR must consider a reasonable range of potentially feasible alternatives that will foster informed decision-making. The range of potential alternatives is governed by the “rule of reason,” which requires the evaluation of alternatives “necessary to permit a reasoned choice” (CEQA Guidelines Sec. 15126.6(f)). The alternatives evaluated in this EIR are summarized below. These alternatives are more fully described in Chapter 5, Alternatives. ▪ No Project Alternative – No Action (Alternative 1a): The No Project - No Action alternative consists of the City taking no action on the Housing Element; it assumes any land proposed for rezoning would be left in its current physical condition1. This alternative would avoid potential environmental impacts of the proposed project; however, it also would fail to meet the project objectives of providing land appropriately designated for affordable housing to meet the RHNA. ▪ No Project Alternative – No Project Alternative No Rezoning (Alternative 1b): The No Project - No Rezoning alternative assumes the area proposed for rezoning would be developed under its current allowable density, zoning and land use designations of commercial and visitor-serving.
This alternative would have similar environmental impacts to the proposed project. This alternative would also fail to meet any of the project objectives of providing land appropriately designated for affordable housing to meet the RHNA.
▪ No Rezoning in Former Fort Ord Alternative (Alternative 2): The No Rezoning in Former Fort Ord alternative assumes the adequate land designated for residential use can be provided in the existing developed area of the City, outside former Fort Ord. Thus, this alternative identifies areas to provide adequate land areas within the City for affordable housing to meet the RHNA. This alternative could meet the primary objectives of the proposed project by providing areas to meet the City’s state mandated housing needs, particularly for 6th Cycle. However, this alternative would not meet the City objective for a compliant 5
th Cycle Housing Element Update as HCD has
indicated the former Fort Ord area would need to be rezoned to meet HCD compliance. ▪ Combined Areas in Former Fort Ord and within City (Alternative 3). The Combined Areas in Former Fort Ord and within City alternative assumes the adequate land designated for residential use can be provided in the existing developed area of the City as well as within former Fort Ord.
These areas will be rezoned under this alternative to provide adequate land areas within the City for affordable housing to meet the RHNA. This assumes reducing potential development areas within the City and within former Fort Ord to combine to meet RHNA, provide a buffer by identifying more areas to meet capacity requirements and could reduce impacts in certain resource areas. This alternative would meet the City objectives by identifying housing sites with a collective capacity to meet the City’s combined 5th and 6th Cycle RHNA to achieve state mandated housing needs.
1 This alternative addresses CEQA requirements (CEQA Guidelines, Section 15126.6(e)(2)), whereby the no project alternative analysis must discuss the existing conditions and what would be reasonably expected to occur in the foreseeable future if the project were not approved based on current plans
27 Item A.
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October 2023 ES-5 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
SUMMARY OF IMPACTS
Table ES-1 summarizes the proposed project’s significant impacts and mitigation measures. Mitigation measures have been identified to either avoid the impact or reduce the level of significance. Table 5-1 (see Chapter 5, Alternatives), provides a comparison of impacts for each alternative. 28 Item A.
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October 2023 ES-6 Housing Element Update
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Table ES-1 Summary of Project Impacts
Impact
Level of
Significance
Prior to
Mitigation
Mitigation Measures
Level of
Significance
After
Mitigation
Aesthetics
Impact AES-1: Scenic Vistas. The proposed
project would not have a substantial
adverse impact on a scenic vista.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required. Less than
Significant
Impact AES-2: Scenic Resources. The
proposed project would not result in
damage to scenic resources within a state
scenic highway.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required.
Less than
Significant
Impact AES-3: Visual Character or Quality.
The proposed project would not
substantially degrade the existing visual
character or quality of public views of the
site and its surroundings.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required.
Less than
Significant
Impact AES-4: Light and Glare. The
proposed project would not introduce a
new source of substantial light and glare.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required. Less than
Significant
Cumulative Aesthetic Impacts. The
proposed project and other cumulative
development would not have significant
cumulative impacts related to scenic vistas,
visual quality and light and glare.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required.
Less than
Significant
Agricultural Resources
Impact AG-1: Conversion of Farmland. The
proposed project would not convert Prime
Farmland, Unique Farmland, or Farmland
of Statewide Importance (Farmland) to
non-agricultural use.
No Impact
No mitigation is required.
No Impact
Impact AG-2: Conflict with Agricultural
Zoning. The proposed project would not
conflict with existing zoning for agricultural
use, or a Williamson Act contract.
No Impact
No mitigation is required.
No Impact
29 Item A.
Executive Summary
October 2023 ES-7 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
Table ES-1 Summary of Project Impacts
Impact
Level of
Significance
Prior to
Mitigation
Mitigation Measures
Level of
Significance
After
Mitigation
Impact AG-3: Conflict with Forest/
Timberland Zoning The proposed project
would not conflict with existing zoning for,
or cause rezoning of, forest land (as
defined in Public Resources Code Section
12220(g)), timberland (as defined by Public
Resources Code Section 4526), or
timberland zoned Timberland Production
(as defined by Government Code Section
51104(g))?
No Impact
No mitigation is required.
No Impact
Impact AG-4: Loss or Conversion of Forest
Land. The proposed project would not
result in the loss of forest land or
conversion of forest land to non-forest use.
No Impact
No mitigation is required.
No Impact
Impact AG-5: Other Changes. The
proposed project would not involve other
changes in the existing environment which,
due to their location or nature, could result
in conversion of Farmland, to nonagricultural use or conversion of forest land to non-forest use?
No Impact
No mitigation is required.
No Impact
Cumulative Agricultural Impacts. The
proposed project and other cumulative
development would not have significant
cumulative impacts related to agricultural
and forest resources.
No Impact
No mitigation is required.
No Impact
Air Quality
Impact AQ-1: Conflict with an Applicable
Air Quality Plan. The proposed project
would not conflict with or obstruct
implementation of the applicable air
quality plan.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required.
Less than
Significant
30 Item A.
Executive Summary
October 2023 ES-8 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
Table ES-1 Summary of Project Impacts
Impact
Level of
Significance
Prior to
Mitigation
Mitigation Measures
Level of
Significance
After
Mitigation
Impact AQ-2: Criteria Pollutant Emissions.
The Proposed project could result in
emissions of criteria pollutants that would
exceed adopted thresholds of significance
for PM10 in violation of applicable air
quality standards and which could
contribute substantially to an existing or
projected air quality violation.
Potentially
Significant
Mitigation Measure 3.3-1: Prior to start of construction, the project applicant or contractor shall submit a construction dust mitigation plan to the City of Del Rey Oaks for review and approval. This plan shall specify the methods of dust control that would be utilized, demonstrate the availability of needed equipment and personnel, use reclaimed water for dust control, and identify a responsible individual who, if needed, can authorize implementation of additional measures.
The construction dust mitigation plan shall, at a minimum, include the following measures:
• Limit grading activity to a maximum of 2.2 acres daily. • Water all active construction areas at least three times daily and more often during windy periods. Active areas adjacent to existing businesses should be kept damp at all times. If necessary, during windy periods, watering is to occur on all days of the week regardless of onsite activities. • Cover all trucks hauling trucks or maintain at least two feet of freeboard. • Pave, apply water three times daily, or apply (non-toxic) soil stabilizers on all unpaved access roads, parking areas and staging areas at construction sites.
• Sweep daily all paved access roads, parking areas and staging areas at construction sites.
• Sweep streets daily if visible soil material is deposited onto the adjacent roads.
• Hydroseed or apply (non-toxic) soil stabilizers to inactive construction areas (previously graded areas inactive for ten days or more). • Enclose, cover, water three times daily or apply (non-toxic) soil binders to exposed stockpiles.
• Limit traffic speeds on unpaved roads to 15 mph.
• Replant vegetation in disturbed areas as quickly as possible. • Suspend excavation and grading activity when hourly-average winds exceed 15 mph and visible dust clouds cannot be contained within the site.
Less than
Significant
31 Item A.
Executive Summary
October 2023 ES-9 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
Table ES-1 Summary of Project Impacts
Impact
Level of
Significance
Prior to
Mitigation
Mitigation Measures
Level of
Significance
After
Mitigation
Impact AQ-3: Exposure of Sensitive
Receptors. The proposed project would
not expose sensitive receptors to
substantial pollutant concentrations.
Potentially
Significant
Mitigation not required.
Mitigation Measure 3.3-1, above, would ensure impact related to future development facilitated by the proposed project would be less than significant.
Less than
Significant
Impact AQ-4: Other Emissions Adversely
Affecting a Substantial Number of People.
The proposed project would not result in
other emissions (such as those leading to
odors) adversely affecting a substantial
number of people.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required.
Less than
Significant
Cumulative Air Quality Impacts. The
proposed project would not result in a
considerable contribution to a significant
cumulative impact related to air quality
with implementation of mitigation.
Less than
Significant
No additional mitigation required beyond the mitigation measure identified for Impact AQ-2 (Mitigation Measure 3.3-1). Less than
Significant
Biological Resources
Impact BIO-1: Special-Status Species. The
proposed project could result in
substantial adverse effects to specialstatus plant and wildlife species and their habitat.
Potentially
Significant
Mitigation Measure 3.4-1: Project Specific Biological Assessments (HMP Species).
The City shall require that a biological survey of development sites be conducted by a qualified biologist to determine if the development could potentially impact HMP species of potential habitat. A report describing the results of the surveys will be provided to the City prior to any ground disturbing activities. The report will include, but not be limited to: 1) a description of the biological conditions at the site; 2) identification of the potential for HMP species to occur or HMP species observed, if any; and 3) maps of the locations of HMP species or potential habitat, if observed.
If HMP species that do not require take authorization from the USFWS or CDFW are identified within the development site, salvage efforts for these species will be evaluated by a qualified biologist in coordination with the City’s consulting biologist to further reduce impacts per the requirements of the HMP and BO. Where salvage is determined feasible and proposed, seed collection should occur from plants within the development site and/or topsoil should be salvaged within occupied areas to be disturbed. Seeds should be collected during the appropriate time of year Less than
Significant
32 Item A.
Executive Summary
October 2023 ES-10 Housing Element Update
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Table ES-1 Summary of Project Impacts
Impact
Level of
Significance
Prior to
Mitigation
Mitigation Measures
Level of
Significance
After
Mitigation
for each species by qualified biologists. The collected seeds and topsoil should be used to revegetate temporarily disturbed construction areas and reseeding and restoration efforts on- or off-site, as determined appropriate by the qualified biologist and the City.
If HMP species that require take authorization from the USFWS and/or CDFW are identified within the development site, the City will ensure that developers comply with ESA and CESA and obtain necessary permits prior to construction.
Mitigation Measure 3.4-2: Project-Specific Biological Assessments (Non-HMP Species). The City shall require that a biological survey of development sites be conducted by a qualified biologist to determine if the development could potentially impact a special-status species or their habitat. A report describing the results of the surveys will be provided to the City prior to any ground disturbing activities. The report will include, but not be limited to: 1) a description of the biological conditions at the site; 2) an search of relevant resources to generate an updated list of specialstatus species known within the project vicinity; 3) identification of the potential for special-status species to occur or special-status species observed, if any; 4) maps of the locations of special-status species or potential habitat, if observed; and 5) recommended mitigation measures, if applicable.
If special-status species are determined not to occur at the development site, no additional mitigation is necessary.
If special-status species are observed or determined to have the potential to occur, the project biologist shall recommend measures necessary to avoid, minimize, and/or compensate for identified impacts. Measures may include, but are not limited to, revisions to the project design and project modifications, preconstruction surveys, construction buffers, construction best management practices, monitoring, non-native species control, restoration and preservation, and salvage and relocation.
33 Item A.
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October 2023 ES-11 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
Table ES-1 Summary of Project Impacts
Impact
Level of
Significance
Prior to
Mitigation
Mitigation Measures
Level of
Significance
After
Mitigation
If species that require take authorization from the USFWS and/or CDFW are identified within the development site, the City will comply with ESA and CESA and obtain necessary permits prior to construction.
Mitigation Measure 3.4-3: Pre-Construction Surveys for Protected Avian Species.
Construction activities that may directly (e.g., vegetation removal) or indirectly (e.g., noise/ground disturbance) affect protected nesting avian species will be timed to avoid the breeding and nesting season. Specifically, vegetation and/or tree removal can be scheduled after August 31 and before January 31. Alternatively, a qualified biologist will be retained by the City to conduct pre-construction surveys for nesting raptors and other protected avian species within 500 feet of proposed construction activities if construction occurs between February 1 and August 31. Pre-construction surveys will be conducted no more than 14 days prior to the start of construction activities during the early part of the breeding season (February through April) and no more than 30 days prior to the initiation of these activities during the late part of the breeding season (May through August). Because some bird species nest early in spring and others nest later in summer, surveys for nesting birds may be required to continue during construction to address new arrivals, and because some species breed multiple times in a season. The necessity and timing of these continued surveys will be determined by the qualified biologist based on review of the final construction plans and in coordination with the USFWS and CDFW, as needed.
If raptors or other protected avian species nests are identified during the preconstruction surveys, the qualified biologist will notify the City and an appropriate no-disturbance buffer will be imposed within which no construction activities or disturbance shall take place (generally 500 feet in all directions for raptors; other avian species may have species-specific requirements) until the young of the year have fledged and are no longer reliant upon the nest or parental care for survival, as determined by a qualified biologist.
Mitigation Measure 3.4-4: Implement Open Space Requirements. For open space areas adjacent to the project area, the following measures shall be implemented:
34 Item A.
Executive Summary
October 2023 ES-12 Housing Element Update
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Table ES-1 Summary of Project Impacts
Impact
Level of
Significance
Prior to
Mitigation
Mitigation Measures
Level of
Significance
After
Mitigation
▪ Conduct an access assessment to identify necessary access controls. In some cases, structures including fences or other appropriate barriers may be required within the future development to control access into the habitat areas. An assessment of access issues and necessary controls will be completed as part of planning for the development and submitted to the City for review and approval, prior to development.
▪ Signs, interpretive displays, trailhead markers, or other information will be installed and maintained at identified urban/wildland interface that illustrate the importance of the adjacent habitat area and prohibit trespass, motor vehicle entry, dumping of trash or yard wastes, pets off-leash, capture or harassment of wildlife, impacts to special-status species, and other unauthorized activities.
▪ Incorporate non-native species control features into site design. Detention ponds or other water features associated with future development will be sited as far from the urban/wildland interface as possible. Suitable barriers will be located between these features and the habitat area boundary to prevent these features from becoming “sinks” for special-status wildlife species, as well as sources for invasive non-natives that could then move into the adjacent habitat area.
If detention ponds or other waterbodies must be located at the urban/wildland interface, a specific management program addressing control of non-native animals (e.g., bullfrogs) must be prepared and submitted for review and approval by the City, prior to development.
▪ Landscaping within the areas adjacent to open space areas will consist of native or non-native plant species that will not colonize reserve areas in the former Fort Ord outside the project area. Any landscaping or replanting required for the project will not use species listed as noxious by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). All landscape plans will be reviewed by the City.
▪ Limit artificial lighting at the urban/wildland interface. Outdoor lighting associated with future development will be low intensity, focused, and directional to preclude night illumination of the adjacent habitat area. Outdoor 35 Item A.
Executive Summary
October 2023 ES-13 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
Table ES-1 Summary of Project Impacts
Impact
Level of
Significance
Prior to
Mitigation
Mitigation Measures
Level of
Significance
After
Mitigation
lighting will be placed as far from the urban/wildland interface as possible given safety constraints. High-intensity lighting facing the habitat areas will be directional and as low to the ground as possible to minimize long distance glare.
▪ Develop and implement erosion control measures to prevent sediment transport into and within habitat areas. Erosion control measures will be required where vegetation removal or soil disturbance occurs as a result of all construction and maintenance, including trail, road, or fuelbreak construction/maintenance, access controls, or stormwater management, consistent with existing stormwater management plans. Specific measures to be implemented shall be detailed in an erosion control plan. The erosion control plan will include, at a minimum, the following measures. o Re-contour eroded areas.
o Maintain and grade areas along the reserve perimeter and main roads as appropriate to avoid washouts. Gullies will be repaired as needed. o Install drainage features such as outlet ditches, rolling dips (similar to waterbars), and berms as needed to facilitate the proper drainage of storm runoff.
o Add soil amendments such as fertilizers and gypsum for designated development areas only.
o Prevent sediments from entering basins or swales that could be used by HMP species during erosion control activities.
o Design and conduct erosion control measures to minimize the footprint of the structures and repairs, and design structures to minimize potential impacts on California tiger salamander and California red-legged frog that may be moving between breeding and upland habitats.
o Use weed-free mulch, weed-free rice, sterile barley straw, or other similar functioning product where needed for erosion control. Seed native plant species to stabilize soils disturbed by erosion control activities and prevent colonization by invasive weeds. Incorporate native plant species to the extent practicable.
36 Item A.
Executive Summary
October 2023 ES-14 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
Table ES-1 Summary of Project Impacts
Impact
Level of
Significance
Prior to
Mitigation
Mitigation Measures
Level of
Significance
After
Mitigation
Mitigation Measure 3.4-6: Potential Impacts to Western Bumble Bee*
3.4-6A A qualified biologist shall determine if suitable habitat is present within the Project site. If suitable habitat is present, a qualified biologist shall conduct focused surveys for WBB and their requisite habitat features to evaluate potential impacts resulting from ground- and vegetation-disturbance associated with the Project.
3.4-6B If surveys cannot be completed, all small mammal burrows and thatched/bunch grasses shall be avoided by a minimum of 50 feet to avoid and minimize take and potentially significant impacts any detection of WBB prior to or during Project implementation warrants consultation with CDFW to discuss how to avoid take, or if take cannot be avoided, what take authorization may be necessary to comply with CESA.
Impact BIO-2: Riparian and Wetland
Habitat. The proposed project could result
in a substantial adverse effect on riparian
habitat or other sensitive community as
identified in local or regional plans,
policies, or regulations, or by the California
Department of Fish and Wildlife or U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, or on state or
federally protected wetlands. Potentially
Significant
Mitigation Measure 3.4-5: Project-Specific Sensitive Natural Community Assessments. The City shall require that any development that could potentially impact a sensitive natural community shall be required to conduct a survey of the site by a qualified biologist. A report describing the results of the survey will be provided to the City prior to any ground disturbing activities. The report will include, but is not limited to: 1) a description of the biological conditions at the site; 2) identification of the potential for sensitive habitats or sensitive habitats observed, if any; 3) maps of the locations of sensitive habitats or potential sensitive habitat, if observed; and 4) recommended avoidance and minimization measures, if applicable. If a potential state or federally protected wetland or other are identified to be present on the site, a formal wetland delineation will be conducted in accordance to ACOE methodology.
If a proposed development cannot avoid impacts to sensitive habitat areas, the City shall require a compensatory habitat-based mitigation to reduce impacts.
Compensatory mitigation must involve the preservation, restoration, or purchase of off-site mitigation credits for impacts to sensitive habitats. Mitigation must be conducted in-kind or within an approved mitigation bank in the region. The specific mitigation ratio for habitat-based mitigation will be determined through Less than
Significant
37 Item A.
Executive Summary
October 2023 ES-15 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
Table ES-1 Summary of Project Impacts
Impact
Level of
Significance
Prior to
Mitigation
Mitigation Measures
Level of
Significance
After
Mitigation
consultation with the appropriate agency (i.e., CDFW, ACOE, or SWRCB) on a project-by-project basis.
Impacts to sensitive habitats, including but not limited to, vernal pools, streambeds, waterways, or riparian habitat, protected under Section 1600 of Fish and Wildlife Code and Sections 401 and 404 of the CWA, require regulatory permitting to reduce impacts. Acquisition of permits and implementation of the approved mitigation strategy would ensure impacts are fully mitigated and “no net loss” of wetland habitat would occur.
Impact BIO-3: Wildlife Corridors. The
proposed project would not result in
interference with wildlife migration or
corridors.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation required.
Less than
Significant
Impact BIO-4: Biological Resource Policies
and Ordinances. The proposed project
would not conflict with local policies and
ordinances protecting biological resources,
including tree preservation policies.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation required.
Less than
Significant
Impact BIO-5: Adopted Habitat
Conservation Plans. The proposed project
could conflict with the Fort HMP.
Potentially
Significant
Impact
Mitigation Measure 3.4-1: See Impact BIO-1 for this mitigation measure. Less than Significant
Cumulative Biological Resources Impacts.
The Project would not result in a
cumulatively considerable contribution to
significant cumulative impacts on specialstatus species, protected avian species and sensitive habitat, with the implementation
of mitigation.
Less than
Significant
No additional mitigation required beyond those mitigation measures identified for Impact BIO-1 and Impact BIO-2 (Mitigation Measures 3.4-1 through 3.4-4 , and Mitigation Measure 3.4-5). Less than
Significant
Cultural and Tribal Resources
Impact CTR-1: Historic Resources. The
proposed project would not cause a
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required. Less than
Significant
38 Item A.
Executive Summary
October 2023 ES-16 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
Table ES-1 Summary of Project Impacts
Impact
Level of
Significance
Prior to
Mitigation
Mitigation Measures
Level of
Significance
After
Mitigation
substantial adverse change in the
significance of unique historic resources.
Impact CTR-2: Archaeological Resources.
The proposed project could cause a
substantial adverse change in the
significance of unique archaeological
resources.
Potentially
Significant
Mitigation Measure 3.5-1: The following measures would be implemented in the event of an unanticipated discovery of cultural resources:
a. If subsurface deposits believed to be cultural or human in origin are discovered during construction, then all work must halt within a 100-foot radius of the discovery. A qualified professional archaeologist, meeting the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualification Standards for prehistoric and historic archaeologist, shall be retained to evaluate the significance of the find, and shall have the authority to modify the no-work radius as appropriate, using professional judgement. A Native American monitor, following the Guidelines for Monitors/Consultants of Native American Cultural, Religious, and Burial Sites established by the Native American Heritage Commission, shall be required if the nature of the unanticipated discovery is prehistoric.
Work cannot continue within the no-work radius until the archaeologist conducts sufficient research and data collection to make a determination that the resource is either: 1) not cultural in origin; or 2) not potentially significant or eligible for listing on the NRHP or CRHR.
b. If a potentially eligible resource is encountered, then the archaeologist and lead agency shall arrange for either: 1) total avoidance of the resource, if possible; or 2) test excavations to evaluate eligibility.
If found to be eligible for either the NRHP or CRHR, then significant impacts would be resolved/mitigated through data recovery excavations to the extent of obtaining enough information to address applicable research questions.
If data recovery is necessary, a data recovery plan will be prepared, reviewed by the lead agency, and implemented. Determinations of eligibility and completion of data recovery (if necessary) shall be formally documented in Less than
Significant
39 Item A.
Executive Summary
October 2023 ES-17 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
Table ES-1 Summary of Project Impacts
Impact
Level of
Significance
Prior to
Mitigation
Mitigation Measures
Level of
Significance
After
Mitigation
writing and submitted to the lead agency as verification that the provisions in CEQA for managing unanticipated discoveries have been met.
Mitigation Measure 3.5-2: Worker Awareness Training will be developed and conducted prior to any construction operations for development within the portion of the project area within former Fort Ord. The training program will inform crew members of the potential for archaeological finds and the protocols to be followed in the event of the discovery of archaeological materials. The program will be presented by a Professional Archaeologist and include an ALERT Sheet with visual aids with a focus on archaeological objects and other cultural materials that could be present within the project area. The training will also provide protocols in the event of an unexpected discovery and points of contact in the event of an unexpected find including Native American burials. The training will include a briefing to supervisory construction personnel and “tailgate” training to field personnel.
Impact CTR-3: Disturbance of Human
Remains. The proposed project could
inadvertently disturb human remains.
Potentially
Significant
Mitigation Measure 3.5-3: In the event that evidence of human remains is discovered, construction activities within 100 meters of the discovery shall be halted or diverted and the requirements of Mitigation Measure 3.5-1 will be implemented.
In addition, the County Coroner shall be notified in accordance with provisions of PRC Sections 5097.98-99. If the Coroner recognizes the human remains to be those of a Native American, or has reason to believe that they are those of a Native American, the Coroner shall ensure that notification is provided to the NAHC within twenty-four hours of the determination, as required by California Health and Safety Code Section 7050.5(c) and PRC 5097. The NAHC shall identify the person or persons it believes to be most likely descended (MLD) from the deceased Native American (PRC Section 5097.98). The designated MLD then has 48 hours from the time access to the property is granted to make recommendations concerning treatment of the remains (AB 2641). If the landowner does not agree with the recommendations of the MLD, the NAHC can mediate (Section 5097.94 of the Public Resources Code). If no agreement is reached, the landowner must rebury the remains where they will not be further disturbed (Section 5097.98 of the Public Resources Code). This will also include either recording the site with the NAHC or Less than
Significant
40 Item A.
Executive Summary
October 2023 ES-18 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
Table ES-1 Summary of Project Impacts
Impact
Level of
Significance
Prior to
Mitigation
Mitigation Measures
Level of
Significance
After
Mitigation
the appropriate Information Center; using an open space or conservation zoning designation or easement; or recording a document with the county in which the property is located (AB 2641).
Impact CTR-4: Tribal Cultural Resources.
The proposed project could cause a
substantial adverse change in the
significance of a tribal cultural resource.
Potentially
Significant
Mitigation Measure 3.5-1: See Impact CTR-2 for this mitigation measure.
Mitigation Measure 3.5-2: See Impact CTR-2 for this mitigation measure.
Mitigation Measure 3.5-3: See Impact CTR-3 for this mitigation measure.
Less than
Significant
Cumulative Cultural Resource and Tribal
Cultural Resource Impacts. The proposed
project would not result in a cumulatively
considerable contribution to significant
cumulative impacts to buried historical or
archaeological resources, human remains,
and tribal cultural resources, with the
implementation of mitigation.
Less than
Significant
No additional mitigation required beyond those mitigation measures identified for Impact CTR-2 and Impact CTR-3 above (Mitigation Measures 3.5-1, 3.5-2, and 3.5- 3).
Less than
Significant
Energy
Impact ENG-1: Wasteful, Inefficient, or
Unnecessary Consumption of Energy. The
proposed project would not result in the
wasteful, inefficient, or unnecessary
consumption of energy.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required.
Less than
Significant
Impact ENG-2: Conflict with Renewable
Energy or Energy Efficiency Plans. The
proposed project would not conflict with
state or local plans for renewable energy
or energy efficiency.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required.
Less than
Significant
Cumulative Energy Impacts. The proposed
project would not result in cumulative
impacts related to energy consumption.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required. Less than
Significant
Geology and Soils
41 Item A.
Executive Summary
October 2023 ES-19 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
Table ES-1 Summary of Project Impacts
Impact
Level of
Significance
Prior to
Mitigation
Mitigation Measures
Level of
Significance
After
Mitigation
Impact GEO-1: Seismic Hazards
The proposed project would not directly
cause potential adverse effects, including
the risk of loss, injury, or death involving
strong seismic ground shaking and seismicrelated ground failure. However, indirect impacts may occur as a result of future
development facilitated by the proposed
project.
Potentially
Significant
Mitigation Measure 3.7-1: To minimize the potential effects from strong seismic ground shaking on project components, a geotechnical engineer report shall be prepared for the site specific area of future construction of housing. At a minimum, all recommendations from the project’s Preliminary Geotechnical Design Report prepared by LFR Inc. (November 2007) shall be incorporated by the project proponent into final design plans for future construction, subject to review of the City Engineer prior to construction activities.
Mitigation Measure 3.7-2: In order to minimize strong seismic shaking on project components, the project proponent shall incorporate the recommendations of the Preliminary Geotechnical Design Report prepared by LFR Inc. (November 2007) into project design. In addition, the project engineer shall ensure all structures will be designed to the most current standards of the California Building Code, at a minimum. Adherence into final design plans shall be reviewed by the City Engineer prior to future construction activities.
Mitigation Measure 3.7-3: Future development projects shall be required to prepare geologic/geotechnical investigations by a registered geologist/geotechnical engineer to provide recommendations and requirements for site preparation and grading, excavations, utility trench excavation and backfill, site drainage, building foundations, pavements, and concrete slabs-on-grade. All recommendations from the site-specific report shall be incorporated by the project proponent into final design plans for future construction, subject to review of the City Engineer prior to construction activities.
Less than
Significant
Impact GEO-2: Soil Erosion. Development
facilitated by the proposed project would
involve grading and construction that
could potentially result in soil erosion. Potentially
Significant
Mitigation Measure 3.7-4: In order to reduce wind and water erosion, an erosion control plan and/or Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan shall be prepared for the site preparation, construction, and post-construction periods by the project proponent. The erosion control plan shall incorporate best management practices consistent with the requirements of the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). The following measures shall be implemented, where appropriate, to control erosion:
Less than
Significant
42 Item A.
Executive Summary
October 2023 ES-20 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
Table ES-1 Summary of Project Impacts
Impact
Level of
Significance
Prior to
Mitigation
Mitigation Measures
Level of
Significance
After
Mitigation
1) keep construction machinery off of established vegetation as much as possible, especially the vegetation on the upwind side of the construction site;
2) establish specific access routes at the planning phase of the project, and limits of grading prior to development, which should be strictly observed; 3) utilize mechanical measures (i.e. walls from sand bags and/or wooden slat or fabric fences) to reduce sand movement;
4) immediate revegetation (plus the use of temporary stabilizing sprays), to keep sand movement to a minimum; and
5) for larger-scale construction, fabric or wooden slat fences should be placed around the construction location to reduce sand movement.
The erosion control plan and Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan shall be incorporated into final design plans by the project proponent and submitted to the City Engineer for approval prior to approval of final design plans.
Mitigation Measure 3.7-5: Areas disturbed by grading shall be stabilized with adequate landscaping vegetative cover. A re-vegetation and landscaping plan shall be prepared by a landscape architect with experience in working with the type of soils that are characteristic of the site. The project proponent shall be responsible for retaining a landscape professional and for incorporating the landscaping plan into final design plans.
Mitigation Measure 3.7-6: All drainage from improved surfaces shall be captured by closed pipe or lined ditches and carried to neighborhood storm sewers or natural drainages. At no time shall any concentrated discharge be allowed to spill directly onto the ground adjacent to structures or to fall directly onto steep slopes.
Impact GEO-3: Unstable Geologic Units or
Soils. Implementation of the proposed
project would not result in significant
impacts from future construction located
on geologic unit that is unstable.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required.
Less than
Significant
43 Item A.
Executive Summary
October 2023 ES-21 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
Table ES-1 Summary of Project Impacts
Impact
Level of
Significance
Prior to
Mitigation
Mitigation Measures
Level of
Significance
After
Mitigation
Impact GEO-4: Expansive Soil.
Implementation of the proposed project
could result in significant impacts from
future construction located on expansive
soils. Potentially
Significant
Mitigation Measure 3.7-7: In order to minimize potential safety risks associated with seismic hazards and on-site soils, a design-level geotechnical analysis by a registered engineer shall be prepared prior to the issuance of any grading and/or building permit. The design-level analysis shall address site preparation measures and foundation design requirements appropriate for on-site soils. The design-level analysis shall be approved by the City of Del Rey Oaks Engineer and Consulting Building Inspector prior to the issuance of any grading and/or building permit. Final design-level project plans shall be designed in accordance with the approved geotechnical analysis.
Less than
Significant
Impact GEO-5: Soils Incapable of
Supporting Alternative Wastewater
Disposal Systems. The proposed project
would have no impact related to soils
being incapable of supporting septic tanks
or alternative wastewater disposal
systems.
No Impact
No mitigation is required.
No Impact
Impact GEO-6: Paleontological Resources.
The proposed project would not directly or
indirectly destroy a unique paleontological
resource or site.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required.
Less than
Significant
Cumulative Geology, Soils and
Paleontological Impacts. The Project
would not result in cumulative impacts
related to seismic-related ground shaking
and/or failure, landslides, soil erosion,
unstable soils and/or paleontological
resources.
No Impact
No mitigation is required for cumulative impacts. Mitigation Measures 3.7-1, 3.7-2,
3.7-3, 3.7-4, 3.7-5, 3.7-6, and 3.7-7 do not apply to cumulative geological impacts.
No Impact
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Impact GHG-1: Greenhouse Gas
Emissions. The proposed project would
not generate GHG emissions, either
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required. Less than
Significant
44 Item A.
Executive Summary
October 2023 ES-22 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
Table ES-1 Summary of Project Impacts
Impact
Level of
Significance
Prior to
Mitigation
Mitigation Measures
Level of
Significance
After
Mitigation
directly or indirectly, that may have a
significant impact on the environment.
Impact GHG-2: Conflict with an Applicable
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan. The
proposed project would not conflict with
an applicable plan, policy, or regulation
adopted for the purpose of reducing the
emissions of greenhouse gases.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required.
Less than
Significant
Cumulative Greenhouse Gas Impacts. The
Project would not result in a cumulatively
considerable contribution to significant
cumulative impacts related to GHG
emissions.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required.
Less than
Significant
Hazards and Hazardous Materials
Impact HAZ-1: Routine Transport, Use, or
Disposal of Hazardous Materials. The
proposed project could create a significant
hazard to the public or the environment
through the routine transport, use, or
disposal of hazardous materials.
Potentially
Significant
Mitigation Measure 3.9-1: See Impact HAZ-4 for this mitigation measure.
Less than
Significant
Impact HAZ-2: Upset and Release of
Hazardous Materials. The proposed
project would not potentially create a
significant hazard to the public or the
environment through reasonably
foreseeable upset or accident conditions
involving the release of hazardous
materials into the environment from
known or potential areas of
contamination, including due the presence
of hazardous materials sites.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required.
Less than
Significant
45 Item A.
Executive Summary
October 2023 ES-23 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
Table ES-1 Summary of Project Impacts
Impact
Level of
Significance
Prior to
Mitigation
Mitigation Measures
Level of
Significance
After
Mitigation
Impact HAZ-3: Hazardous Materials Near
Schools. The proposed project would not
emit hazardous emissions or handle
hazardous or acutely hazardous materials,
substances, or waste within one-quarter
mile of an existing or proposed school.
No Impact
No mitigation is required.
No Impact
Impact HAZ-4: Hazardous Materials Site.
The proposed project could create a
significant hazard to the public or
environment as a result of development on
sites included on a list of hazardous
materials sites compiled pursuant to
Government Code Section 65962.5.
Potentially
Significant
Mitigation Measure 3.9-1: Prior to approval of residential development plans on the project area, environmental agencies, including the Army, and the state lead regulatory agency, DTSC, shall confirm that the clearances to be conducted and those conducted to date together with approved remedial actions, as required, will be sufficient to allow the Former Fort Ord site to be developed for residential reuse.
Residential use for the specified areas identified herein will be prohibited until the landowner provides advance notification to the Army, EPA, and DTSC of its intent to change a designated area’s use to residential, and until DTSC concurs that residential use is appropriate. DTSC’s evaluation may consider the Residential Protocol or further site evaluation incorporating new information (e.g., geophysical mapping, site development).
Less than
Significant
Impact HAZ-5: Airport Safety & Hazards.
The proposed project would not result in
safety hazards or excessive noise exposure
to people residing or working within the
project area.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required.
Less than
Significant
Impact HAZ-6: Impair Emergency
Response. The proposed project could
impair implementation of or physically
interfere with an adopted emergency
response plan or emergency evacuation
plan.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required.
Less than
Significant
Impact HAZ-7: Wildfire Hazards. The
proposed project would not substantially
impair an adopted emergency response or
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required. Less than
Significant
46 Item A.
Executive Summary
October 2023 ES-24 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
Table ES-1 Summary of Project Impacts
Impact
Level of
Significance
Prior to
Mitigation
Mitigation Measures
Level of
Significance
After
Mitigation
evacuation plan, exacerbate wildfire risk,
require the installation or maintenance of
infrastructure that would exacerbate
wildfire risk, cause a significant risk of loss,
injury, or death, involving wildland fires, or
expose people or structures to significant
post-fire risks.
Cumulative Hazardous Materials,
Emergency Response, and Wildfire
Impacts. The Project would not result in a
cumulatively considerable contribution to
significant cumulative impacts related to
hazardous materials, emergency response,
and wildfire.
Less than
Significant
No additional mitigation required beyond those mitigation measures identified for Impact HAZ-1 above (Mitigation Measure 3.9-1).
Less than
Significant
Hydrology and Water Quality
Impact HYD-1: Surface Water Quality
Standards and Waste Discharge
Requirements, Alteration of Stormwater
Drainage Pattern, and Conflicting or
Obstructing with Plans. The proposed
project could indirectly violate any water
quality standards or waste discharge
requirements or otherwise substantially
degrade surface water quality. The
proposed project could substantially alter
the existing drainage pattern of the site or
area, including through the alteration of
the course of a stream or river or through
the addition of impervious surfaces, in a
manner which would (i) result in
substantial erosion or siltation on or off
site, (ii) substantially increase the rate or
Potentially
Significant
Mitigation Measure 3.10-1: Prior to construction, further analysis shall be completed to confirm that proposed drainage facilities such as storm drains, pipes and future engineered drainage basins to retain or detain waters, (such as retention basins/detention basins) have the capacity to contain runoff from a 100-year storm event, subject to the review and approval of the City Consulting Engineer.
Less than
Significant
47 Item A.
Executive Summary
October 2023 ES-25 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
Table ES-1 Summary of Project Impacts
Impact
Level of
Significance
Prior to
Mitigation
Mitigation Measures
Level of
Significance
After
Mitigation
amount of surface runoff in a manner
which would result in flooding on or off
site, or (iii) increase or contribute runoff
water which would exceed the capacity of
existing or planned stormwater drainage
systems or provide substantial additional
sources of polluted runoff. In addition, the
proposed project could conflict with or
obstruct implementation of a water quality
control plan or sustainable groundwater
management plan.
Impact HYD-2: Groundwater. The
proposed project would not substantially
decrease groundwater supplies, interfere
substantially with groundwater recharge,
or impede sustainable groundwater
management of the basin.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required.
Less than
Significant
Impact HYD-3: 100-year Flood Hazard
Area. The proposed project could result in
risks if future construction is located within
a 100-year flood hazard area.
Potentially
Significant
Mitigation Measure 3.10-1: See impact HYD-1.
Less than
Significant
Cumulative Hydrology and Water Quality
Impacts. The Project would not result in a
cumulatively considerable contribution to
significant cumulative impacts related to
hydrology and water quality.
Less than
Significant
No additional mitigation required beyond those mitigation measure identified for Impact HYD-1 above (Mitigation Measure 3.10-1). Less than Significant
Land Use and Planning
Impact LU-1: Physically Divide
Community. The proposed project would
not physically divide an established
community.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required.
Less than
Significant
48 Item A.
Executive Summary
October 2023 ES-26 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
Table ES-1 Summary of Project Impacts
Impact
Level of
Significance
Prior to
Mitigation
Mitigation Measures
Level of
Significance
After
Mitigation
Impact LU-2: Conflict with Land Use Plan,
Policy, or Regulation. The proposed
project would not cause a significant
environmental impact due to a conflict
with any land use plan, policy, or
regulation adopted for the purpose of
avoiding or mitigating an environmental
effect.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required.
Less than
Significant
Cumulative Land Use Impacts. The
proposed project would not result in a
cumulatively considerable contribution to
significant cumulative impacts related to
land use.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required.
Less than
Significant
Mineral Resources
Impact MR-1: Loss of Known Mineral
Resources. The proposed project would
not result in the loss of availability of a
known mineral resource
No Impact
No mitigation is required.
No Impact
Impact MR-2: Loss of Locally-Important
Mineral Resource Recovery Site. The
proposed project would not result in the
loss of availability of a locally-important
mineral resource site.
No Impact
No mitigation is required.
No Impact
Cumulative Mineral Resources Impacts.
The Project would not result in a
cumulatively considerable mineral
resources impact.
No Impact
No mitigation is required.
No Impact
Noise
Impact NOI-1: Substantial Temporary
Increase in Ambient Noise Levels.
The proposed project would not directly
generate a substantial temporary
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required.
Less than
Significant
49 Item A.
Executive Summary
October 2023 ES-27 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
Table ES-1 Summary of Project Impacts
Impact
Level of
Significance
Prior to
Mitigation
Mitigation Measures
Level of
Significance
After
Mitigation
construction-related increase in ambient
noise levels in excess of standards
established in the local general plan or
noise ordinance, or applicable standards of
other agencies.
Impact NOI-2: Excessive Vibration. The
proposed project would not generate
excessive groundborne vibration or
groundborne noise levels.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required.
Less than
Significant
Impact NOI-3: Excessive Noise from
Airports. The proposed project would not
result in exposure of sensitive receptors to
excessive noise levels as a result of
operation of the Monterey Regional
Airport
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required.
Less than
Significant
Cumulative Noise and Vibration Impacts.
The proposed project would not result in a
cumulatively considerable contribution to
significant cumulative impacts related to
noise and vibration.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required.
Less than
Significant
Population and Housing
Impact POP-1: Induce Substantial
Unplanned Population Growth. The
proposed project would not induce
substantial unplanned population growth
in the area, either directly or indirectly.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required.
Less than
Significant
Impact POP-2: Displacement of People or
Housing. The proposed project would not
displace substantial numbers of existing
people or housing, necessitating the
construction of replacement housing
elsewhere.
No Impact
No mitigation is required.
No Impact
50 Item A.
Executive Summary
October 2023 ES-28 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
Table ES-1 Summary of Project Impacts
Impact
Level of
Significance
Prior to
Mitigation
Mitigation Measures
Level of
Significance
After
Mitigation
Cumulative Population and Housing
Impacts. The proposed would not have a
cumulatively considerable contribution to
substantial unplanned population growth
or displacement of people or housing in
the region.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required.
Less than
Significant
Public Services and Recreation
Impact PS-1: New or Physically Altered
Public Facilities. The proposed project
would not result in substantial adverse
physical impacts associated with the
provision of new or physically altered
public facilities, the construction of which
could cause significant environmental
impacts, in order to maintain acceptable
service ratios, response times, or other
performance objectives.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required.
Less than
Significant
Impact PS-2: Deterioration of
Neighborhood and Regional Parks. The
proposed project would not increase the
use of existing neighborhood and regional
parks or other recreational facilities such
that substantial physical deterioration of
the facilities would occur or be
accelerated.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required.
Less than
Significant
Cumulative Public Services Impacts. The
Project would not have a cumulatively
considerable contribution to significant
cumulative impacts related to the
construction of new or expanded fire,
police, schools, and park and recreational
facilities.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required.
Less than
Significant
51 Item A.
Executive Summary
October 2023 ES-29 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
Table ES-1 Summary of Project Impacts
Impact
Level of
Significance
Prior to
Mitigation
Mitigation Measures
Level of
Significance
After
Mitigation
Transportation
Impact TR-1: Conflict with Program, Plan,
Ordinance, or Policy Addressing the
Circulation System. The proposed project
would not conflict with a program, plan,
ordinance or policy addressing the
circulation system, including transit,
roadways, bicycle and pedestrian facilities.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required.
Less than
Significant
Impact TR-2: Vehicle Miles Travelled.
Buildout of future residential development
facilitated by the proposed project would
result in a significant VMT-related impact. Potentially Significant
Mitigation Measure 3.16-1: Future development projects shall maintain bicycle, pedestrian, and public transit access during construction and provide bicycle storage facilities at all residential developments. All future development would be subject to and implement City guidelines and General Plan policies applicable to transit, bicycle, and pedestrian facilities. Specifically, any modifications or new transit, bicycle, and pedestrian facilities would be subject to and designed in accordance with all applicable General Plan policies.
Less than
Significant
Impact TR-3: Geometric Design Hazards
and Emergency Access. The proposed
project would not substantially increase
hazards due to a geometric design feature
(e.g., sharp curves or dangerous
intersections) or incompatible uses (e.g.,
farm equipment) or result in inadequate
emergency access.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required.
Less than
Significant
Cumulative Transportation Impacts. The
proposed project’s incremental effect
would not be cumulatively considerable
and would not contribute to or result in a
significant cumulative impact related to
transportation impacts.
Potentially
Significant
No additional mitigation beyond mitigation measure identified for Impact TR-2 above (Mitigation Measure 3.16-1).
Less than
Significant
Utilities and Energy
Impact UTL-1: Construction of New or
Expanded Utilities. The proposed project
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required. Less than
Significant
52 Item A.
Executive Summary
October 2023 ES-30 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
Table ES-1 Summary of Project Impacts
Impact
Level of
Significance
Prior to
Mitigation
Mitigation Measures
Level of
Significance
After
Mitigation
would not require or result in the
relocation or construction of new or
replacement water, wastewater
treatment, electric power, natural gas, or
telecommunications facilities, the
construction of which would result in
significant effects.
Impact UTL-2: Adequacy of Water
Supplies. Sufficient water supplies are
available to serve the future development
facilitated by the proposed project in the
service area during normal, dry, and
multiple- dry years.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required.
Less than
Significant
Impact UTL-3: Wastewater Treatment
Capacity. The proposed project would not
exceed wastewater treatment capacity.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required. Less than
Significant
Impact UTL-4: Solid Waste. The proposed
project would not generate solid waste in
excess of state standards, or in excess of
the capacity of local infrastructure, or
otherwise impair the attainment of solid
waste reduction goals; and the Project
would comply with federal and state
management and reduction statutes and
regulations related to solid waste.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required.
Less than
Significant
Impact UTL-5: Conflicts with Energy Plans
The proposed project would not conflict
with or obstruct a state or local plan for
renewable energy or energy efficiency.
Less than
Significant
No mitigation is required.
Less than
Significant
Cumulative Utilities Impacts. The
proposed project would not result in a
cumulatively considerable contribution to
Less than
Significant
Mitigation not required. Less than
Significant
53 Item A.
Executive Summary
October 2023 ES-31 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
Table ES-1 Summary of Project Impacts
Impact
Level of
Significance
Prior to
Mitigation
Mitigation Measures
Level of
Significance
After
Mitigation
significant cumulative impacts related to
utilities.
Wildfire
Impact WF-1: Substantially Impair
Emergency Plans. The proposed project
would not substantially impair an adopted
emergency response plan or emergency
evacuation plan.
Less than
Significant
Mitigation not required.
Less than
Significant
Impact WF-2: Exacerbate Wildfire Risk.
The proposed project would not
exacerbate wildfire risks due to slope,
prevailing winds, and other factors, and
would not expose future occupants of
development facilitated by the proposed
project to pollutant concentrations from a
wildfire or uncontrolled spread of a
wildfire.
Less than
Significant
Mitigation not required.
Less than
Significant
Impact WF-3: Installation and
Maintenance of Infrastructure. The
proposed project would not require the
installation or maintenance of associated
infrastructure that may exacerbate wildfire
risks or that may result in temporary or
ongoing impacts to the environment.
Less than
Significant
Mitigation not required.
Less than
Significant
Impact WF-4: Flooding or Landslides from
Wildfire. The proposed project would not
expose people or structures to significant
risks, including downslope or downstream
flooding or landslides as a result of runoff,
post-fire slope instability, or drainage
changes.
Less than
Significant
Mitigation not required.
Less than
Significant
54 Item A.
Executive Summary
October 2023 ES-32 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
Table ES-1 Summary of Project Impacts
Impact
Level of
Significance
Prior to
Mitigation
Mitigation Measures
Level of
Significance
After
Mitigation
Cumulative Wildfire Impacts. The
proposed project would not result in a
cumulatively considerable contribution to
significant cumulative impacts related to
wildfire.
Less than
Significant
Mitigation not required.
Less than
Significant
55 Item A.
Executive Summary
October 2023 ES-33 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
AREAS OF KNOWN CONTROVERSY AND ISSUES CONSIDERED
CEQA Guidelines Sec. 15123 states that an EIR shall identify areas of controversy known to the Lead Agency. Based on comment letters received during the NOP public review period, the following environmental issues are known to be of concern and may be controversial (each issue will be further discussed in the EIR):
▪ Potential secondary effects associated with the proposed project, including:
o potential impacts to biological resources
o impacts from potential hazardous materials (i.e., unexploded ordinance), o water supply and water use related to increased population and groundwater withdrawal, o impact from increased traffic trips,
o concerns related to noise and public safety due to proximity to an airport, o land use implications from rezoning, and
o impacts to tribal cultural resources.
▪ The need to evaluate alternatives outside of the former Fort Ord area.
Appendix A provides the Notice of Preparation (NOP) and all written comments received in response to the NOP. A summary of the scoping process is provided in Section 1.5, CEQA Process. 56 Item A.
EXHIBIT C to RESOLUTION
Final EIR Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program
(Appendix A of Final EIR)
See Final EIR for Full Text
57 Item A.
October 2023 A-1 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
APPENDIX A
Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and CEQA Guidelines (PRC Section 21081.6 and State CEQA Guidelines Sections 15091[d] and 15097) require Lead Agencies to adopt a program for monitoring the mitigation measures required to avoid the significant environmental impacts of a project. The Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP) ensures that mitigation measures imposed by the District are completed at the appropriate time, specific to the future connection process. The mitigation measures identified in the Draft EIR are listed in the MMRP along with the party responsible for monitoring implementation of the mitigation measure, the milestones for implementation and monitoring, and confirmation the mitigation measure has been implemented. The following mitigation measures are specific to the City of Del Rey Oaks 2023 Cycle Housing Element Update Environmental Impact Report (EIR) project.
Impacts Mitigation Measures Implementation
Responsibility
Required
Timing
Compliance
Monitoring
Air Quality
Impact AQ-2:
Criteria Pollutant
Emissions
Mitigation Measure 3.3-1: Prior to start of construction, the project applicant or contractor shall submit a construction dust mitigation plan to the City of Del Rey Oaks for review and approval. This plan shall specify the methods of dust control that would be utilized, demonstrate the availability of needed equipment and personnel, use reclaimed water for dust control, and identify a responsible individual who, if needed, can authorize implementation of additional measures. The construction dust mitigation plan shall, at a minimum, include the following measures:
• Limit grading activity to a maximum of 2.2 acres daily. • Water all active construction areas at least three times daily and more often during windy periods. Active areas adjacent to existing businesses should be kept damp at all times. If necessary, during windy periods, watering is to occur on all days of the week regardless of onsite activities.
• Cover all trucks hauling trucks or maintain at least two feet of freeboard.
Project
Applicant or
Construction
Contractor
Prior to start
of construction
City of Del
Rey Oaks
58 Item A.
ATTACHMENT B to Staff Report
Zoning Ordinance
Affordable Housing Overlay District
59 Item A.
PC Staff Report DDA_10_4_2023_{AJL-01470305;2} Attachment B Page 1 ORDINANCE NO.
###
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DEL REY OAKS,
CALIFORNIA, TO ADD PROVISIONS TO THE DEL REY OAKS MUNICIPAL CODE
RELATED TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING
WHEREAS, California State law requires that all local governments adopt a Housing Element as one of the seven mandated elements of its General Plan; and WHEREAS, the State of California requires that all local governments adequately plan to meet the housing needs of their residents. The state mandate for doing so is called a Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA). The RHNA plan is prepared by the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (AMBAG) and establishes the total number of housing units the City must plan for within an eight-year planning period. The amount of housing units is determined by the California Housing and Community Development Department’s (HCD) housing need assessment; and WHEREAS, the City has evaluated land use and zoning opportunities and constraintsto determine ways to best implement the goals and policies of the general plan housing element and provide the opportunity and means for Del Rey Oaks to accommodate its regional fair share allotment of affordable units, while at the same time balancing community safety, needs and resources.
WHEREAS, the City Housing Element ("Housing Element") includes an opportunity sites inventory that designates specific parcels needing rezoning to meet the City's RHNA and further establishes policies and programs necessary to implement requirements of State housing law; and WHEREAS, amendments to the Zoning Ordinance and Zoning Map are necessary to permit housing in the areas identified in the Housing Element as opportunity sites and to implement requirements contained in HCD guidance letters, including committing to rezoning to meet RHNA.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of Del Rey Oaks, California as follows:
SECTION 1. The foregoing recitals are adopted as findings of the City Council as though set forth fully herein.
SECTION 2. The City of Del Rey Oaks adopts the text set forth below, which shall be added as Chapter 17.90 to the City of Del Rey Oaks Municipal Code as follows:
“Chapter 17. 90 – Affordable Housing Overlay Zone ”
Section 17.90.010: Purpose and Intent
The purpose and intent of the Housing Element Implementation Overlay Zone is to facilitate housing opportunities within the community via implementation of required rezone programs pursuant to the City’s adopted Housing Element where required for compliance with State Housing Element Law. This chapter contains requirements for overlay zones applicable to residential uses and affordable housing for residential areas. The purpose of this chapter is to establish standards and regulations and define specific areas appropriate for an affordable housing overlay zone to accommodate the City’s RHNA. 60 Item A.
PC Staff Report DDA_10_4_2023_{AJL-01470305;2} 2
Section 17.90.020: Definition of Overlay Zone
“Overlay zone” means an additional zoning district as shown on the zoning map that prescribes special regulations to a parcel in combination with the base zoning district.
Section 17.90.030: Affordable Housing Overlay Zone (AH-OZ ) A. Purpose. The purpose of the Affordable Housing Overlay Zone (AH-OZ ) is to facilitate the provision of affordable housing units through the construction of new affordable units within land not currently zoned for residential uses. The AH-OZ overlay zone is intended to:
1. Implement the goals and policies of the General Plan Housing Element and provide the opportunity and means for Del Rey Oaks to meet its regional fair share allotment of affordable units as established by State of California and Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments.
2. Encourage the provision of affordable housing to meet the Regional Housing Needs Assessment through the AH-OZ overlay within an area that is deemed to be appropriate for such uses and is determined to be consistent with the City’s Housing Element.
B. Applicability. The AH-OZ overlay zone is applied to a specific area. The overlay zone is applied to the parcels in the area of South Boundary Road, north and south of South Boundary Road and east of General Jim Moore Boulevard, specifically to the City owned properties identified as Sites 1 and 1a of the former Fort Ord area, as depicted on Exhibit A.
C. Definitions.
1. “Affordable housing” means housing capable of being purchased or rented by a household with “very low,” “low,” or “moderate” income levels at an “affordable housing cost” or “affordable rent,” as those terms are defined by the state of California.
2. “Affordable housing overlay district” means a zoning district that applies in addition to existing zoning designations in areas where the City seeks to encourage the provision of affordable housing units as described in this Chapter.
3. The “very low,” “low,” and “moderate” income levels are defined by the state of California in Sections 50105, 50079.5, and 50093, respectively, of the California Health and Safety Code, and in Subchapter 2 of Chapter 6.5 of Division 1 of Title 25 of the California Code of Regulations, commencing with Section 6900. These income levels are:
a. Very Low Income. Up to and including fifty percent of the Monterey County median income, adjusted for family size, as defined by the state law; b. Lower Income. Fifty-one percent to eighty percent of Monterey County median income, adjusted for family size, as defined by the state law;
c. Moderate Income. Eighty-one percent to one hundred twenty percent of Monterey County median income, adjusted for family size, as defined by state law.
4. “Affordable housing cost” and “affordable rent” are defined in Sections 50052.5 and 50053, respectively, of the California Health and Safety Code, and in Subchapter 2 of Chapter 6.5 of Division 1 of Title 25 of the California Code of Regulations, commencing with Section 6900.
D. Permits and Approvals Required.
61 Item A.
PC Staff Report DDA_10_4_2023_{AJL-01470305;2} 3
1. Affordable housing developments proposed under this chapter require the execution of a development agreement by the City and the developer. The development agreement shall be prepared in accordance with the provisions of California Government Code Section 65864 et seq.
2. Affordable housing developments proposed under this chapter require approval of a design permit. All requirements in Chapter 17.56 (Design Review) related to approving body apply, except that the Planning Commission shall recommend design permit approval to the City Council. The City Council may take action on the design permit application concurrently with or subsequent to action on the development agreement.
3. All approvals, procedures, conditions of approval, and decisions shall be made in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Housing Accountability Act (Government Code section 65589.5). Should requirements in Chapter 17.56 (Design Review) be inconsistent or contrary to the Housing Accountability Act, state law shall prevail.
F. Permitted Residential Density and Designation.
1. Affordable housing developments with minimum density of twenty units per acre are permitted in the AH-OZ overlay zone per the requirements of HCD.
2. Designation. Sites 1 and 1a within the Affordable Housing Overlay Zoning District shall be indicated by the AH-OZ designation.
G. Income Restrictions.
1. The following categories shall be allowed under the required income restrictions:
a. Moderate-income households;
b. Low-income households;
c. Very low-income households; or
d. Extremely low-income households.
2. At minimum, fifty percent of income-restricted affordable units (twenty-five percent of the total project units) shall be affordable to low, very low, and extremely low-income households. A greater level of affordability will not allow a greater level of density.
H. Design Review and Development Standards.
1. Design review shall be required for any residential development proposed pursuant to this chapter and shall be conducted as specified in Chapter 17.56 (Design Review), provided, however, that all procedures, conditions of approval, and decisions shall be made in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Housing Accountability Act (Government Code section 65589.5).
2. The following development standards are intended to govern residential development within the AH-OZ overlay zone:
Subject Standard
Dwelling units/acre 20 units/acres minimum to 25 units/acre maximum 62 Item A.
PC Staff Report DDA_10_4_2023_{AJL-01470305;2} 4
Building Lot Coverage 50%
Lot area (minimum) Minimum 2 acres (43,560 square feet per acre) Usable open space (minimum) 150 square feet per unit
Structure height (maximum) 35 feet
Setbacks (min. in feet) Setbacks required consistent with R-2 zoning Front 20 ft;
Side 7 ft., except add 2 ft. for each story beyond the first story. Multi-dwellings require additional side yard (9 ft.) when grouped homes use rear entryways.
Rear 15 ft.
3. Building Height. Maximum building height shall be 35 feet with a maximum of three stories.
4. Common Open Space.
a. Common open space shall comprise the greater of:
i. Ten percent of the total area of the site; or
ii. One hundred fifty square feet for each dwelling unit. b. Areas occupied by buildings, streets, driveways, parking spaces, utility units, mailboxes, and trash enclosures may not be counted in satisfying the open space requirement. c. The following areas may be counted in satisfying the open space requirement:
i. Landscaping and areas for passive and active recreation/open space with a minimum depth and width of eight feet.
ii. Land occupied by natural open space areas.
5. Streets.
a. All public streets within or abutting the proposed development shall be improved to City specifications for the particular classification of street. b. All private streets shall meet fire code and access standards.
6. Building Coverage. The maximum building coverage is 50%.
7. Distance Between Buildings on Same Lot. The following requirements for distance between buildings, excerpted from City Zoning Code requirements for R-2 Districts, as identified in
17.12.090, are established:
a. No main building shall be closer than 15 feet to any other main building on the same lot, except as hereinafter specified for dwelling groups, below. b. Dwelling groups shall conform to the following regulations as to their location upon the lot and distances between buildings:
i. In any such front to back series of buildings, at least 15 feet between buildings and at least eight feet for the side yard providing access; 63 Item A.
PC Staff Report DDA_10_4_2023_{AJL-01470305;2} 5
ii. In any single row side to side series of buildings, at least eight feet between buildings, at least five feet for the side yard to the rear thereof and at least 16 feet for the side yard in front thereof;
iii. In any multiple row side to side series of buildings, at least eight feet between buildings, at least five feet for the side yard to the rear thereof and at least 20 feet for the court between the rows;
iv. No building or group of buildings to encroach on the front yard required for adjacent lots.
8. Design Standards for Open Space. The intent of Design Standards related to distance between structures and open space requirement is to provide adequate distance and placement of buildings in the development to promote privacy for residents and neighbors and security.
9. Massing Articulation. Multifamily and mixed-use projects shall be designed to reduce the perceived mass, scale, and form of the overall development through use of varying roof heights, setbacks, and wall plane. Methods to achieve this include recessed facades, offsets and articulations in the building mass; varied roof height, massing, color and/or materials to create variations between individual buildings. Buildings shall be designed to ensure placement of buildings are not aligned along a single plane that results in a large "wall" on any single side of the building. The following standards apply:
a. No wall along a single plane shall extend beyond 40 feet without breaking up building mass. Specific standards are identified below:
i. A minimum of two features such as balconies, cantilevers, dormers, bay windows, patios, individualized entries, and accent materials shall be incorporated into each project building.
ii. A minimum one-foot offset is required for any wall plane that exceeds 40 feet in length.
b. Three-story buildings shall have massing breaks along any street frontage, adjacent public park, publicly accessible outdoor space, or designated open space, through the use of varying setbacks and/or building entries.
J. Assurance of Affordability.
1. Affordable housing units developed under this section shall remain available to persons and families of very low, low, and moderate income, at an affordable housing cost or affordable rental cost, at those income and affordability levels as defined in subsection C of this section (Definitions), for fifty-five years or the natural life of the unit, whichever is greater, unless a longer period is required by a construction or mortgage financing program, mortgage insurance program, state law, or housing grant, loan or subsidy program.
2. The required period of affordability shall run concurrently with any period of affordability required by any other agency; provided, however, that the affordability period shall not be less than fifty-five years or the natural life of the unit, whichever is greater.
3. The project developer shall be required to enter into an appropriate agreement with the City to ensure affordability is maintained for the required period.
K. Pre-Application Consultation.
64 Item A.
PC Staff Report DDA_10_4_2023_{AJL-01470305;2} 6
1. Prior to submitting an application for an affordable housing development within the AH-OZ overlay zone, the applicant or prospective developer should request preliminary consultation meetings with the City to obtain information and guidance before incurring substantial expense in the preparation of plans, surveys and other data.
2. Preliminary consultations with City staff should address potential local, state, and federal affordable housing funding availability, and program requirements in guaranteeing project consistency with the objectives and requirements of the AH-OZ overlay zone.
L. Additional Application Requirements. An application for an affordable housing development within the affordable housing overlay zone shall be filed and reviewed in compliance with Chapter 17.04 (General Provisions, Administration and Enforcement) and shall also include the following materials and information:
1. Breakdown of affordable and market rate units including unit number, unit size, affordable designation of each unit (very low, low, or moderate), and rental rate or sale price.
2. The proposed means for assuring the continuing existence, maintenance and operation of the project as an affordable housing project.
3. Site plan requirements as detailed in Chapter 17.56 (Design Review).
M. Development Incentives. Development standards shall apply to all projects governed under this Chapter. In certain cases, where the City Council determines that incentives may be applied as further described below, specified design standards may be relaxed if the findings can be made that the proposed development qualifies for development incentives.
1. Purpose. In order to reduce costs associated with the development and construction of affordable housing, affordable housing developments within the AH-OZ overlay zone shall be eligible for specified development incentives. The City incentives may include reduced fees or fee waivers or incentives related to development regulations to facilitate and promote the development of affordable housing in the City. Incentives shall be targeted to address funding and affordability, so as to permit the City to meet its regional fair share allotment of affordable housing and the goals of the housing element of the general plan, or to address project design features to aid in development of affordable housing in the City.
2. Fee Waivers. The City may reduce or waive fees, as an incentive for projects that comply with the affordability required in subsection G of this section (Income Restrictions).
3. Relaxed Development Standards. The City may consider the following relaxed development standards for projects that comply with the affordability required in subsection G of this section (Income Restrictions):
a. Density Averaging. Project density within the AH-OZ overlay zone may be calculated by averaging the density on a project-wide basis so as to permit higher density levels in certain project portions in exchange for advantageous project design features as determined by the City through the design permit review process. b. Setbacks. The minimum setbacks from property lines and distance between buildings may be reduced, but in no case more than ten percent reduction from the standard and only as part of an overall project plan approved by the City Council through the design permit process.
65 Item A.
PC Staff Report DDA_10_4_2023_{AJL-01470305;2} 7
c. Building Coverage. The maximum building coverage is 50% unless the City determines a lower maximum building coverage for the proposed project through the design review process as part of a development incentive. At no time should the maximum building coverage be less than 45%.
d. Minimum Building Site Area and Lot Area per Unit. There may be a reduced size of 1.5- acre minimum building area as development incentive. The building site area shall be designated on a site plan as approved by the City through the design permit review process.
3. Additional Development Incentives. The City may choose to extend one or more additional development incentives depending on the quality, size, nature, and scope of the project being proposed.
N. Zoning Map Amendment. The City of Del Rey Oaks Zoning Map shall be amended to apply the additional of the Affordable Housing Overlay Zoning District (designated as AF-OZ), as described in this Section 17.90.030, above, and depicted in Exhibit A.
O. Findings. To approve or recommend approval of an affordable housing development, the review authority shall make all of the following findings, in addition to the findings required by Chapter in Chapter 17.56 (Design Review):
1. The developer has agreed to enter into an agreement to maintain the affordability of the project specific to the requirements of the City and any funding sources with greater or longer affordability requirements.
2. The affordable housing development project would not have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety. As used in this paragraph, a “specific, adverse impact” means a significant, quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions as they existed on the date the application was deemed complete.
SECTION 3. Environmental Determination. The City prepared an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the project pursuant to and in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (Public Resources Code Section 21000 et seq., “CEQA”) and the Guidelines for Implementation of CEQA (Title 14, Cal. Code of Regs., Section 15000 et seq., the CEQA Guidelines).
SECTION 4. This ordinance shall take effect thirty (30) days following its final adoption.
SECTION 5. The City Manager and City Clerk are directed to perform all tasks necessary to implement this ordinance.
SECTION 6. Severability. If any provision, section, paragraph, sentence, clause, or phrase of this ordinance, or any part thereof, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance, or any part thereof, or its application to other persons or circumstances. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed and adopted each provision, section, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, or phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, paragraphs, subparagraphs, sentences, clauses, or phrases, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, be declared invalid or unconstitutional. 66 Item A.
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SECTION 7. Publication. The City Clerk of the City of Del Rey Oaks, California, is hereby directed to publish a summary of the ordinance in a newspaper of general circulation in accordance with State Law.
INTRODUCED by the City Council of the City of Del Rey Oaks, California, at its regular meeting held on the XXth day of October, 2023, by the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
67 Item A.
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Exhibit A – Zoning Map
68 Item A.
Zoning Amendment Map EXHIBIT A
1 in = 1,000 ft
9/19/2023
¯
Path: E:\GIS\GIS_Projects\9614\Final Products\Housing Element IS\6th Cycle\Fig 1 - Housing Zone Overlay.mxd Scale
Date
0 1,000 2,000 Feet Del Rey Oaks Parcels
Site 1 and Site 1a
Affordable Housing
Overlay District
Former Fort Ord Property
Affordable Housing Overlay Zone 69
Item A.
ADDITIONAL ATTACHMENT TO STAFF REPORT
Final EIR and MMRP
70 Item A.
City of Del Rey Oaks
HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE
Final Environmental Impact
Report State Clearinghouse
No. 2023040680
Prepared for the City of Del Rey Oaks
By:
Denise Duffy &
Associates, Inc.
October 2023
71 Item A.
This Page Intentionally Left Blank
72 Item A.
Table of Contents
October 2023 i Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
Table of Contents
Chapter 1. Introduction to the Final EIR............................................................................................. 1-1
1.1. Background ............................................................................................................................ 1-1
1.2. Project Overview.................................................................................................................... 1-1
1.3. Public Review of Draft EIR...................................................................................................... 1-2
1.4. Final EIR Certification............................................................................................................. 1-2
1.5. Organization of the Final EIR.................................................................................................. 1-3
1.6. Master Response to Comments............................................................................................. 1-3 Chapter 2. List of Comments ............................................................................................................. 2-1
2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 2-1
2.2 List of Comments ................................................................................................................... 2-1 Chapter 3. Master Responses to Comments...................................................................................... 3-1 Chapter 4. Comments and Responses on the Draft EIR...................................................................... 4-1
4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 4-1
4.2 Comment Letters and Responses to Comments.................................................................... 4-1 Chapter 5. Changes to the Draft EIR .................................................................................................. 5-1
LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix A – Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program
LIST OF TABLES
Table 2-A. List of Comments.............................................................................................................. 2-1 73 Item A.
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CHAPTER 1 Introduction to the Final EIR
1.1 BACKGROUND
The City of Del Rey Oaks (City), as Lead Agency, prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Report (Draft EIR or DEIR) under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Public Resources Code §21000 et seq.
The Draft EIR was prepared to provide the public and responsible and trustee agencies with information on the potential environmental effects of implementation of the City of Del Rey Oaks 2023 Draft Housing Element Update (Proposed Project). The Draft EIR was circulated for a 45-day public review period, between August 14th and September 27th, 2023.
As Lead Agency, the City has prepared this document pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15132 which specifies the following requirements for a Final Environmental Impact Report (Final EIR or FEIR):
“The Final EIR shall consist of:
a) The Draft EIR or a revision of the draft.
b) Comments and recommendations received on the Draft EIR either verbatim or in summary. c) A list of persons, organizations, and public agencies commenting on the Draft EIR. d) The responses of the Lead Agency to significant environmental points raised in the review and consultation process.
e) Any other information added by the Lead Agency.”
This Final EIR contains a list of the comments submitted on the Draft EIR, copies of the comment letters received on the Draft EIR during the public review period, responses to the environmental points raised in those comments, and revisions to the Draft EIR made as a result of the public review process. This document, together with the Draft EIR, constitute the Final EIR for the City of Del Rey Oaks 2023 Draft Housing Element Update.
1.2 PROJECT OVERVIEW
The project under consideration is the City of Del Rey Oaks 2023 Draft Housing Element Update. The City must prepare a Housing Element as part of its General Plan under the requirements of California State law. All local governments must implement solutions to address local and regional housing needs. The Draft Housing Element represents the 5th Cycle Planning Period update and covers the 2015-2023 planning period. The City’s Housing Element was last officially updated in December 2019. This 2023 Draft Housing Element Update revises specific adopted programs in the 2019 document related to general plan amendment and rezoning for specified areas of the City. The Proposed Project evaluated in this EIR includes the adoption of the 2023 Housing Element Update, as well as the general plan amendment and rezoning proposed. The City is also considering adoption of a draft 6th Cycle Housing Element Update; the Proposed Project in the Draft EIR considers the cumulative impacts of adoption and implementation of the 6th Cycle Housing Element Update. The City has prepared the Draft and Final EIR for the Proposed Project in compliance with the requirements of CEQA and the CEQA Guidelines (14 California Code of Regulations [CCR] Section 15000 et seq.).
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1.3 PUBLIC REVIEW OF DRAFT EIR
CEQA Guidelines Section 15087(a) requires that a Notice of Availability (NOA) of a Draft EIR be mailed to the last known name and address of all organizations and individuals who have previously requested such notice in writing. Section 15087(a) also requires that in addition to the above notifications, at least one of the following procedures be implemented:
Publication at least one time by the public agency in a newspaper of general circulation in the area affected by the proposed Project;
Posting of notice by the public agency on and off the site in the area where the Project is to be located; or
Direct mailing to the owners and occupants of property contiguous to the parcel or parcels on which the Project is located.
Section 15087(d) requires the NOA be posted for at least 30 days in the office of the county clerk of each county in which the project will be located. Section 15087(f) requires that an NOA be sent to state agencies through the State Clearinghouse. Section 15087(g) states that lead agencies should place copies of the Draft EIR in public libraries. The method by which these requirements were satisfied is provided below:
On August 14, 2023, the NOA and Notice of Completion were sent to the State Clearinghouse/Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, along with electronic copies of the Draft EIR. In addition, the City distributed the NOA for the Draft EIR to responsible and trustee agencies, interested groups, organizations, and individuals. The distribution list included all parties that commented on the Notice of Preparation (NOP) and all parties that contacted the City requesting to be notified about the project. A hard copy of the Draft EIR was made available for review during normal business hours at the City office, 650 Canyon Del Rey Boulevard, Del Rey Oaks, CA 93940. The Draft EIR was available online at the City website at: https://www.delreyoaks.org/sites/default/ files/fileattachments/community_development_and_planning/page/2692/draft_eir_city_of _dro_housing_element_updateaug14_2023.pdf
On August 14, 2023 the City posted the NOA at the Monterey County Clerk. On August 14, 2023, the City also posted the NOA at the City Hall and City kiosks.
1.4 FINAL EIR CERTIFICATION
The City Council of the City of Del Rey Oaks will review and consider the Final EIR prior to taking an action on the Proposed Project. The Final EIR will be made available to agencies who provided comments on the Draft EIR a minimum of ten days prior to the Council’s consideration of the Final EIR. If the Council finds that the Final EIR reflects the City’s independent judgment and has been prepared in accordance with CEQA and the CEQA Guidelines, the City will certify the adequacy and completeness of the Final EIR. A decision to approve the Proposed Project would be accompanied by written findings prepared in accordance with CEQA Guidelines Section 15091, and if applicable, Section 15093. The Draft EIR, Summary and this Final EIR address significant effects identified in the Final EIR, and whether the effect can be reduced to a less-than-significant level through feasible mitigation measures.
If in approving the Proposed Project, the City adopts mitigation measures to reduce significant effects, it also will adopt a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP), as required by Section 15097 of the CEQA Guidelines. The MMRP describes how each of the mitigation measures will be implemented 76 Item A.
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and provides a mechanism for monitoring and/or reporting on their implementation. If the City approves the Proposed Project or an alternative with associated significant effects on the environment that cannot be feasibly avoided or reduced to less-than-significant levels, the City must also adopt a Statement of Overriding Consideration that explains how the benefits of the Proposed Project outweigh the significant unavoidable environmental effects, in accordance with Section 15093 of the CEQA Guidelines.
1.5 ORGANIZATION OF THE FINAL EIR
This Final EIR is organized into the following sections:
Chapter 1, Introduction to the Final EIR, contains this introduction to the Final EIR, including a discussion of the background of the environmental review, a description of the contents of the Final EIR, a summary of the project decision-making process, and an introduction to the master responses.
Chapter 2, List of Comments, contains a list of all written comments received on the Draft EIR.
Chapter 3, Master Responses to Comments, contains master responses to common topics raised by the commenters.
Chapter 4, Comments and Responses on the Draft EIR contains copies of all comment documents received on the Draft EIR, and responses to each identified comment within the comment documents.
Chapter 5, Changes to the Draft EIR, contains revisions to the text of the Draft EIR made in response to the public review process.
Appendices, consisting of following appendices included in this Final EIR:
o Final EIR Appendix A; Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP) o Final EIR Appendix B: Chart of Letters/Emails Received
1.6 MASTER RESPONSE TO COMMENTS
Chapter 3 of this document contains master responses that address some common topics raised by the commenters. The intent of a master response is to provide a comprehensive response to an issue so that multiple aspects of the issue can be addressed in a coordinated, organized manner in one location. This ensures that each topic is thoroughly addressed and reduces repetition of responses. Responses to individual comments cross-reference the appropriate master response when the comment is pertinent to the master response.
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CHAPTER 2 List of Comments
2.1 INTRODUCTION
This section provides the list of comments on the Draft EIR in accordance with CEQA Guidelines Section 15088. A total of six (6) comment letters on the Draft EIR were received during the 45-day public review period. One (1) additional letter was received after the close of the 45-day review period from a state agency and is also below and responded to in this Final EIR.
2.2 LIST OF COMMENTS
Table 2-A, below, identifies the comment letters received on the Draft EIR for the Proposed Project. Each of the comment letters has been assigned a letter designation or identifier (ID); this letter designation corresponds to the organization of Chapter 4 of the Final EIR, which includes copies of the comments and responses to identified comments.
Table 2-A List of Comments
Comment
Letter ID Agency/Organization (if applicable) Date
State, Federal and Regional Agencies
A California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) September 19, 2023 B State Department of Toxic Substance and Control (DTSC) September 18, 2023 C United States Army Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) September 26, 2023 D Monterey Salinas Transit (MST) September 25, 2023
Local Organizations and Individuals
E California Native Plant Society (CNPS) September 26, 2023 LandWatch Cover Email September 27, 2023
F Email Attachments related to Del Rey Oaks EIR Comments /Housing Element July 15, 2023, various
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CHAPTER 3 Master Responses to Comments
The master responses in this chapter address comments related to topics that are common to several comment letters. The intent of a master response is to provide a comprehensive response to a topic in a coordinated, organized manner in one location that clarifies and elaborates on the analysis in the Draft EIR. The following master responses are included in this chapter (listed by section number):
Master Response 1: CEQA. This master response addresses common CEQA responses, including Adequacy of the Draft EIR, Substantial Evidence, Programmatic EIR, CEQA Baseline, and Recirculation.
Adequacy of the Draft EIR.
The Draft EIR has been prepared with sufficient analysis to provide decision makers with information to enable them to make a decision on project approval that takes into account environmental consequences.
CEQA Guidelines Section 15151 says that “[a]n evaluation of the environmental effects of a proposed project need not be exhaustive, but [rather] the sufficiency of an EIR is to be reviewed in the light of what is reasonably feasible.”
Substantial Evidence.
CEQA Guidelines Section 15384 states: “(a) ‘Substantial evidence’ as used in these guidelines means enough relevant information and reasonable inferences from this information that a fair argument can be made to support a conclusion, even though other conclusions might also be reached. …. (b) Substantial evidence shall include facts, reasonable assumptions predicated upon facts, and expert opinion supported by facts. Argument, speculation, unsubstantiated opinion or narrative, evidence which is clearly inaccurate or erroneous, or evidence of social or economic impacts which do not contribute to, or are not caused by, physical impacts on the environment, is not substantial evidence." While the CEQA lead agency’s decisions regarding the significance of environmental effects addressed in an EIR must be based on substantial evidence, the CEQA Guidelines recognize that other evidence suggesting a different conclusion may exist. The Draft EIR and this Final EIR present substantial evidence to support the conclusions drawn within these documents regarding the significance of the project’s environmental effects. When a point of evidence is provided by a commenter to support a disagreement with the EIR’s conclusion, the evidence is summarized and considered in reaching the EIR’s conclusion.
This Final EIR including these master responses and individual responses, are also provided to substantiate the conclusions reached in the Draft EIR regarding significance of impacts. The City, as lead agency, will ultimately determine which conclusion is appropriate, based on the substantial evidence presented in the EIR and other documents in the whole of the record. The lead agency will review and consider all the substantial evidence in the whole of the record in making its decisions about the project and its environmental effects.
Programmatic EIR.
Impacts in the Draft EIR are evaluated at a program level and where appropriate, indirect impacts that can be anticipated are assessed at a deeper level, when information is available for proposed project location and development plan, as discussed in Chapter 3, Environmental Setting and Environmental Impacts (pages 3.1 – 3.6). In this case, the future impacts cannot be fully assessed at this time as there is not sufficient project-level detail available to enable an analysis of project-specific development due to the programmatic nature of the proposed project.
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Approach to Analysis.
As described in the Draft EIR, the biological analysis is a program-level analysis for the Housing Element update and the General Plan amendment. Specific subsequent projects, their associated locations, and physical effects on the environment from the implementation of the proposed Housing Element update, General Plan amendment, and rezoning are not known at this time. Thus, this analysis uses a programmatic approach to evaluating potential impacts to sensitive biological resources that may result from implementation of the proposed Housing Element and General Plan, commensurate with the conceptual level of project information available and the approval being considered. The Draft EIR appropriately identifies and describes the potential significant impacts of future development on resources, and mitigation measures are required for any future development within the project area.
CEQA Baseline.
Per pages 3.2 – 3.3 of the Draft EIR, State CEQA Guidelines contain specific requirements related to the identification of the appropriate baseline. CEQA Guidelines Section 15125(a) require that an EIR include a description of “the physical environmental conditions in the vicinity of a project, as they exist at the time...environmental analysis is commenced...” These environmental conditions normally constitute the baseline physical conditions by which the CEQA lead agency determines whether an impact is significant.
Generally, the appropriate CEQA baseline is the existing environmental conditions at the time the NOP was published or the time the environmental analysis commenced.
The project baseline considers the current land use designations and uses in the project area. The proposed project would involve implementing the 2023 Housing Element Update, including amending the General Plan and Zoning to allow residential uses for affordable housing units to meet the RHNA and State Law. The 2023 5th Cycle Housing Element Update amends the 2019 adopted Del Rey Oaks Housing Element (Del Rey Oaks, 2019). Since some of the programs have been implemented since the adoption, this EIR focuses on implementation from the proposed changes since the previous Housing Element was adopted and focuses on the General Plan Amendment and rezoning in the former Fort Ord which would result in residential uses. Lands in the former Fort Ord area have current General Plan and zoning designations allowing development identified in Draft EIR Table 3.11-3, Summary of City General Plan Land Uses and Development per General Plan EIR. This table illustrates the current density and development allowed under baseline conditions. As noted, development would be at a much greater intensity and development of uses, as shown in Draft EIR, Table 3.11-3, under current land use designations than the proposal envisioned to allow affordable housing residential uses in the project area to meet RHNA.
Recirculation.
CEQA and the CEQA Guidelines provide that a Draft EIR needs to be recirculated only if significant new information is added to an EIR after notice of public review has been given, but before certification of the Final EIR. (Pub. Res. Code, Section 21092.1; CEQA Guidelines Section 15088.5; Vineyard Area Citizens for Resp. Growth Inc. v. City of Rancho Cordova (2007) 40 Cal.4th 412,447.) The critical issue in this inquiry is whether any new information added is "significant"; if so, recirculation is required. (Pub. Res. Code, Section 21092.1). CEQA Guidelines, Section 15088.5(a) states "new information added to an EIR is not 'significant' unless the EIR is changed in a way that deprives the public of a meaningful opportunity to comment upon a substantial adverse environmental effect of the project or a feasible way to mitigate or avoid such an effect (including a feasible project alternative) that the project's proponents have declined to implement."
Responses to comments provided in this document address significant environmental issues raised by commenting public agencies, organizations and individuals. Information provided in response to 82 Item A.
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comments on the Draft EIR contained in this document clarifies or amplifies information in the Draft EIR.
The information does not reveal that the project would cause new significant impacts not previously identified in the Draft EIR, or a substantial increase in the severity of impacts identified in the Draft EIR.
Also, no significant new information has been added that changes the EIR in a way that deprives the public of a meaningful opportunity to comment upon a substantial adverse environmental effect of the project or a feasible way to mitigate or avoid such an effect (including a feasible project alternative) that the project’s proponents have declined to implement. Modifications to the Draft EIR as presented in Chapter 5, Changes to the Draft EIR and responses in this Final EIR do not constitute “significant new information” as defined in Section 15088.5 of the CEQA Guidelines.
Therefore, in accordance with CEQA Guidelines Section 15088.5 (b), no recirculation of the Draft EIR is required.
Master Response 2: Hazardous Materials. This master response addresses Hazardous Materials and Residential Development within Former Fort Ord.
Hazardous Materials and Residential Development within Former Fort Ord.
The redevelopment area within the City limits at Fort Ord was designated for commercial/hotel development consistent with the Fort Ord Reuse Plan. For a portion of the former Fort Ord parcels, a residential designation in this particular area is constrained by the former use as a military range and related unexploded ordnance issues. A deed restriction or “Covenant to Restrict Use of the Property (CRUP)” was placed onto the former Fort Ord site that provides in pertinent part that residential use of the property is not currently authorized and would require additional approvals prior to authorization of this area for residential use. Per the Protocol, the Former Fort Ord site regulators, DTSC and US EPA, must confirm that the risk of exposure to hazardous materials can be reduced through active MEC removal actions in concert with public education, continuing land use controls (such as the grading and excavation ordinance under DRO Municipal Code Chapter 15.48) and continued active agency oversight and involvement in any MEC actions at the Former Fort Ord site.
As summarized in Chapter 3.9, Hazardous Materials, and as referenced in letters from the DTSC and BRAC, a large portion in the middle of the former Fort Ord parcels is not currently restricted by deed restriction for residential uses. While there is a current restriction against residential use in other portions of the project areas, a large middle-portion of former Parcel E29a (within Site 1, as shown in Figures 3.9-3 and
3.9-4 of the Draft EIR), provide adequate area for residential use without current covenant restrictions against residential. For properties under the covenant/deed, prior to approval of residential development plans on the project site, environmental agencies, including the state lead regulatory agency, DTSC, shall confirm that the clearances conducted to date together with the approved remedial actions required will be sufficient to allow the former Fort Ord site to be developed for residential uses.
Additionally, as noted in the BRAC EIR comment letter, the Army is currently working with the City of Del Rey Oaks to modify federal deed restriction to remove the residential use restriction from the middleportion of Site 1 (E29a) as described in the Record of Decision (ROD). Mitigation measures in Section 3.9 Hazards and Hazardous Materials require that before any residential use is allowed, DTSC and US Army and EPA must confirm that the risk of exposure to hazardous materials can be appropriately reduced through active MEC removal actions in concert with public education, continuing land use controls (such as the grading and excavation ordinance under DRO Municipal Code Chapter 15.48) and continued active agency oversight and involvement in any MEC actions at the Former Fort Ord site.
The removal of MEC has been undertaken by the Army for over two decades, and neighboring jurisdictions had similar restrictions until activities were completed to clear land uses, including residential restrictions.
The above mitigation along with the City of Del Rey Oaks grading and excavation ordinance are applied to 83 Item A.
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all areas and ground disturbance activities located within the former Fort Ord. This ordinance, in addition to other agreements with DTSC and the Army, provides measures, including munitions identification training for construction workers, and other protocols in the event that munitions are uncovered during the course of construction. DTSC has indicated that these measures are adequate in order to ensure that the public health and the environment are safeguarded from munitions related hazards in the area unrestricted by covenants against residential use.
Master Response 3: Water. This master response addresses comments related to project impacts related to water.
Comments raised identity impacts related to increased groundwater pumping causing a significant impact to the Salinas Valley Groundwater Basin (SVGB). This comment does not consider the programmatic nature of the project and the baseline conditions, including allowable uses under the current General Plan and Zoning. The project would not directly or indirectly increase groundwater pumping from the SVGB.
The Housing Element updates programs and does not in itself require or propose that development would occur (first tier) and as a result will not cause an increase in pumping to the SVGB. Rezoning, if approved, would allow a new type of use on the affected parcels (residential, specifically affordable residential uses to meet RHNA). The rezoning action and redesignation itself would not create a physical impact; there is no water drawn from any aquifer or water supplied from a water agency directly resulting from the action of the land use amendment or from the rezoning. Rezoning or amending a land use designation provides a designation under which future development may occur, subject to many requirements and actions prior to any physical development (second tier impact). A rezoning or amendment to a land use designation may allow for an application to be made to allow potential future development (third tier) that could, in the future if developed, result in future development on the subject properties. Any increase in groundwater pumping occurs only once a project is located, permitted, constructed and implemented, and in the case of the proposed project, once residences are occupied on the sites. However, the effects of those projects would be evaluated on a project-by-project basis.
Further, under the City General Plan, City Redevelopment Plan and FORA Reuse Plan, development is already planned for these areas. Additionally, as documented in the Draft EIR and 2019 Housing Element Update ISND, under baseline conditions with or without a Housing Element Update, development and future water use would occur under the existing approved and adopted plans and EIRs at a much higher density, intensity and water demand than for the rezoning project to meet RHNA. Under RHNA, for 5th Cycle, 86 affordable residential units are allocated to the City of Del Rey Oaks. The current land use planning and zoning allow for a much larger and greater development area and density of development than that which could be considered under the proposed project and rezoning.
Implementation of the proposed project would allow housing sites and result in an increase in water demand for residential uses; however, the increase is minor compared with existing and projected demand, supply, and surplus. Since the project area is planned for development under the City General Plan at a higher level of water use and development intensity than under the proposed project, allowing residential uses to meet RHNA would not substantially decrease groundwater supplies or interfere substantially with groundwater recharge such that the proposed project may impede sustainable groundwater management of the basin.
Further, the previous EIRs adopted for the General Plan, FORA Reuse Plan and Redevelopment Plan considered the environmental impacts of development. A future project level document would tier off this program level environmental document to address development of affordable housing units within the City. The incremental effects of those projects would be evaluated in accordance with the requirements of CEQA once the and other specifics of these projects are known. 84 Item A.
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Master Response 4: Previous Environmental Documentation. This master response previous environmental documentation and Incorporation by Reference.
Section 2.5 of the Draft EIR provides a listing of the previous environmental documentation completed for this project area and incorporated by reference. Introduction, Section 1.6 cites Section 15150 of the CEQA Guidelines permits documents pertinent to the analysis and technical documentation to be incorporated by reference in an EIR. Specifically, Section 15150 states that an EIR may “incorporate by reference all or portions of another document which is a matter of public record or is generally available to the public…”. Consequently, previous environmental documentation and pertinent technical background documents as identified in this EIR are incorporated by reference.
Master Response 5: Other Items. This master responses addresses comments pertaining to project preference and other items not specific to the EIR.
Some of the comments received during the Draft EIR comment period pertain to the commenter’s opinion on “project” or other aspects of the Housing Element Update rather than to the sufficiency of the Draft EIR--i.e., expressed opinions regarding, the content of the Housing Element or contents, such as the sites inventory within the Housing Element Update. The focus of the responses to comments in this document is on the sufficiency of the Draft EIR and related environmental points, and in particular on the adequacy of the Draft EIR regarding identification of environmental impacts and methods to avoid impacts (CEQA Guidelines secs. 15088 and 15204).
Comments received during the Draft EIR comment period pertaining to the commenter’s preference for alternatives or programs for the proposed project rather than the adequacy of the Draft EIR will be considered by the City decision-makers in their future deliberations and actions on the proposed project, and unless they raise a specific environmental point, do not require and have not received a written response in this Final EIR.
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CHAPTER 4 Comments and Responses on the Draft EIR
4.1 INTRODUCTION
This section provides responses to the comments received on the Draft EIR. A list of the comment letters is presented in Section 2.2, and copies of each of the comment letters are included in this section, with responses to each comment provided following the letter.
4.2 COMMENT LETTERS AND RESPONSES TO COMMENTS
Each letter and comment card received as a comment on the Draft EIR is included herein and assigned a letter of the alphabet. Within that letter, all individual comments are assigned numbers located in the right-hand margin of the letter. Responses to each comment are provided immediately following each comment letter. In those instances, in which a comment states an agency position or opinion and does not comment on issues relevant to the environmental analysis presented in the Draft EIR, the response reads: "No response is required.” If the comment is directed at the City regarding the decision on the project, the response reads: "The comment is referred to decision makers as a consideration on the Proposed Project." Typically, these comments do not raise issues relevant to the environmental analysis.
Where the response notes an addition or deletion to the text, tables, or figures in the Draft EIR, the reader is directed to Chapter 5, Changes to the Draft EIR.
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CALIFORNIA STATE TRANSPORTATION AGENCY
California Department of Transportation
CALTRANS DISTRICT 5
50 HIGUERA STREET I SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA 93401-54 l 5
(805)549-3101 I FAX(805)549-3329 TTY7ll
www.dot.ca.gov
September 19, 2023
Karen Minami
Deputy City Clerk
City of Del Rey Oaks
650 Canyon Del Rey Boulevard
Del Rey Oaks, CA 93940
GAVIN NEWSOM, GOVERNOR
••
tbltmns·
MON/Var
SCH# 2023040680
COMMENTS FOR THE CITY OF DEL REY OAKS HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE DRAFT
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT (DEIR) - DEL REY OAKS, CA
Dear Ms. Minami:
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), District 5, Local Development Review, has reviewed the DEIR for the City of Del Rey Oaks Housing Element Update which evaluates the Housing Element for the 5th Cycle Planning Period, including updates to existing policies and programs contained within the adopted 2019 Draft Housing Element. Caltrans offers the following comments in response to the DEIR:
1. Caltrans supports Mitigation Measure 3.16-1 requiring future development projects maintain bicycle, pedestrian, and public transit access during construction and providing bicycle storage facilities at all residential developments. The measure further states all future development would be subject to implement City guidelines and General Plan policies applicable to transit, bicycle, and pedestrian facilities.
This measure will help meet statewide goals of reducing vehicle miles travele_d and greenhouse gas emissions while enhancing and connecting the multimodal transportation network for all users.
2. Caltrans looks forward to working with the City of Del Rey Oaks on future transit and complete streets concepts located within State right of way. The State views all transportation improvements as opportunities to improve safety, access, and mobility for all users and recognizes bicycle, pedestrian, and transit modes as integral elements of the transportation network. Early coordination with Caltrans, in locations that may affect both Caltrans and the City of Del Rey Oaks, is encouraged.
"Provide a safe and reliable transportation network that serves all people and respects the environment" Letter A - Caltrans
1 2
88 Item A.
Karen Minami, Deputy City Clerk
September 19, 2023
Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on the proposed project. If you have any questions, or need further clarification on items discussed above, please contact me at (805) 835-6543 or email [email protected].
Sincerely,
Chris Bjornstad
Associate Transportation Planner
District 5 Local Development Review
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Letter A: California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), District 5 A-1 California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), District 5, Local Development Review, notes they have reviewed the Draft EIR for the City of Del Rey Oaks Housing Element Update addressing the Housing Element for the 5th Cycle Planning Period, including updates to existing policies and programs contained within the adopted 2019 Draft Housing Element.
A-2 The comment notes Caltrans supports Mitigation Measure 3.16-1 requiring future development projects maintain bicycle, pedestrian, and public transit access during construction and providing bicycle storage facilities at all residential developments. The measure further states all future development would be subject to implement City guidelines and General Plan policies applicable to transit, bicycle, and pedestrian facilities. This measure will help meet statewide goals of reducing vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions while enhancing and connecting the multimodal transportation network for all users. The comment is noted.
A-3 The comment notes that Caltrans looks forward to working with the City of Del Rey Oaks on future transit and complete streets concepts located within State right of way. The State views all transportation improvements as opportunities to improve safety, access, and mobility for all users and recognizes bicycle, pedestrian, and transit modes as integral elements of the transportation network. Early coordination with Caltrans, in locations that may affect both Caltrans and the City of Del Rey Oaks, is encouraged. The comment is directed to the City to address future coordination as the comment suggests.
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SENT VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL
September 18, 2023
Karen Minami
Deputy City Clerk City of Del Rey Oaks
650 Canyon Del Rey Boulevard
Newark, CA 94560
[email protected]
RE: DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT (DEIR) FOR THE CITY FOF DEL REY OAKS HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE, DATED AUGUST 14, 2023 STATE CLEARINGHOUSE# 2023040680
Dear Karen Minami:
The Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) received a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the City of Del Rey Oaks Housing Element Update. Fort Ord served as a U.S. Army base from 1917-1994, training as many as 1.5 million American troops. The Army has been conducting investigation and cleanup activities at the former Fort Ord location under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (also known as CERCLA or Superfund) since 1990, with the oversight of the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the State of California. Based on our project review, DTSC requests consideration of the following comments:
The proposed project is located within Track 2 Del Rey Oaks Munitions Response Area (MRA), where many rockets, as well as smoke pots, grenades, and other munitions and explosives of concern were found during remedial Letter B - DTSC
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investigation. The Del Rey Oaks/Monterey MRA Record of Decision describes the cleanup. Due to the risk of remaining munitions and explosives of concern, land use controls were implemented. In addition to the Amendment No.1 and Partial Termination of Covenant to Restrict Use of Property Environmental Restriction, the following Covenants to Restrict the Use of Property apply:
1. Fort Ord, CA,
2. City of Seaside Environmental Services Cooperative Agreement (Fort Ord).
These restrictions do not include residential re-use, no sensitive uses (facilities that house or attract children, elderly, those with illness or sensitive to air pollutants), no soil disturbance or violation of an ordinance without an approved soil management plan, notification of munitions and explosives of concern if located, and access rights for the Army and regulatory agencies. Additionally, the City of Del Rey Oaks adopted its own Excavation Ordinance to ensure success of the remedy. As noted in the Amendment, there is a small portion of the property where the residential and sensitive use restrictions have been lifted, but the other requirements listed above still apply.
Furthermore, Mitigation Measure 3.9-1 states that prior to approval of residential development plans on the project area, environmental agencies, including the Army, and the state lead regulatory agency, DTSC, shall confirm that the clearances to be conducted and those conducted to date together with approved remedial actions, as required, will be sufficient to allow the Former Fort Ord site to be developed for residential reuse.
Residential use for the specified areas identified herein will be prohibited until the landowner provides advance notification to the Army, USEPA, and DTSC of its intent to change a designated area’s use to residential, and until DTSC concurs that residential use is appropriate. DTSC’s evaluation may consider the Residential Protocol or further site evaluation incorporating new information (e.g., geophysical mapping, site development).
DTSC has not received or approved any Construction Support Plans from Del 2 3
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Rey Oaks, nor has the Army or USEPA. The areas with residential restrictions on them require additional remedial action to allow the restrictions to be removed. DTSC has not received or approved any Remedial Action Plans from Del Rey Oaks, nor have the Army or USEPA. These measures and actions must be met prior to the project’s commencement.
DTSC appreciates the opportunity to comment on the City of Del Rey Oaks Housing Element Update DEIR. If you have any questions, please respond to this letter or via email for additional guidance.
Sincerely,
Dave Kereazis
Associate Environmental Planner
HWMP - Permitting Division – CEQA Unit
Department of Toxic Substances Control
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cc: (via email)
Governor’s Office of Planning and
Research State Clearinghouse
[email protected]
Brett Leary
Project Manager
SMRP – Military and Corrective Action Unit
Department of Toxic Substances Control
[email protected]
Duane White
Supervising Hazardous Substance Engineer I
SMRP – Cleanup Program
Department of Toxic Substances Control
[email protected]
Denise Duffy
President – Denise Duffy & Associates, Inc.
Consulting Firm
[email protected]
Ms. Tamara Purvis
Associate Environmental Planner
CEQA Unit - HWMP
Department of Toxic Substances Control
[email protected]
Scott Wiley
Associate Governmental Program Analyst
CEQA Unit – HWMP
Department of Toxic Substances Control
[email protected]
94 Item A.
Chapter 4. Comments and Responses on the Draft EIR
October 2023 4-9 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
Letter B: Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) B-1 The comment notes that the Army has been conducting investigation and cleanup activities at the former Fort Ord location under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (also known as CERCLA or Superfund) since 1990, with the oversight of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the State of California.
Comment in informational and no response is required.
B-2 The comment provides information that is referenced in the Draft EIR regarding restrictive covenants, transfer documents and uses not allowed within a specified area within Site 1 and 1a.
B-3 As noted in the Draft EIR, residential use for the specified areas identified herein will be prohibited until the landowner provides advance notification to the Army, EPA, and DTSC of its intent to change a designated area’s use to residential, and until DTSC concurs that residential use is appropriate. DTSC’s evaluation may consider the Residential Protocol or further site evaluation incorporating new information (e.g., geophysical mapping, site development).
B-4 The comment provides text from Draft EIR Mitigation Measure 3.9-1; the letter restates the mitigation that requires:
Prior to approval of residential development plans on the project area, environmental agencies, including the Army, and the state lead regulatory agency, DTSC, shall confirm that the clearances to be conducted and those conducted to date together with approved remedial actions, as required, will be sufficient to allow the Former Fort Ord site to be developed for residential reuse.
The letter includes the additional mitigation requirement (excerpted from the Draft EIR), under Draft EIR Mitigation Measure 3.9-1:
Residential use for the specified areas identified herein will be prohibited until the landowner provides advance notification to the Army, USEPA, and DTSC of its intent to change a designated area’s use to residential, and until DTSC concurs that residential use is appropriate. DTSC’s evaluation may consider the Residential Protocol or further site evaluation incorporating new information (e.g., geophysical mapping, site development).
B-5 The comment notes the areas with residential restrictions on them require additional remedial action to allow the restrictions to be removed. DTSC notes they have not received or approved any Remedial Action Plans from Del Rey Oaks, nor have the Army or USEPA and that these measures and actions must be met prior to the project’s commencement. This comment is consistent with the required mitigation measure. As noted in the BRAC letter and response, the Army is currently working with the City of Del Rey Oaks to modify federal deed restriction to remove the residential use restriction from the middle-portion of Site 1 (E29a) as described in the Record of Decision (ROD). The Final EIR is amended to add the work currently underway with BRAC and the City. See Chapter 5, Changes to the Draft EIR, EIR Section 3.9 Hazards and Hazardous Materials.
95 Item A.
From: Nozaki, Chieko CTR (USA) <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, September 26, 2023 2:11 PM
To: Karen Minami <[email protected]>
Cc: Payton, R Curtis CIV USARMY HQDA DCS G-9 (USA) <[email protected]>; Kowalski, Bartholomew L CTR USARMY CESPK (USA) <[email protected]>; Jason No ([email protected]) <[email protected]> Subject: RE: Notice of Intent to Adopt an EIR City of Del Rey Oaks Housing Element Update Forwarding on behalf of Curtis Payton, Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Environmental Coordinator for Fort Ord.
This is in response to “Notice of Availability/Notice of Intent to Adopt an Environmental Impact Report, City of Del Rey Oaks Housing Element Update” (undated, postmarked August 15, 2023) in which the City of Del Rey Oaks describes an availability of “Draft EIR [that] addresses the revisions to the 5th Cycle 2023 Draft Housing Element Update and also considers the cumulative impacts of adoption and implementation of the 6th Cycle Housing Element Update” for public comment. The U.S. Army BRAC Fort Ord Field Office reviewed the Draft EIR dated August 2023.
BRAC Fort Ord Field Office reviewed the document and would like to provide the following comments. -Section 3.4 Biological Resources. The section acknowledges earlier BRAC comment that noted the requirements under the Installation-Wide Multispecies Habitat Management Plan for Former Fort Ord (HMP) that apply to “Borderland Development Areas Along Natural Resource Management Area (NMRA) Interface” be taken into account. Besides habitat conservation measures, the HMP requires:
“parking lots, greenbelts, or other nonflammable or fire-resistant land uses will be located as a buffer between the NRMA and development” and “Structures will be sited entirely behind the land use that is developed as a firebreak.” Please incorporate into the EIR the HMP requirement for a firebreak along NRMA.
-Section 3.9 Hazards and Hazardous Materials. The section acknowledges the residential use restriction that has been placed on the former Fort Ord properties (including Sites 1a, K1 and K2, and portions of Site 1), and that the State covenant restrictions will need to be amended or lifted before housing units could be constructed. Since the time the Army transferred these parcels in 2005, the Army has completed its munitions response actions and recorded the final selected remedy, which includes the continuation of the restriction against residential use in the areas, except for a middle-portion of Parcel E29a (a portion of Site 1), as shown in Figures 3.9-3 and 3.9-4 of the Draft EIR. The Army is currently working with the City of Del Rey Oaks to modify federal deed restriction to remove the residential use restriction from the middle-portion of E29a as described in the Record of Decision (ROD). (There are other ROD requirements which appear to be acknowledged in the Draft EIR.) -The discussion of Impact HAZ-2 (page 3.9-17) should identify Sites K1 and K2 as having the same residential use restriction and land use controls as Site 1a and portions of Site 1. -Please check the footprints of the four former Fort Ord sites, 1, 1a, K1 and K2. For example, according to the Geographic Information System data provided by Monterey County, the APN parcels 031-191- 026-000 (associated with Site 1) and 031-191-025-000 (associated with Site K2) appear to encroach onto the Army’s BRAC property. (We understand this issue is currently being addressed by Monterey County.) 1 2
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Letter C Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC)
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Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on the Draft EIR. If you have any questions please feel free to contact Curtis Payton, BRAC Environmental Coordinator, at [email protected].
Chieko Nozaki, P.E., PMP
(Chenega Tri-Services)
Fort Ord BRAC Office
P.O. Box 5008, Monterey, CA 93944-5008
831-899-7372 desk
831-393-9188 fax
[email protected]
97 Item A.
Chapter 4. Comments and Responses on the Draft EIR
October 2023 4-12 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
Letter C: Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) for Fort Ord C-1 Comment notes that Section 3.4, Biological Resources of the Draft EIR addresses requirements under the Installation-Wide Multispecies Habitat Management Plan for Former Fort Ord (HMP) applicable to “Borderland Development Areas Along Natural Resource Management Area (NMRA) Interface”. Comment notes, in addition to the habitat conservation measures, the HMP states: “parking lots, greenbelts, or other nonflammable or fire-resistant land uses will be located as a buffer between the NRMA and development” and “Structures will be sited entirely behind the land use that is developed as a firebreak.” Per this comment, the Final EIR adds this HMP requirement for a firebreak along NRMA. See Chapter 5, Changes to the Draft EIR, Section
3.4, Biological Resources.
C-2 Comment notes the EIR Section 3.9 Hazards and Hazardous Materials address the residential use restriction that has been placed on the former Fort Ord properties (including Sites 1a, K1 and K2, and portions of Site 1), and that the State covenant restrictions will need to be amended or lifted before housing units could be constructed. Additional information is provided from BRAC on Army actions: Since the time the Army transferred these parcels in 2005, the Army has completed its munitions response actions and recorded the final selected remedy, which includes the continuation of the restriction against residential use in the areas, except for a middle-portion of Parcel E29a (a portion of Site 1), as shown in Figures 3.9-3 and 3.9-4 of the Draft EIR.
The Army is currently working with the City of Del Rey Oaks to modify federal deed restriction to remove the residential use restriction from the middle-portion of Site 1 (E29a) as described in the Record of Decision (ROD). The Final EIR is amended to add the work currently underway with BRAC and the City. See Chapter 5, Changes to the Draft EIR, EIR Section 3.9 Hazards and Hazardous Materials.
C-3 The comment further notes that there are other ROD requirements which are acknowledged in the Draft EIR. No response is necessary; the comment reiterates information presented in the Draft EIR.
C-4 The comment notes the Geographic Information System (GIS) data provided by Monterey County for APN parcels 031-191-026-000 (associated with Site 1) and 031-191-025-000 (associated with Site K2) appear to encroach onto the Army’s BRAC property. The commenter further notes that this GIS issue is being addressed by Monterey County. The base data and GIS information from Monterey County is noted; the corrections being made will be incorporated into future maps provided for any future projects on these sites. See Chapter 5, Changes to the Draft EIR, where this is noted for the record.
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3 Letter D Monterey Salinas Transit
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Chapter 4. Comments and Responses on the Draft EIR
October 2023 4-14 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
Letter D: Monterey Salinas Transit (MST)
D-1 The comment notes MST public transportation service routes to the City of Del Rey Oaks. No response is necessary; the information will be included per Response to Comment D-2.
D-2 Comment notes the EIR Section 3.16.2, Environmental Setting – Transit Service information providing existing services to Del Rey Oaks. Comment provides additional information of routes and frequencies. The route information from MST is noted. The Final EIR is amended to add the additional route information. See Chapter 5, Changes to the Draft EIR, EIR Section 3.16 Transportation.
D-3 Comment notes MST support of Mitigation Measure 3.16-1. Comment provides information of MST’s Group Discount program for developers “to offer residents substantially reduced cost bus passes to incentivize transit use and further mitigate transportation impacts.” The Final EIR is amended to add the additional MST program information. See Chapter 5, Changes to the Draft EIR, EIR Section 3.16 Transportation.
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September 26, 2023
City of Del Rey Oaks
Attn: Karen Minami, City Clerk
Re: City of Del Rey Oaks Housing Element EIR
650 Canyon Del Rey
Del Rey Oaks, CA 93940
Submitted via email to: [email protected]
Submitted by: Monterey Bay CNPS, P.O. Box 221303, Carmel, CA 93922 Re: Monterey Bay Chapter of the
Rey Oaks 2023 Housing Element Update Draft Environmental Impact Report Dear City of Del Rey Oaks:
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on
Element Update Draft Environmental Impact Report
submitted on behalf of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS), a environmental organization with over 1
and Baja California, Mexico. CNPS’s mission is to protect California’s native plant heritage and preserve it for future generations through the application of s education, and conservation. We work closely with decision planners to advocate for well-informed policies, regulations, and land management practices.
The Monterey Bay Chapter of the California Native Plant Rey Oaks’ goal to adopt plans, without excessive constraints, that provide opportunities for affordable housing development within the city as part of its 2023 Housing Element Update. Above all, the Chapter would like to se
clear timeline to streamline the development of housing for those with extremely low and very low incomes, as well as for the special housing needs of people who are elderly or disabled, farmworkers, and people ex
mandated Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) and facilitate the construction of 270 residential units in the city from now through 2031. 1 State funding programs for transportation, infrastructure, and housing often require a local jurisdiction’s compliance with Housing Element Law. Effective programs must include definite time frames for implementation, identify the agencies and officials responsible for implementation, and include specific action steps to implement the program. Failure to adopt a housing Re: City of Del Rey Oaks Housing Element EIR
[email protected]
Submitted by: Monterey Bay CNPS, P.O. Box 221303, Carmel, CA 93922 Monterey Bay Chapter of the California Native Plant Society Comments on Rey Oaks 2023 Housing Element Update Draft Environmental Impact Report Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the City of Del Rey Oaks 2023 Housing Element Update Draft Environmental Impact Report. The following comments are California Native Plant Society (CNPS), a non-profit
environmental organization with over 12,500 members in 36 Chapters across California and Baja California, Mexico. CNPS’s mission is to protect California’s native plant heritage and preserve it for future generations through the application of science, research, education, and conservation. We work closely with decision-makers, scientists, and local informed policies, regulations, and land management
The Monterey Bay Chapter of the California Native Plant Society supports the City of Del Rey Oaks’ goal to adopt plans, without excessive constraints, that provide opportunities for affordable housing development within the city as part of its 2023 Housing Element Update. Above all, the Chapter would like to see the City adopt an achievable plan with a clear timeline to streamline the development of housing for those with extremely low and very low incomes, as well as for the special housing needs of people who are elderly or disabled, farmworkers, and people experiencing homelessness, to meet its State mandated Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) and facilitate the construction of 270 residential units in the city from now through 2031.1It is for this reason and, of State funding programs for transportation, infrastructure, and housing often require a local jurisdiction’s compliance with Housing Element Law. Effective programs must include definite time frames for implementation, identify the agencies and esponsible for implementation, and include specific action steps to implement the program. Failure to adopt a housing California Native Plant Society Comments on the City of Del the City of Del Rey Oaks 2023 Housing
. The following comments are
Chapters across California
and Baja California, Mexico. CNPS’s mission is to protect California’s native plant heritage cience, research,
makers, scientists, and local
informed policies, regulations, and land management
Society supports the City of Del
Rey Oaks’ goal to adopt plans, without excessive constraints, that provide opportunities for affordable housing development within the city as part of its 2023 Housing Element e the City adopt an achievable plan with a
clear timeline to streamline the development of housing for those with extremely low and very low incomes, as well as for the special housing needs of people who are elderly or periencing homelessness, to meet its Statemandated Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) and facilitate the construction of It is for this reason and, of
State funding programs for transportation, infrastructure, and housing often require a local jurisdiction’s compliance with Housing Element Law. Effective programs must include definite time frames for implementation, identify the agencies and esponsible for implementation, and include specific action steps to implement the program. Failure to adopt a housing Letter E - California Native Plant Society
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2 course, for the protection of over 200 acres of rare and threatened Central Coast Maritime Chaparral found on the former Fort Ord properties, and identified by the City for conversion to housing sites, which the Chapter wishes to comment on.
In a review of the City’s 2023 Housing Element Update, the Chapter quickly saw what it believed to be major flaws in the Update and the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) tasked to address the environmental impacts of the proposed project. Housing Element Law requires local governments to prepare a “Site Inventory and Analysis” of land suitable for residential development, including vacant sites and sites having the potential for redevelopment. The site suitability analysis must demonstrate that a site identified by the City for residential development must be free from most or all environmental constraints to its development within the Housing Element’s eight year planning period.2
Unfortunately, unlike most cities in California, the City of Del Rey Oaks did not choose vacant lots in the existing developed area of the city to meet its housing needs – vacant lots with few to no constraints to housing development. In fact, the City would have been hard-pressed to find housing sites more burdened with environmental constraints in the entire state, than the City’s former Fort Ord properties, Sites 1 and 1a, chosen as the focus of their Housing Element Update. 3 Rather than being vacant lots with utilities and ready to develop, the Fort Ord properties possess a multitude of constraints to their development for affordable housing. The Sites 1 and 1a environmental constraints include: (1) being principally composed of Central Coast Maritime Chaparral – a “Sensitive Natural Community” protected by the California Environmental Quality Act and the State’s Natural Community Conservation Planning Act, (2) being the essential habitat for an enormous number of 38 protected special status species with the potential to occur on the project site, (3) the fact that many of these species are protected directly by the federal Endangered Species Act and the California Endangered Species Act, (4) the need to obtain mandatory Incidental Take Permits from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife for “take” (harm or kill) of listed species, (5) the first step need for a fully developed and approved Habitat Conservation Plan that ensures that the effects of the authorized incidental take are adequately minimized and mitigated element on schedule and in compliance with Housing Element law can have serious consequences affecting a jurisdiction’s ability to regulate land use and access State funding. A non-compliant Housing Element can put a jurisdiction’s General Plan at risk of being deemed inadequate. A jurisdiction that fails to comply with Housing Element law must prepare updates to its housing element more frequently until they are consistently compliant. The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) may impose fines for violations, and HCD may also refer violations to the Attorney General (HCD Housing Element Compliance Incentives and Consequences 2021).
2 California Department of Housing and Community Development Housing Element Site Inventory Guidebook (2020) California Government Code of Regulations Section 65583.2.
3 California Government Code of Regulations Section 65583.2(b)(4) requires a general description of any environmental constraints to the development of housing within the jurisdiction. 1a
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3 for the listed species, (6) the required need for extensive baseline biological surveys of listed species on the project site to support the conservation strategy, including multi-year floral surveys of listed plant species,4,5 (7) expensive compensatory mitigation for impacts to these species and their habitat as permits require the preparation and implementation of a long-term mitigation and monitoring plan including a take assessment, compensatory mitigation lands, success criteria, and funding assurances along with mitigating impacted sensitive natural community habitat offsite at a minimum 3:1 ratio through preservation, restoration,6 and/or a conservation bank,7,8 (8) threats to any new housing development from wildfire in the wildfire urban interface (WUI) not sufficiently analyzed in the DEIR,9,10 (9) a binding State Covenant with the Army prohibiting housing due to insufficient removal of unexploded ordnance (UXO) and hazardous materials at the project site, (10) necessary studies and additional UXO and hazardous materials cleanup by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to a level sufficient for future housed
4 Botanical field surveys provide information used to determine the potential environmental effects of a proposed project on special status plants and sensitive natural communities as required by law (Protocols for Surveying and Evaluating Impacts to Special Status Native Plant Populations and Sensitive Natural Communities. 2018. State of California Natural Resources Agency, Department of Fish and Wildlife).
5 The USFWS and CDFW must be able to describe and analyze the effects of the proposed covered activities on the covered species to issue incidental take coverage for each species. Estimates of the number of individuals of each covered species that the housing program will “take” must be provided. This cannot be done without sufficient baseline biological studies (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Form 3-200-56).
6 “CDFW generally does not support the use of translocation, transplantation, or salvaging plants as the primary mitigation strategy for unavoidable impacts to plants composing a sensitive plant community. Studies have shown that these efforts are experimental and the outcome unreliable. Transplantation to mitigate for impacts to sensitive plant communities may be unsuccessful when mitigation does not account for abiotic and biotic components of a plant community. Abiotic variables such as hydrologic regime, soil type, microclimate, slope, aspect, and elevation determine where a plant community occurs. Plant communities are not merely plants but also consist of pollinators and microscopic biota such as detritovores, cyanobacteria, lichens, algae, and microfungi. Abiotic and biotic variables are rarely considered during mitigation site selection or when developing a conservation plan. This may result in a project never being able to replace the plant community that was impacted. Lastly, transplanting or establishing plants could be unsuccessful without sufficient investment to the restoration site.” CDFW Site Plan Review 20-009 Project, Mitigated Negative Declaration, SCH #2021010230, City of Palmdale, Los Angeles County.
7 The California Native Plant Society believes that the acquisition and permanent protection of an alternative parcel does not alter the fact that the loss of the initial site brings the rare habitat and species one step closer to ultimate extinction (CNPS Policy on Mitigation Guidelines Regarding Impacts to Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Plants (CNPS Rare Plant Scientific Advisory Committee, revised 1998).
8 California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) best practices for choosing RHNA sites requires that sites do not require environmental mitigation (HCD Housing Element Site Inventory Guidebook). 9 Maritime Chaparral is a fire dependent vegetation type. Many Maritime Chaparral species are obligate seeders and require fire in order to reproduce. Rare manzanita and ceanothus are examples of species that reproduce only from seed. Although occasional germination from seed may occur in disturbed areas along trails, these species require fire to scarify seeds and expose mineral soil to allow for reproduction at an ecologically meaningful scale (National Park Service). 10 The vegetation surrounding the proposed housing sites (Maritime Chaparral) is a fire-adapted plant community that has evolved to depend on periodic fire to reproduce for its continued existence. The project site is located at the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) and is at the highest level of risk for wildfire. “The capacity of a site (for housing) should be adjusted for areas that cannot be developed due to environmental factors such as hazards, wetlands, or topography that cannot be mitigated” (HCD Housing Element Site Inventory Guidebook).
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4 families to live in health and safety, (11) the need to rezone Sites 1 and 1a to allow housing, (12) the possibility that DTSC and the binding covenant will ultimately not allow rezoning to allow housing, (13) the resolution of environmental justice issues from a plan that places housing for the poorest members of the community on dangerous and toxic land,11 (14) the possibility of third-party litigation on environmental grounds,12 and (15) the undetermined and unspecified time needed to resolve these constraints within the Housing Element’s planning period, if they are resolvable.
In addition to the flawed site suitability analysis just described, another major flaw of this programmatic DEIR is the fact that in terms of the program’s impact on special status plants and sensitive natural communities, this DEIR is not programmatic at all. The California Code of Regulations Section 15168 states that a program EIR should “provide a description of planned activities that would implement the program and deals with the effects of the program as specifically and comprehensively as possible. With a good and detailed project description and analysis of the program, many later activities could be found to be within the scope of the project described in the program EIR, and no further environmental documents would be required.” Instead of describing the potential or likely effects of the Housing Element program on special status plants and sensitive natural communities as specifically and comprehensively as possible and requiring the City to develop a Habitat Conservation Plan for Sites 1 and 1a in order to obtain required Incidental Take Permits from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, this programmatic DEIR dodges its responsibility of streamlining affordable housing and directs subsequent project developers to obtain their own Incidental Take Permits for the individual projects instead of tiering from this Housing Element Update (with little to no mention of extensive biological studies, habitat conservation plans, compensatory mitigation, funding assurances, monitoring, and the need for No Surprises assurances). To be serious about streamlining affordable housing, this 2023 Housing Element Update program must direct the City to work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and California Department of Fish and Wildlife to develop a conservation plan and obtain take permits for the Sites 1 and 1a in a holistic manner. It is very unlikely that the wildlife agencies will allow piecemeal biological studies and permitting on this very sensitive Central Coast Maritime Chaparral habitat.
The Monterey Bay Chapter of the California Native Plant Society is duty-bound to protect one of the most unique plant communities in California – the Central Coast Maritime
11 Senate Bill 1000 – “The Planning for Healthy Communities Act” California Government Code Section 65302(h) 12 The housing element should also describe whether any of the sites identified pursuant to Government Code Section 65583.2 are subject to litigation on environmental grounds that could impact their availability for development during the planning period (the circumstances should be described in the element) (California Department of Housing and Community Development).
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5 Chaparral. Much like Coast Redwood Forest, this plant community thrives within the zone of coastal summer fog – a local meteorological phenomenon with which it evolved and depends on, along with wildfire, for its continuance.13 Mixed within the Maritime Chaparral are patches of Coast Live Oak woodland, another sensitive natural community.
The Maritime Chaparral ecosystem is characterized by a suite of uncommon plants and a combination of locally endemic species of Arctostaphylos (manzanita) and Ceanothus, which mostly reproduce by seed rather than resprouting and require fire to regenerate.
Although scrubby and unremarkable looking, and dismissed by most who pass by, the Maritime Chaparral is a sensitive, rare, and endemic plant community, which means it is only found here along the central and northern California coast and its continued existence is threatened by housing development and fire suppression. Vegetation classifications that make up the Fort Ord properties’ Maritime Chaparral include Sandmat Manzanita Chaparral and Monterey Manzanita Chaparral, both plant communities are listed by CDFW as “Sensitive Natural Communities” with the highest threat categories of “critically imperiled” and “very rare and threatened.”14,15,16 The housing sites identified in the City’s Housing Element to meet its required RHNA, Sites 1 and 1a, are not only home to Maritime Chaparral, they are also essential habitat for up to 38 protected special status plant and wildlife species that are known to have the potential to occur on site, many endemic to the Central Coast and found no place else on Earth. These species and their habitat are protected by various environmental laws including the federal Endangered Species Act, the California Endangered Species Act, the California Environmental Quality Act, the California Native Plant Protection Act, the Clean Water Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the Natural Community Conservation Planning Act, and the California Coastal Act.
The special status plant and wildlife species potentially on the project site include:
Monterey shrew, Monterey dusky-footed woodrat, California tiger salamander, Northern California legless lizard, coast horned lizard, California red-legged frog, coast range newt, Smith’s blue butterfly, California fairy shrimp, Monterey spineflower, Fort Ord spineflower (first described in 2014),17 Monterey gilia, seaside bird’s beak, Yadon’s rein orchid, Contra
13 In 2010 researchers revealed that summertime fog hours had declined by 33% over the last century. Natural resource managers working to protect California’s coastal plant and animal communities in the face of a warming climate are alarmed (USGS, The Pacific Coastal Fog Project 2017).
14 Sawyer, John O., et al. A Manual of California Vegetation. California Native Plant Society Press, 2009. 15 California Code of Regulations Section 15125(c) states that “Knowledge of the regional setting is critical to the assessment of environmental impacts. Special emphasis should be placed on environmental resources that are rare or unique to that region and would be affected by the project.”
16 Sandmat Manzanita Chaparral and Monterey Manzanita Chaparral have the most imperiled plant community State ranking of S1, meaning that there are fewer than six viable occurrences of these plant communities in existence in California (CDFW). 17 Fort Ord spineflower (Chorizanthe minutiflora) was only first described by science in 2014 and is not mentioned in any of the USFWS biological opinions for Fort Ord. Reinitiation of formal consultation is required if: 1) the amount or extent of incidental take is reached; 2) new information reveals effects of the agency action that may adversely affect listed species or critical 5 6
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Comments on the City of Del Rey Oaks 2023 Housing Element Update Draft Environmental Impact Report
6 Costa goldfields, coast wallflower, Monterey ceanothus, and four species of rare and endemic manzanitas – Hooker’s, Toro, Pajaro, and sandmat.18 Just the names alone tell you how rare and localized these species are. The Central Coast Maritime Chaparral habitat found at the proposed project site, having the potential to support an extraordinary, almost unbelievable number of 38 special status plant and wildlife species, is a hometown biodiversity hotspot, undoubtedly worthy of our best conservation efforts.
Identified by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and the California Environmental Quality Act as a “Sensitive Natural Community,” the Central Coast Maritime Chaparral19 is protected by the State’s Natural Community Conservation Planning Act.20 The Central Coast Maritime Chaparral is highly threatened by coastal residential development, urbanization, and agricultural development, along with fire suppression which prevents reproduction and eliminates stands. Common stressors and threats include fragmentation of the habitat by housing and roads, and nearby housing and agriculture may make utilization of prescribed fire nearly impossible. Exotic, invasive weeds, including pampas grass, iceplant, French broom, and blue gum eucalyptus also threaten many occurrences of Maritime Chaparral. Maritime Chaparral is likely more densely invaded by exotics than other chaparral types because it is more densely fragmented by roads and thus closer to human disturbance and sources of exotic seeds (NatureServe Website 2023).21
Perhaps, the most distressing aspect of the Housing Element DEIR is the analysis of the potential effects of the proposed project on plants, wildlife, and habitat. The consulting biologists have not adequately addressed potential impacts to special status plants, animals and natural communities. They have concluded that the biological impacts of this project on protected plant and wildlife species and their habitat are “less-than-significant”
habitat in a manner or to an extent not considered in the project biological opinion; 3) the agency action is subsequently modified in a manner that causes an effect to a listed species or critical habitat that was not considered in the project’s biological opinion; or 4) a new species is listed or critical habitat designated that may be affected by this action (Code of Federal Regulations 50 CFR 402.16).
18 Often patches of maritime chaparral just a few miles apart have their own distinct manzanita species. 19 Maritime chaparral is considered a threatened habitat type, and so is protected by many agencies along the central coast of California. For instance, the California Coastal Commission considers areas of this habitat type 'environmentally sensitive habitat areas' (ESHA), affording it the highest level of protection of any habitat in California. California Coastal Act, Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Areas (ESHA)--Section 30240. 20 California Code of Regulations Section 15065 - Mandatory Findings of Significance - includes if a project would threaten to eliminate a plant community.
21 A cumulative impact not addressed in the DEIR. Other cumulative impacts of this project on biological resources on adjacent habitat not sufficiently analyzed in the DEIR include: predation on listed species by domestic and feral cats; unauthorized vehicle access; trash dumping; spread of non-native invasive plant species; increase in anthropogenic cause of wildfire; expanded roads increase vehicular traffic and traffic speed increasing risk to protected species and decreasing habitat connectivity; increase mortality by vehicle traffic to endangered species such as California tiger salamander and California redlegged frog as they disperse across roads; housing/humans cause increase in predators such as coyotes, ravens, and crows (“subsidized” predators); increased artificial lighting detrimental to wildlife behavior (California Code of Regulations Section 15355).
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7 based on the assumption that tiered projects will include avoidance and mitigation measures that will make the projects impacts less than significant. This is an extremely flawed and misleading conclusion. The biological impacts of this project on protected plant and wildlife species and their habitat are enormous! The project will destroy the Maritime Chaparral and its protected plant and wildlife species using enormous bulldozers, loaders, excavators, scrapers, graders, and backhoes, as if we were back in the 1950s.22
The means by which the biologists are able to claim that the project’s impacts on wildlife and habitat will be less-than-significant are simply by placing mitigation measures in the DEIR that require future developers to identify the impacts and get their own individual Incidental Take Permits. Instead of dealing with the “effects of the program as specifically and comprehensively as possible,” as State law requires of a programmatic EIR, the DEIR just kicks the can down the road. Without requiring the City to develop a conservation plan and obtain permitting in this program DEIR (with a timeline and all required steps outlined), this programmatic Housing Element Update will not allow the housing projects to follow to tier off of this program, thereby creating the need for repetitive analyses of biological impacts, mitigation, and permitting which should have been adequately addressed here. The inability to tier off of this DEIR likely guarantees the failure of the City to meet its affordable housing requirements within the planning period of eight years.
While the 1997 Habitat Management Plan provides a framework for species and habitat conservation on former Fort Ord, it does not meet U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or California Department of Fish and Wildlife standards or requirements for an application soliciting the issuance of Incidental Take Permits. The more recent Fort Ord Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan, drafted but never adopted, was intended to fulfill those requirements by combining key components of the Habitat Management Plan with additional elements to ensure compliance with the Endangered Species Act and the California Endangered Species Act, thereby serving as a basis for issuance of base-wide Incidental Take Permits by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Additional constraints to using the Fort Ord properties to meet the City’s housing goals are numerous and generally beyond the scope of CNPS expertise and analysis, however we feel compelled to address the issues of Unexploded Ordnance (UXO), toxic soils, and environmental justice. Unexploded Ordnances, including bombs, artillery, mortar, rocket and small arm ammunitions, mines, demolition charges, pyrotechnics, grenades, high explosives, and propellants, are still potentially on the project site. The site is also
22 Dasmann, R. F. (1965). The Destruction of California. Macmillan. 8 con't
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8 seriously constrained by a “State Covenant to Restrict Use of Property with the Army” that the City is currently bound by. It is likely that Sites 1 and 1a were never sufficiently cleared of UXO and hazardous materials to allow housing development. A major constraint to any housing development, the existing covenant prevents the following types of use for the entire Del Rey Oaks Munitions Response Area (Sites 1 and 1a): residential use, day care facilities that do not have measures to prevent contact with soil, schools for persons under 21 years of age, and hospitals (other than veterinary hospitals). To allow housing development, the covenant needs to be lifted by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control. The DEIR fails to mention any correspondence with the Department of Toxic Substances Control and whether they may be willing to lift the covenant, what studies still might be needed to do so, and what kind of timeline any or all of this may take.23
Former military bases are some of the most polluted and toxic sites in the country. The entire former Fort Ord is still on the Superfund list, a “list of sites of national priority among the known releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants throughout the United States (epa.gov).” The Housing Element DEIR tells us that hazardous and toxic waste materials at the former Fort Ord consist of a wide variety of materials including industrial chemicals, petrochemicals, domestic and industrial wastes (landfills), asbestos and lead paint in buildings, above- and underground storage units, and ordnance and explosives. The DEIR states that the remediation is ongoing (not complete).
Again, the DEIR does not have a discussion of what all this means for the health and safety of the families, half of them in the very low income category, that will move into the RHNA homes at Sites 1 and 1a.
California State Senate Bill 100024 – Environmental Justice in Local Land Use Planning – requires local governments to identify environmental justice communities (called "disadvantaged communities") in their jurisdictions and address environmental justice in their general plans and housing elements. The State’s Attorney General is working to ensure local governments comply with Senate Bill 100025. The Del Rey Oaks 2023 Housing Element Update DEIR just barely mentions environmental justice and doesn’t even define such a crucial term for a project like this.26 With the proposed planning of placing affordable housing for very low income households on lands that potentially have UXO and hazardous materials not sufficiently cleaned up on them, the potential environmental
23 The 2019 Initial Study for the Del Rey Oaks Housing Element mentions that the City spoke to the Department of Toxic Substances Control about lifting the covenant during the development of the 2006 Draft Housing Element (17 years ago). It appears that this was the last time the City had any substantial discussion with DTSC regarding lifting the covenant. 24 Senate Bill 1000 – California Government Code of Regulations Section 65302(h). 25 State of California Department of Justice, Bureau of Environmental Justice (https://oag.ca.gov/environment/justice) 26 “Environmental justice" is defined in California law as the fair treatment of people of all races, cultures, and incomes with respect to the development, adoption, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies (California Government Code of Regulations Section 65040.12). '
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9 injustice that this program represents needs to be fully analyzed and resolved.27 Planning to build affordable housing for the poorest families in the community on land where housing is still prohibited due to insufficient clearing of UXO and hazardous wastes would be a newsworthy example of environmental injustice in the State’s Housing Element program. It appears unknown to anyone if or when the Department of Toxic Substances Control will ever be able to cleanup Sites 1 and 1a to a level where children can play ball in their yards or neighborhood parks. The rezoning of Sites 1 and 1a to allow housing should be postponed until the sites are sufficiently cleaned up and the State Covenant to Restrict Use of Property is lifted by the Department of Toxic Substances Control. It appears that the City has not had discussions on the potential of lifting the covenant with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control since 2006.
A critical failure of this DEIR can be seen in its planning. At the very start of program planning, during the notification of preparation and the scoping phase, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife requested that the biologists and planners meet with them and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to both discuss their concerns and to determine what was feasible and what the specific timeline might be. While not absolutely required, those talks could have been incorporated into the very start and direction of project planning and environmental assessment, especially as the California Department of Fish and Wildlife has a significant level of responsibility for approving a project for which a lead agency is preparing or has prepared an environmental document. 28,29
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s scoping letter to the planners clearly stated their concerns including the fact the California Endangered Species Act-listed species could be significantly impacted and that habitat assessments and protocol-level surveys should be conducted for these species as part of a biological technical study and to use those conclusions in the DEIR to support project planning, special status species impact analysis, and mitigation measures. The project planners and biologists appear to
27 American Institute of Certified Planners Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct https://www.planning.org/ethics/ethicscode/
28 When biologists and environmental planners are assessing a project such as this one, and a project site where at least 38 special status plant and wildlife species have the potential to occur, having a series of significant and comprehensive discussions with CDFW and USFWS before the project begins, as well as through the scoping process, and incorporating those discussions into project planning and environmental assessment, is absolutely essential. Not doing so in this case, especially after receiving and disregarding a CDFW scoping letter advising wildlife agency consultation, reinforces the concern that the DEIR’s assessment of impacts to special status species is inadequate. 29 The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CFDF) is California's Trustee Agency for the State’s fish, wildlife, and plant resources. CDFW, in its trustee capacity, has jurisdiction over the conservation, protection, and management of fish, wildlife, native plants, and habitats necessary for biologically sustainable populations of those species. For the purposes of CEQA, CDFW is charged by law to provide biological expertise during public agency environmental review efforts, focusing specifically on projects and related activities that have the potential to adversely affect fish and wildlife resources. 13 14
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10 have disregarded the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s concerns and no consultation with the wildlife agencies occurred. Additionally, no habitat or special status species field surveys were conducted to support their conclusions in this DEIR. There isn’t even a mention of a biologist visiting the project site for a biological assessment of any kind during the planning this DEIR.
A close examination of this DEIR points to the conclusion that the City cannot use the former Ford Ord properties to meet its RHNA requirements, principally because of the large number of environmental constraints (many of which may potentially be irresolvable) that prohibit the streamlining of affordable housing development. The many environmental constraints that come with the Fort Ord properties include the Maritime Chaparral “Sensitive Natural Community” protections, the federal Endangered Species Act and the California Endangered Species Act, the 38 protected special status species potentially on the sites, the need to obtain Incidental Take Permits and the biological studies required to do so, the remaining unexploded ordnance and hazardous waste and whether these can be sufficiently cleaned up for the prohibition on housing to be lifted, and environmental justice issues from planning that places housing for the poorest members of the community on dangerous and toxic land.
The California Department of Housing and Community Development states the “For each policy, procedure, or requirement identified as a constraint, the housing element must include programs to address and remove or mitigate the constraint.” However, the Housing Element Update and DEIR do not even clearly identify many of these constraints and offer no substantial measures or realistic timelines to remove or mitigate the constraints.
Fortunately, the DEIR offers a reasonable alternative to the proposed project – Alternative 2, No Rezoning in Former Fort Ord Alternative. This alternative provides areas within the City for affordable housing to meet the RHNA requirement. The DEIR states, “Sites within the existing City on either side of Canyon Del Rey Boulevard would accommodate affordable housing.” One potential candidate site is the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District (MPUSD) site east of Highway 218/Canyon Del Rey Boulevard. All utilities exist on this ten acre site and opportunities may be available for expediting permitting for affordable housing for MPUSD employees. The DEIR also identifies other potential areas for residential development in the area of Calle Del Oaks. Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) and Junior Accessory Dwelling Units (JADUs) can also provide many opportunities for affordable housing. The California Department of Housing and Community Development encourages the development of ADUs as they are an affordable type of home as they do not require paying for land, major new infrastructure, structured parking, or elevators and they provide a source of income for homeowners.
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Monterey Bay Chapter California
Comments on the City of Del Rey Oaks 2023 Housing Element Update Draft Environmental Impact Report
The Monterey Bay Chapter of the California Native Plant Society respectfully urges the City to reject the 2023 Del Rey Oaks Housing Element Update and Draft Environmental Impact Report as this program is deeply flawed and poorly planned, as we to outline. With so many environmental constraints to development, many potentially irresolvable, Sites 1 and 1a should be removed from any City affordable housing plan and the No Rezoning in Former Fort Ord Alternative should be considered We feel that it is more than likely that if this Housing Element Up approved as they are currently planned
housing planned for the former Fort Ord properties, not a single home is likely to be built by the end of the Housing Element planning period in 2031, yet alone the required development of 270 housing units. We urge the City to stop spending hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars for
instead, place a conservation easement on these lands to obtain significant federal tax benefits, and, most importantly, to ensure the continued existence of this rare Maritime Chaparral habitat, and all the unique and endangered plants and wildlife that depend upon it, for the future appreciation and enjoyment of untold generations of Del Rey Oaks citizens.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on th
if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Patrick Furtado, M.S.
Conservation Committee Chair
Monterey Bay Chapter
California Native Plant Society
[email protected]
CC:
California Department of Housing and Community Development California Department of Fish and Wildlife
California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA),
California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General, Bureau of Environmental Justice y Bay Chapter California Native Plant Society
the City of Del Rey Oaks 2023 Housing Element Update
Draft Environmental Impact Report
11 The Monterey Bay Chapter of the California Native Plant Society respectfully urges the City to reject the 2023 Del Rey Oaks Housing Element Update and Draft Environmental Impact Report as this program is deeply flawed and poorly planned, as we have attempted to outline. With so many environmental constraints to development, many potentially irresolvable, Sites 1 and 1a should be removed from any City affordable housing plan and the No Rezoning in Former Fort Ord Alternative should be considered.
We feel that it is more than likely that if this Housing Element Update and DEIR are planned, with all the City’s required RHNA affordable
housing planned for the former Fort Ord properties, not a single home is likely to be built Housing Element planning period in 2031, yet alone the required development of 270 housing units. We urge the City to stop spending hundreds of for the development of the Fort Ord properties and,
easement on these lands to obtain significant federal tax benefits, and, most importantly, to ensure the continued existence of this rare Maritime Chaparral habitat, and all the unique and endangered plants and wildlife that depend appreciation and enjoyment of untold generations of Del Rey Oaks Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this proposed project and please contact us
Ken McIntire
Chapter President
Monterey Bay Chapter
California Native Plant Society
[email protected]
Community Development, Land Use and Planning Unit
ment of Fish and Wildlife, C/O Evelyn Barajas-Perez, Environmental Scientist California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA), Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General, Bureau of Environmental Justice the City of Del Rey Oaks 2023 Housing Element Update
The Monterey Bay Chapter of the California Native Plant Society respectfully urges the City to reject the 2023 Del Rey Oaks Housing Element Update and Draft Environmental have attempted
to outline. With so many environmental constraints to development, many potentially irresolvable, Sites 1 and 1a should be removed from any City affordable housing plan and date and DEIR are
, with all the City’s required RHNA affordable
housing planned for the former Fort Ord properties, not a single home is likely to be built Housing Element planning period in 2031, yet alone the required development of 270 housing units. We urge the City to stop spending hundreds of the development of the Fort Ord properties and,
easement on these lands to obtain significant federal tax benefits, and, most importantly, to ensure the continued existence of this rare Maritime Chaparral habitat, and all the unique and endangered plants and wildlife that depend appreciation and enjoyment of untold generations of Del Rey Oaks project and please contact us
California Native Plant Society
Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC)
California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General, Bureau of Environmental Justice 17 111
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Comments on the City of Del Rey Oaks 2023 Housing Element Update Draft Environmental Impact Report
12 California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA), Environmental Justice Program California Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, C/O Mark Ogonowski, Ventura Office Monterey County Housing and Community Development, C/O Fiona Jensen, Senior Planner Monterey Herald
Monterey County Weekly
Center for Biological Diversity
LandWatch Monterey County
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Letter E: California Native Plant Society (CNPS)
E-1/1a Comment noted related to CNPS desire to have the City of Del Rey Oaks meet the affordable housing needs of their community. The City has been working to the goal of achieving a compliant Housing Element for a number of years. The City of Del Rey Oaks Housing Element Update and EIR address the Housing Element for the 5th Cycle Planning Period, including updates to existing policies and programs contained within the adopted 2019 Draft Housing Element, specifically related to the requirements footnoted in this comment letter. The City is required by State Housing law to meet the RHNA allocation and is a member of AMBAG which allocates to the county, cities and unincorporated areas their fair share of the total RHNA housing needed for each income category.
Specific revisions identified by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) Division of Housing Policy and Development (HCD Letter March 2020) require rezoning to meet RHNA. The City Council adopted a 5th Cycle Housing Element and certified an Initial Study/Negative Declaration on December 17, 2019. HCD’s review letter indicated the Housing Element was not in compliance and required specific program revisions. These revisions are identified in track changes in Appendix B-1 of the Draft EIR (2023) and focus on amended language in Program A.1 committing the City to rezone Sites 1 and 1a to allow residential uses to meet RHNA. The areas cited for affordable housing to meet RHNA have been planned for development and are acknowledged by HCD as the most appropriate locations for lands available to meet RHNA. See also Response to Comment E-2.
The EIR addresses updates to existing policies and programs contained within the adopted 2019 Draft Housing Element, focusing on the revisions to the programs specific to rezoning. The 2023 Housing Element Update identifies potential sites for rezoning to meet affordable housing RHNA but does not propose development or housing on these sites. Additionally, while the sites inventory identifies sites located in land that is currently vacant, the sites are zoned for development for commercial, hotel and urban uses, The Proposed Project would allow for rezoning in an area already considered for major development under the General Plan and Zoning, as documented in the Draft EIR. Table 3.11-3 in the Draft EIR, Section 3.11 Land Use and Planning, excerpted below, summarizes the current allowable densities for commercial zoning under the adopted General Plan and Zoning.
Total Office Park/Conference Center 419,000 sf
Total Residential/Hotel 526 units
Golf Acreage 155 Acres
Total Commercial/Retail 83,500 sf
Source: Del Rey Oaks General Plan Update Final EIR, Section 3.11 Draft EIR Housing Element Update These sites also were evaluated as developable areas in the City General Plan EIR, FORA Reuse Plan EIR and the Redevelopment Plan ISMND. The Proposed Project is not a new area of development but does provide for a new use: affordable housing. The EIR reviews the impacts of providing affordable housing in an area planned for over 500,000 square feet of development, and allowing a new use of affordable residential use not currently allowed under the General Plan or zoning. The rezoning facilitated by the Proposed Project would meet affordable housing requirements under State law and be located on land already planned for large-scale development (per Table 3.11-2 summarized above). The Proposed Project also implements actions by HCD to comply with applicable state laws and to allow the City to achieve 113
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compliance with its Housing Element, consistent with HCD requirements. (See HCD Letter March 2020)
E-2 The City is unlike most jurisdictions in California in that it does not have available land for infill or vacant lots within its jurisdiction, as described in the Housing Sites Inventory for 5th and 6th Cyle and as affirmed in the HCD letters defining the location for rezoning to meet RHNA. Please refer to the Sites Inventory Chapters in the Draft Housing Elements, and Appendix C, Sites Inventory, Housing Element Update.
E-3 This comment provides an overview of individual comments addressed in the following responses. See also Response to Comment E-1.
The comment again assumes that any development would be related to the Housing Element approval (which would provide for affordable residential development in the former Fort Ord area). However, the comments do not account for existing allowable zoning, apparently not understanding that the area is planned for a large commercial and visitor serving use, including over 500,000 sq. ft. of commercial development under the General Plan and existing zoning.
Any future development would require compliance with federal, state, and local regulations including CEQA, federal ESA, CESA, CALFIRE code, and CERCLA/ESCA/land use covenants and deed restrictions, and would be required to mitigate and obtain necessary permits commensurate with project-specific impacts. The Reuse Plan, Army EIS, HMP, Redevelopment Plan IS/MND, City General Plan EIR, and the 2019 Initial Study for the 5th Cycle Housing Element Update found that development at the site was not significantly environmentally constrained and future projects would need to go through additional environmental review and obtain necessary permitting at a project-level.
E-4 Impacts are evaluated at a program level and where appropriate, indirect impacts that can be anticipated are assessed at a deeper level, when information is available for the Proposed Project location and development plan, as discussed in Chapter 3, Environmental Setting and Environmental Impacts of the Draft EIR (pages 3-1 – 3-6). In this case, the future impacts cannot be fully assessed at this time as there is not sufficient project-level detail available to enable an analysis of project-specific development due to the programmatic nature of the Proposed Project. Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines sec. 15168 (Program EIR), the Draft EIR document is designed to describe the environmental consequences of the “first tier” of this project--the land use amendments and rezoning action proposed by the project. A program EIR may be used in a tiering situation (see CEQA Guidelines sec. 15152[h][3]). “Tiering“ or “tier” means the coverage of general matters and environmental effects in an environmental impact report prepared for a policy, plan, program or ordinance followed by narrower or site-specific CEQA documentation which incorporate by reference the discussion in any prior CEQA documentation and which concentrate on the environmental effects which (a) are capable of being mitigated, or (b) were not analyzed as significant effects on the environment in the prior environmental impact report.” (Pub. Resources Code sec. 21068.5; and CEQA Guidelines secs. 15152 and 15185).
As discussed in the Section 3.4, Biological Resources of the Draft EIR, under Approach to Analysis (page 3.4-22 of the DEIR), the biological analysis is a program-level analysis for the Housing Element update and the General Plan amendment. Specific subsequent projects, their associated locations, and physical effects on the environment from the implementation of the proposed Housing Element update, General Plan amendment, and rezoning are not known at this time. Thus, this analysis uses a programmatic approach to evaluating potential impacts to sensitive biological resources that may result from implementation of the proposed Housing 114
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Element and General Plan, commensurate with the conceptual level of project information available and the approval being considered (i.e., City approval of the proposed Housing Element update).
The biological analysis includes the evaluation of known and potential special-status species and sensitive habitats within the project site at a program-level. Please refer to Section 3.4.2, Environmental Setting (pages 3.4-2 through 3.4-16) of the Draft EIR, for a discussion of these species and habitats. Contrary to the comment, Impacts BIO-1 and BIO-2 identify and describe the potential significant impacts of future development on sensitive species and habitat. In addition, to address potential impacts to sensitive biological resources, mitigation measures are required for any future development within the area. Future development will be required to comply with all applicable federal, state, and local regulations, including the federal ESA and CESA, and obtain all required permits. Once future project-specific impacts are identified, all necessary regulatory agency coordination and permitting processes will be initiated. However, it is not known at this time, what impacts would occur, the extent of the impacts, nor whether impacts could be avoided through site design or other project design features. The regulatory agencies require that this project-specific information, including a detailed project description and other required information, be included in a permit application in order for them to deem the application complete and issue a permit in accordance with their permit issuance criteria.
Once a future project is identified, it will be subject to the mitigation measures identified in the DEIR, which include project-specific evaluation of impacts and obtaining necessary permits.
While certain regulations for streamlining CEQA and other approvals exist for affordable housing, affordable housing projects remain subject to all other applicable environmental regulations and permitting requirements.
As discussed in Impacts BIO-1 through BIO-4 of the Draft EIR, (pages 3.4-25 through 3.4-30), implementation of the Proposed Project would involve ground disturbance that would affect sensitive biological resources similar in extent to the assumed land disturbance evaluated in the General Plan. More specifically, future implementation of the Proposed Project would be located on land currently vacant but zoned for development for commercial, visitor-serving urban uses, and therefore developable pursuant to the City of Del Rey Oaks General Plan EIR, FORA Reuse Plan EIR and the Redevelopment Plan ISMND. There is no new significant effect, and the impact is not more severe than the impact identified in the General Plan EIR. Therefore, the Proposed Project would not result in a new or greater contribution to cumulative effects on biological resources beyond what was identified in the General Plan EIR.
Also, specific to the comment on early consultation, while there is no specific development proposed, the City is currently consulting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) pursuant to the Endangered Species Act related to incidental take permits for future development. See also Responses to Comments E-1 and E-2.
E-5 Comment acknowledged. Please refer to Response to Comment E-7 below.
E-6 Comment acknowledged. Maritime chaparral and associated plant and wildlife species, including special-status species, are evaluated in the DEIR. In addition, the regulations cited in the comment, as well as other potentially applicable environmental regulations, are discussed in Section 3.4.3, Regulatory Setting of the Draft EIR.
E-7 Comment acknowledged. Central maritime chaparral and associated plant and wildlife species are evaluated in Section 3.4, Biological Resources of the DEIR on pages 3.4-3, 3.4-20, 3.4-23,
3.4-28, 3.4-29, 3.4-31, identified in Table 3.4-1. Special-Status Species with the Potential to 115
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Occur Within the Project Area on pages 3.4-7 to 3.4-16, included in Appendix C Special-Status Species List, Appendix F-2 Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program page M-8 and M-9.
E-8 The significance finding for impacts to special-status species and sensitive habitat (Impacts BIO1 and BIO-2) are based on substantial evidence collected and evaluated for the EIR analysis.
Please refer to Sections 3.4.1, Introduction, and 3.4.2, Environmental Setting, for a detailed description of the literature and data resources reviewed and existing site conditions. At a programmatic-level, given the lack of future project-specific details, it is supported by substantial evidence that potentially significant impacts to sensitive biological resources can be reduced to a less-than-significant level with the implementation of the project-specific mitigation measures identified. A project-specific biological assessment would identify any project-level impacts and recommend project-level mitigation to reduce impacts. In addition, if incidental take permits are required by the USFWS and/or CDFW, the project would be subject to permit requirements, which include fully mitigating impacts to listed species. Please also refer to Response to Comment E-4.
E-9 Please refer to Responses to Comments E-4 and E-8.
E-10 Comment acknowledged. Background on the Fort Ord HMP is included in Section 3.4.3, Regulatory Setting.
E-11 A brief history of hazardous materials and former Fort Ord is provided in Section 3.9 Hazards and Hazardous Materials of the DEIR, on pages 3.9-2 to 3.9-4. Figures, regulations, and a description of existing munitions/UXO hazards on former Fort Ord can be found on pages 3.9-7 through 3.9-16. Requirements and potential impacts of future development related to hazardous materials on former Fort Ord are identified on pages 3.9-17 through 3.9-20. Please refer to Section 3.9, Hazards and Hazardous Materials for a detailed description of hazards, remediation efforts, and impact analysis. Also, see Responses to Comments Letters B and C, and Chapter 3, Master Responses.
E-12 Please refer to Section 3.9, Hazards and Hazardous Materials for a detailed description of hazards, remediation efforts, and impact analysis. While there is a current restriction against residential use in the portions of the project areas, a large middle-portion of former Parcel E29a (within Site 1, as shown in Figures 3.9-3 and 3.9-4 of the Draft EIR), provide adequate area for residential use without current covenant restrictions against residential. As noted in the BRAC EIR comment letter, the Army is currently working with the City of Del Rey Oaks to modify federal deed restriction to remove the residential use restriction from the middle-portion of Site 1 (E29a) as described in the Record of Decision (ROD). The Final EIR is amended to add the work currently underway with BRAC and the City. See Chapter 5, Changes to the Draft EIR, EIR Section 3.9 Hazards and Hazardous Materials. Before any residential use DTSC and US Army and EPA, must confirm that the risk of exposure to hazardous materials can be appropriately reduced through active MEC removal actions in concert with public education, continuing land use controls (such as the grading and excavation ordinance under DRO Municipal Code Chapter
15.48) and continued active agency oversight and involvement in any MEC actions at the Former Fort Ord site. The removal of MEC has been undertaken by the Army for over two decades, and neighboring jurisdictions had similar restrictions until activities were completed to clear land uses, including residential. The Del Rey Oaks Housing Element Update EIR addresses both 5th and 6th Cycle Housing Elements. Please refer to 6th Cycle Housing Element Appendix A for discussion of Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) analysis related to environmental justice. https://www.delreyoaks.org/commdev/page/housing-element 116
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E-13 Please refer to Responses to Comments E-11 and E-12. No residential development can be approved until all cleanup has occurred, per Draft EIR Mitigation Measure 3.9-1. Comment requesting deferral of rezoning is referred to decisionmakers.
E-14 Please refer to Responses to Comments E-1 through E 13 above.
E-15 The Proposed Project is not proposing development. As noted in Response to Comment E-2, above, the Draft EIR analysis addresses revising zoning to allow residential development per Program A.1. Mitigation Measure 3.4-5: Project-Specific Sensitive Natural Community Assessments, requires that any development that could potentially impact a sensitive natural community shall be required to conduct a survey of the site by a qualified biologist with requirements for avoidance and minimization measures. In addition to a report describing the results of the survey required to be provided to the City prior to any ground disturbing activities, the report must include recommended avoidance and minimization measures, if applicable.
Additional mitigation is required if special-status species are observed or determined to have the potential to occur, the project biologist shall recommend measures necessary to avoid, minimize, and/or compensate for identified impacts. Measures may include, but are not limited to, revisions to the project design and project modifications, pre-construction surveys, construction buffers, construction best management practices, monitoring, non-native species control, restoration and preservation, and salvage and relocation. Additionally, prior to future development, project proponents must comply with consultation requirements with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for federal requirements to determine whether the project will have any direct or indirect effects on federally listed threatened, endangered, or candidate species at project sites and surrounding areas and identify measures to reduce such effects. The future project proponents will also comply with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) consultation requirements. The key component of the proposed mitigation measures is coordination with appropriate resource agencies and acquiring necessary permits to assure that the most protective measures are implemented during the construction phase to reduce impacts to listed species and to comply with the Federal Endangered Species Act (FESA) and California Endangered Species Act (CESA). If species that require take authorization from the USFWS and/or CDFW are identified within the development site, the City will comply with ESA and CESA and obtain necessary permits prior to construction.
The Draft EIR considered CDFW NOP scoping letter comments and addressed them in Section
3.4; the City will consult with CDFW as part of the required CDFW ITP process.
E-15/15a The comment concludes that the City may not use the former Fort Ord for meeting RHNA requirements due to constraints related to development of the site. The site is planned for development and the Proposed Project would allow for a housing use on the sites in addition to or in in place of allowed commercial development. The restrictions cited in the comment are then related only to residential use as affordable housing. As evidenced in the EIR and cited in the BRAC letter, there are areas within the site available for housing without restrictions or covenants.
E-16 The comment addresses an alternative identified in the Draft EIR and suggests the City adopt an alternative that would avoid Sites 1 and 1a in former Fort Ord. The commenter states that the City could avoid Sites 1 and 1a within former Fort Ord through use of development of the MPUSD site and ADUs which could potentially fulfill the need for the affordable units required by RHNA. While this alternative was evaluated, there are issues with development for meeting 5th Cycle RHNA, as there is no additional water under the MPWMD allocation program until an additional water source is approved.
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The City also does not currently have any remaining water allocated for ADUs within the City limits to provide water to these units. These sites are all within the MPWMD where there is a current Cease and Desist Order (CDO) prohibiting new hookups for water from the State Board; this CDO will not be lifted unless a new water source becomes available. Further, during the HCD 60-day review period of the Draft Housing Element 5th Cycle, HCD directed the City to the former Fort Ord area as the most suitable site for future development required to meet the City’s RHNA goals. HCD staff noted the area within the MPWMD has water availability issues for each of the cities within the Peninsula. The cities and areas of the County within the MPWMD have prepared Housing Elements. Each of the elements submitted over the last two decades for 5th Cycle, identify water as a major constraint to development of affordable housing in this area.
Water is the main constraint to meeting 86 RHNA units on previous Sites 2, 3, and 4 which were rejected by the City Council for meeting RHNA for 5th Cycle in March 2023 and March 2022 public meetings (during consideration of all of the sites in the Land Use Inventory to meet the City’s RHNA in 5th Cycle).
HCD comment letters and City Council direction committing to rezoning Sites 1 and 1a are focused on the 5th Cycle Housing Element Update, as addressed throughout the Draft EIR and 5th Cycle Housing Element; The commenter is also directed to their own letter, footnote 1, which highlights the penalties for non-compliance with State Law related to development and adoption of housing element updates, specifically inability to receive certain grant funding. It is worth highlighting that the penalties for non-compliance with State Housing Element law have increased significantly to include court-imposed fines of up to $600,000 per month as well as potential court-mandated compliance, court approval of housing development, and suspension of a community’s ability to issue building permits.
The comment is referred to decision makers as a consideration on the Proposed Project.
E-17 The comment is referred to decision makers as a consideration on the Proposed Project. 118
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From: Michael DeLapa <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, September 27, 2023 2:15 PM
To: Patrick Furtado <[email protected]>
Cc: Karen Minami <[email protected]>; [email protected]; Evelyn.Barajas[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; Sara Rubin <[email protected]>; [email protected]; [email protected]; Ken Mcintire <[email protected]>; Nicholas Jensen <[email protected]>; Brendan Wilce <[email protected]> Subject: Re: Monterey Bay Chapter CNPS Comments on the 2023 Housing Element and DEIR CAUTION: This email is from outside the City of Del Rey Oaks. Do NOT click LINKS or open ATTACHMENTS unless you are sure it is safe.
Patrick,
Thank you. LandWatch letters on Monterey and DRO housing elements, attached. Our comments on Monterey’s draft housing element raises concerns with native plant and animal species. If you haven’t already commented on Monterey’s plan to provide housing on former Fort Ord, you might want to weigh in.
Best regards,
Michael
Please subscribe to the LandWatch newsletter, "like" us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. ________________________ Michael D. DeLapa
Executive Director
LandWatch Monterey County
[email protected]
650.291.4991 m
Subscribe • Facebook • Twitter
Remember LandWatch in your will
On Sep 26, 2023, at 3:08 PM, Patrick Furtado <[email protected]> wrote:
Dear Ms. Minami,
Please find attached the Monterey Bay Chapter CNPS Comments Letter on the 2023 Housing Element and DEIR.
Can you also please respond to this email to verify receipt of the document? Thank you very much,
Patrick Furtado
415.559.6935
Monterey Bay Chapter
California Native Plant Society
LandWatch email transmittal related to Del Rey Oaks EIR 119
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RE: Del Rey Oaks Public Review Draft Housing Element
Denise Duffy & Associates Team:
LandWatch has reviewed Del Rey Oaks Public Review Draft Housing Element. We applaud the attention and policy focus to support the City’s most vulnerable community members. We support the goals to eliminate constraints and make it easier to build housing consistent with Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA). However, we are concerned that the draft relies exclusively on sites on the former Fort Ord to comply with RHNA. These sites are very problematic and may not be feasible for residential development. We attach specific comments on the draft site inventory and proposed policies and programs, as well as supporting materials from the Campus Town EIR and MCWD/LandWatch/Keep Fort Ord Wild legal settlement. Please confirm receipt of LandWatch’s comments.
Thank you.
Regards,
Michael
Please subscribe to the LandWatch newsletter, "like" us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. ________________________
Michael D. DeLapa
Executive Director
LandWatch Monterey County
[email protected]
650.291.4991 m
Subscribe • Facebook • Twitter
Remember LandWatch in your will
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Chapter 4. Comments and Responses on the Draft EIR
October 2023 4-35 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
Other: LandWatch Correspondence:
Email Overview of Correspondence Received:
Email from Mike DeLapa on September 27, 2023 contained a number of attachments. The email was directed to Patrick Furtado, CNPS and copied to the City Clerk for the City of Del Rey Oaks.
The email message line read: Monterey Bay Chapter CNPS Comments on the 2023 Housing Element and DEIR. The email, therefore, forwarded the CNPS which is already in the Final EIR (See Responses to Comments, Letter E.) No further response is necessary.
Email from Mike DeLapa on September 27, 2023 to Patrick Furtado, CNPS and copied to the City Clerk for the City contained a number of attachments. The primary letter attached is a July 15, 2023 letter provided in this Final EIR.
This July 15th letter was originally received on June 15, 2023 and the same letter was re-sent on June 23, 2023 to the City with the header and comment that the letter provided comments for the local review Draft of the Housing Element 6th Cycle. The letter also contained two attachments, as discussed below additional correspondence, specifically pages from the Campus Town EIR page and a Settlement Agreement between FORA and MCWD.
The letter appears to be a comment letter on the Draft 6th Cycle Housing Element provided to the City. This letter has been posted on the City’s website under 6th Cycle Housing Element, titled: “Comment Letters 6th Cycle”. The July 15th letter is located on pages 4-10 of the pdf on the following link:
https://www.delreyoaks.org/sites/default/files/fileattachments/city_clerk/page/2692/comme nt_letters_on_6th_cycle_draft_housing_element_update_june_july2023.pdf The September 27th email re-sending the July 15, 2023 letter also contained a number of attachments. The following attachments were also attachments sent with the July 15, 2023 letter in June, and also are located on the weblink above. Specifically, a Settlement Agreement between FORA, Keep Fort Ord Wild and MCWD and Exhibits can be found on pages 15-53 of the pdf in the link above; pages from the Campus Town EIR are located on pages 53-55 on the link above. Pages 56-201 of the attachments on the link above contain former Fort Ord reuse plans and documentation.
Additional email attachments were provided on September 27, 2023 email from LandWatch to Patrick Furtado, CNPS. These reference City of Seaside and City of Monterey housing element documents and are not considered comments on the Draft EIR sent to the City of Del Rey Oaks.
See Response to Comment F-3, below.
A number of letter attachments received in the above referenced email above were directed to the City but did not contain any reference to the EIR or specify the comment was addressing the City Housing Element EIR. CEQA Guidelines Section 15088 requires that lead agencies evaluate and respond to comments on the Draft EIR that consider an environmental issue.
However, lead agencies need to only respond to significant environmental issues associated with the project and do not need to provide all the information requested by the commentor, as long as a good faith effort at full disclosure is made in the EIR (CEQA Guidelines Section 15204). The level of detail contained in the response may correspond to the level of detail provided in the comment (i.e., responses to general comments may be general). A general response may be appropriate when a comment does not contain or specifically refer to readily 121
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City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
available information or does not explain the relevance of evidence submitted with the comment.
No additional response necessary; the comment letters were not sent to the City in reference to the Proposed Project. Additionally, the comments do not address environmental impacts of the Proposed Project.
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P.O. Box 1876, Salinas, CA 93902-1876 | 831-759-2824 | www.landwatch.org | [email protected] July 15, 2023
City of Del Rey Oaks
650 Canyon Del Rey Blvd.
Del Rey Oaks, CA 93940
RE: Del Rey Oaks Public Review Draft Housing Element
Denise Duffy & Associates Team:
LandWatch has reviewed Del Rey Oaks Public Review Draft Housing Element. We applaud the attention and policy focus to support the City’s most vulnerable community members. We support the goals to eliminate constraints and make it easier to build housing consistent with Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA). However, we are concerned that the draft relies exclusively on sites on the former Fort Ord to comply with RHNA. These sites are very problematic and may not be feasible for residential development. Set forth below are specific comments on the draft site inventory and proposed policies and programs.
A. Unexploded ordnance constraints require explanation and may render Fort Ord sites infeasible.
The Housing Element provides
… the State of California has approved the transfer of the entirety of the portion of the former Fort Ord within City limits to the City for all uses approved by the City General Plan currently. Additionally, a major portion of the interior of Site 1 is cleared for residential use.
Additional lifting of covenants and restrictions in portions of the former Fort Ord is required to be approved by the State of California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) prior to provision of residential use on all of the former Fort Ord sites. (Housing Element, p. 4-22.) Figures 3 and 4 and Table 3-4 indicate that the General Plan does not designate the Fort Ord sites (sites K1, K2, 1, and 1A) for residential use but only for General Commercial-Visitor, Service-Commercial, and Office-Professional. Table 3-4 acknowledges that the City would have to amend its general plan to designate these sites for residential use. Accordingly, there is no evidence that the State of California has approved any of these sites for residential use.
Typically, DTSC cleanup requirements for residential use are significantly more stringent than its requirements for commercial use.
LandWatch Letter F - Attachment to Email
dated September 27, 2023
Comments on Del Rey Oaks 6th Cycle Housing
Element Draft, July 2023
1 2
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2 The Housing Element should
• identify what sites included in the site inventory are not yet approved for residential use • explain whether those sites will require additional cleanup • explain what party would be required to pay for the expense of getting DTSC approval of residential land use including, if required, the expense of additional testing, monitoring, insurance, or cleanup
• provide some estimate of the ranges of these expenses • explain whether development of residential uses would be economically feasible in light of these expenses.
If development of residential uses would not be economically feasible, the Housing Element should not include these sites in its site inventory.
B. Water constraints require explanation and may render Fort Ord sites infeasible.
The site inventory states that “water and sewer services, as well as other utilities, are planned for all four [Fort Ord] sites.” (Housing Element, p. 3-12.) Table 3-4 indicates for each Fort Ord site that water service is expected to be provided by MCWD: “Water and sewer service is planned but would need to be extended from General Jim Moore Boulevard, where the existing MCWD infrastructure water and recycled water lines are in place.”
Table 3-4 indicates that a 10 acre-feet water supply is “assigned” to sites 1a and K1 and that a 50 acre-feet supply is “assigned” to site K2. Table 3-4 indicates that Site 1 “has an existing water allocation from the MCWD in accordance with MCWD’s 2020 Urban Water Management Plan.” There are numerous problems with the claim that the Fort Ord sites have a water supply or even a plan for a water supply.
First, the MCWD UWMP does not “allocate” water to local jurisdictions. To the contrary, the MCWP UWMP states that the “Marina Coast Water District Board does not allocate water supply to projects, but instead advises customer land use jurisdictions as to the current and historic water use within their boundaries and the estimated remaining supply available for new developments.” (UWMP, p. 13, emphasis added, available here.) These purported “remaining supplies” referenced in the UWMP are based on allocations made by the Fort Ord Reuse Agency of a purported 6,600 AFY water supply allocated to the Army by MCWRA in 1997, purportedly transferred to FORA, reallocated by FORA to seven land use jurisdictions, and then “sub-allocated” by those jurisdictions to specific projects. (UWMP, pp. 13-14.) The MCWD UWMP Appendix E-3 contains a memorandum purporting to report the current state of jurisdictional water allocations in the former Fort Ord.
However, nowhere does the UWMP indicate that MCWD has allocated or assigned water to the Del Rey Oaks sites 1, 1a, K1, or K2, much less the specific amounts claimed in the Housing Element.
Second, FORA no longer exists. The Housing Element should explain whether and how allocations made by FORA remain relevant as a basis to claim a water supply. 2 3
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3 Third, contrary to the Housing Element, site 1 does not have “an existing water allocation from the MCWD in accordance with MCWD’s 2020 Urban Water Management Plan.” Appendix E-3 to the UWMP indicates that there have been no sub-allocations to specific projects by Del Rey Oaks. The Housing Element should explain what it means by claiming that water has been “allocated” or “assigned” to specific parcels, because there is simply no evidence in the UWMP that this has been done.
Fourth, the Housing Element fails to acknowledge that there is a 6,160-unit cap on water supply connections for new residential development in the former Fort Ord and that cap has been reached. The Fort Ord Reuse Agency placed a 6,160-unit cap on new residential units to be served by groundwater in the former Fort Ord. Although FORA no longer exists, MCWD entered into a settlement agreement with LandWatch and Keep Fort Ord Wild that requires that MCWD continue to honor and enforce that 6,160 unit cap. A copy of that settlement agreement is attached to these comments.
The rationale for the cap was the well-known problem of overdraft and seawater intrusion, which is particularly aggravated by coastal pumping, and for which no public agency has yet implemented or even committed to any effective solutions. For example, the Groundwater Sustainability Agencies have not committed to or implemented projects and management actions found to be sufficient to ensure sustainability in the Monterey or 180/400-Foot Aquifer subbasins.
Nor have MCWD and Monterey One Water yet committed to a project to supply recycled or surface water sufficient to support new housing units.
The most recent accounting of units approved under the 6,160-unit cap indicates that the cap was essentially exhausted with the approval of the Campus Town Project in 2019. The Campus Town FEIR states that “there is a remaining capacity of 1,495 new residential units as of May 3, 2019,” which is “adequate to accommodate the Project, which proposes 1,485 new residential units.” (City of Seaside, Campus Town FEIR, p. 3-170, excerpt attached.) In short, as of 2019, there were only 10 units left in the 6,160-unit residential connection cap, beyond which MCWD is contractually bound by its settlement agreement not to provide any additional residential connections served by groundwater. MCWD has no apparent source of water supply that is not dependent on groundwater to serve new residential development in Del Rey Oaks. Accordingly, the Housing Element should be revised to acknowledge these substantial constraints on water supply for residential development on the Fort Ord sites. Unless the Housing Element can identify a plan to provide water supply despite these constraints, it should not rely on the Fort Ord sites as part of its housing site inventory.
C. Proposed policies and programs require measurable objectives or objective standards.
Many policies identified in the Housing Element are couched in unenforceable wishful language without clear and measurable objectives or objective standards. Accordingly, we comment only on the programs purporting to implement these policies, which programs by default should be the 3 4
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4 locus of enforceable language (e.g., the term “shall”), measurable objectives, and objective standards.
Program A1 to provide sites to accommodate the City’s RHNA relies exclusively on development of Fort Ord sites. No portion of the RHNA is assigned to sites outside Fort Ord. As noted above, residential development on Fort Ord may be infeasible in light of water supply constraints and the costs to address contaminated sites that have not been cleared for residential uses. The Housing Element should be revised to assign some portion of the RHNA to sites outside Fort Ord, including • ADU sites
• Vacant and non-vacant residentially zoned sites that could be upzoned to provide higher densities for new development or redevelopment
• Vacant or non-vacant commercially zoned sites that could be rezoned to accommodate both residential and mixed-use projects
Program A2 to develop higher intensity mixed use zoning in existing mixed-use areas and to develop mixed use zoning in visitor serving areas makes sense. However, the program lacks any measurable objective or objective standard.
The program should identify specific sites for higher densities, identify the higher densities to be allowed, and specify the visitor serving areas to be zoned for mixed use.
The program should identify a measurable objective in terms of the specific number of new units that these changes would enable compared to existing land use designations and zoning.
The claim that this program is not needed to meet the 6th Cycle RHNA should be eliminated because it cannot be accurate in light of the water supply and site contamination constraints that may render Fort Ord sites infeasible, as discussed above.
Program A3 to permit small-lot Planned Unit Developments for multiple cottage or bungalow-type homes should include a provision for ministerial approval without a conditional use permit or PUD permit based on objective development and design review standards. We discuss below the need for objective standards and for ministerial review and approval of residential uses in all zones that permit residential uses.
The program should identify a measurable objective in terms of the specific number of new units that these changes would enable compared to existing land use designations and zoning.
Program B1 to “require development agreements or adopt an inclusionary and affordable housing ordinance that meets the RHNA inclusionary housing requirements” by 4Q25 lacks any definition of what would constitute meeting “the RHNA inclusionary housing requirements.” Jurisdictions may elect to use an inclusionary ordinance as part of a housing element designed to meet its RHNA, but there is no requirement to do so.
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5 In pursuing Program B1, the City should first assess whether an inclusionary housing ordinance will enhance or hinder housing production. If upon further analysis, the City determines that an inclusionary ordinance is appropriate, Program B should be revised to specify the objective parameters and/or the measurable objectives of an inclusionary ordinance. For example, which development projects would be subject to an inclusionary ordinance? What percentage of affordable units would be required, and for what affordability category (e.g., very low, low, or moderate income)?
Furthermore, it is not clear whether the provision for an “affordable housing ordinance” is distinct from the provision for an “inclusionary” ordinance. If so, what would an “affordable housing ordinance” provide? The program should be revised to explain what is meant by an “affordable housing ordinance” and to provide objective standards and measurable objectives for such an ordinance if it is distinct from the proposed inclusionary ordinance.
The program should identify a measurable objective in terms of the specific number of new units that these changes would enable compared to existing land use designations and zoning.
Program B2 to “facilitate affordable housing for all income levels” lacks any measurable objectives or objective standards. Its language is entirely precatory, e.g., “support,” ‘seek to participate in and promote,” and “work with.” It is entirely unclear what activity this program would actually require the City to undertake. The program cannot be relied on as evidence that the City can meet its RHNA.
Program B3 to provide information and incentives for the use of housing vouchers fails to specify measurable objectives or objective standards.
The program should be revised to specify what “incentives” would be provided, both for landlords of existing units and for developers of new rental units. Incentives for new rental units could include increased density and/or development concessions similar to those provided under the state density bonus law.
If there are no effective incentives available to existing landlords, the program should be revised to mandate acceptance of housing vouchers.
The program should identify a measurable objective in terms of the specific number of new units that these changes would enable compared to existing land use designations and zoning.
Program B4 to provide preferential housing for City residents and workers should be revised to explain why such a program would have any effect on whether the City meets its RHNA. Even if such a program were legal, it is difficult to understand how preferences for certain tenants would provide any incentives for provision of housing. Indeed, such a program may have the unintended consequence of discouraging development of housing units if developers feared that implementation of preferences might limit effective demand and therefore limit prices or rental rates.
9 10
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6 Program B5, to develop a density bonus consistent with the state density bonus law, should be revised to provide for a density bonus and/or development concessions in excess of the minimum requirements under state law. For example, the City could provide for bonuses equal to 150% of the state minimum. Such an approach is being taken by Sand City, which is proposing a 250 percent density bonus as long as 15% of the units are affordable to lower income households.
Program B5 should also be revised to clarify that density bonuses are available not just for residential zones R-1 and R-2, but also for all other zones in which residential uses are permitted, including D, C, C-1, and ST zones.
The program should identify a measurable objective in terms of the specific number of new units that these changes would enable compared to existing land use designations and zoning.
Program C2 to encourage ADU construction references measures to encourage ADUs such as fee reductions or waivers and expedited permit processing but fails to specify measurable objectives or objective standards. The program should be revised to specify a time period in which the ADU ministerial permit would be granted or the application deemed approved. Specific fee waivers should be identified.
The program should identify a measurable objective in terms of the specific number of new units that these changes would enable compared to existing land use designations and zoning.
D. Additional programs are required.
Upzoning: The Housing Element should be revised to include a program to upzone existing residential areas to allow development or redevelopment at higher densities. Higher densities make affordable housing possible and are particularly appropriate along transit routes. The program should identify specific areas to be upzoned for higher densities and identify the higher densities to be allowed.
Elimination of R1 zoning: The Housing Element should be revised to eliminate R1 zoning and to allow multifamily residential uses in all residential areas.
Objective standards: We support the call for streamlining regulations. The Housing Element should require the development of objective development and design review standards to streamline review and provide for certainty. The City’s commitment to objective standards should be made evident by using language like “shall develop” in the program, not language like “should consider.” With or without ministerial by-right approval processes, objective standards accelerate permitting and increase certainty. Development of objective standards should be required for development in residential zones R-1 and R-2 and all other zones in which residential uses are permitted, including D, C, C-1, and ST zones.
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7 Ministerial approvals: Using objective development and design review standards, the Housing Element should provide for ministerial permitting of multifamily infill developments that meet these objective standards. The Housing Element should require by-right, ministerial permitting for any 100% residential unit project in the residential zones R-1 and R-2 and all other zones in which residential uses are permitted, including D, C, C-1, and ST zones as follows:
• Development review for residential projects in R-1, R-2, D, C, C-1 and ST zoning districts shall be ministerial, based entirely on objective development standards, e.g., the lot size, density, setback, and height standards set out in Tables 4-1 and 4-3 • Design review for residential projects in R-1, R-2, D, C, C-1 and ST zoning districts shall be ministerial, based entirely on objective standards;
• 100% residential projects shall be permitted in D, C, C-1, and ST zoning districts; • 100% residential projects in D, C, C-1, and ST zoning districts zoning districts shall not require a PUD permit or a conditional use permit; and
• 100% residential projects in D, C, C-1, and ST consistent with objective development and design standards shall not require any form of discretionary permit.
By relying on objective standards and ministerial review and by eliminating the need for discretionary permits, residential project permitting can be greatly streamlined. Discretionary review could be provided for projects seeking a variance from objective standards.
Ministerial permitting of residential projects in infill areas like Del Rey Oaks is appropriate because CEQA review should be accomplished at the program rather than the project level. That is, CEQA review should take place when the City amends its General Plan or zoning code, not when a developer comes to the City with a conforming project.
The City should continue to require discretionary review with site-specific CEQA review of projects on specified sites that are environmentally sensitive, e.g., habitat for endangered, rare or threatened species; farmland of statewide and local importance; wetlands; earthquake/seismic hazard zones; federal, state, and local preserved lands, NCCP and HCP plan areas, and conservation easements; riparian areas; Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) facilities and sites; landslide hazard, flood plains and, floodways; and wildfire hazard as determined by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. (See, e.g., Gov. Code 65913.4(6)(B) through (K) [sites excluded from ministerial permitting in SB 35].) Concerns for gentrification and historic resources could be addressed by continuing to require discretionary review for projects on existing affordable housing, mobile home sites, or historic resources. (See, e.g., Gov. Code 65913.4(a)(7), (10) [SB 35].) In sum, only non-infill projects, projects on environmentally sensitive sites, projects on historic sites, or projects on sites already providing affordable housing should be excepted from ministerial permitting, e.g., by using the criteria for such sites specified in SB 35. (Gov. Code, §§ 65913.4(a)(2), (6), (7), (10).)
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8 Sincerely,
Michael Delapa
Executive Director
Attachments:
Settlement Agreement between MCWD, LandWatch, and Keep Fort Ord Wild Excerpt from City of Seaside, FEIR for Campus Town project 130
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October 2023 4-45 Housing Element Update
City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
Letter F: LandWatch
Responses to comments that are related to environmental impacts or reference environmental impacts related to the Draft EIR document, and are contained in the September 27th email and the July 15th LandWatch letter, are identified below.
F-1 Each of LandWatch’s comments on the Draft EIR have been addressed in the individual responses, as referenced below, and in Chapter 3, Master Responses. Clarifications to the Draft EIR have been made where necessary. See Chapter 5, Changes to the Draft EIR.
The Proposed Project does not propose any development, nor is a development area within the large area of rezoning defined; thus, it is not known where potential future sites for affordable housing would be located. As noted in Response to Comment E-2, above, the EIR analysis addresses revising zoning to allow residential development per Program A.1. As noted above, the Proposed Project entails the adoption of a General Plan Amendment and rezoning to allow residential use (affordable housing) to meet RHNA on the identified candidate sites in the former Fort Ord, shown as Sites 1 and 1a in 5th Cycle, and also including additional candidate sites for 6th Cycle (Sites K1 and K2). This area has General Plan and zoning designations allowing maximum development in the land uses and intensities identified in Table 3.11-3 Summary of City General Plan Land Uses and Development within the Fort Ord Reuse Plan Area per General Plan EIR (See Responses to Comments E-1 and E-2. Therefore, under the FORA Reuse Plan and City General Plan, density and development would be allowed under baseline conditions, at a much greater intensity and development of uses, as shown in Table 3.11-3.
F-2 See EIR Section 3.9 Hazards and Hazardous Materials which address the residential use restriction that has been placed on the former Fort Ord properties (including Sites 1a, K1 and K2, and portions of Site 1), and clearly requiring that the State covenant restrictions will need to be amended or lifted before housing units could be constructed. Additional information is provided from BRAC on Army actions: Since the time the Army transferred these parcels in 2005, the Army has completed its munitions response actions and recorded the final selected remedy, which includes the continuation of the restriction against residential use in the areas, except for a middle-portion of Parcel E29a (a portion of Site 1), as shown in Figures 3.9-3 and
3.9-4 of the Draft EIR.
As noted in this Final EIR and BRAC correspondence, Letter C, the Army is currently working with the City of Del Rey Oaks to modify federal deed restriction to remove the residential use restriction as described in the Record of Decision (ROD). The Final EIR is amended to add the work currently underway with BRAC and the City. See Chapter 5, Changes to the Draft EIR, EIR Section 3.9 Hazards and Hazardous Materials.
Prior to future development, project proponents will comply with consultation requirements with the United States Army (BRAC) for federal requirements, the State (DTSC) and the local government (City) to ensure that a future development of housing would not have any direct or indirect effects on future residents of the project area.
The Draft EIR has identified the required mitigation and approvals necessary to release covenants to allow residential use. See EIR Section 3.9 Hazards and Hazardous Materials, and Mitigation Measures below which address the residential use restriction that has been placed on the former Fort Ord properties requiring that the State covenant restrictions will need to be amended or lifted before housing units could be constructed. 131
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City of Del Rey Oaks Final EIR
Mitigation Measure 3.9-1: Prior to approval of residential development plans on the project area, environmental agencies, including the Army, and the state lead regulatory agency, DTSC, shall confirm that the clearances to be conducted and those conducted to date together with approved remedial actions, as required, will be sufficient to allow the Former Fort Ord site to be developed for residential reuse.
Additionally, residential use for the specified areas identified herein will be prohibited until the landowner provides advance notification to the Army, USEPA, and DTSC of its intent to change a designated area’s use to residential, and until DTSC concurs that residential use is appropriate.
DTSC’s evaluation may consider the Residential Protocol or further site evaluation incorporating new information (e.g., geophysical mapping, site development).
F-3 The comment is related to water use and availability received as comments on the Housing Element Update.
Implementation of the Proposed Project would allow housing on the proposed candidate sites and result in an increase in water demand for residential uses; however, the increase is minor compared with existing and projected demand, supply, and surplus. Since the project area of former Fort Ord is planned for development under the City General Plan at a higher level of water use and development intensity than under the Proposed Project, allowing residential uses to meet RHNA would not substantially decrease groundwater supplies or interfere substantially with groundwater recharge such that the Proposed Project may impede sustainable groundwater management of the basin.
Discussion and evaluation of environmental impacts of the Proposed Project related to water resources are presented in Section 3.10, Water and Hydrology, pages 3.1 through 3.10-17, Section 3.11, Land Use and Planning, page 3.11-4, Section 3.17, Utilities and Water Systems, pages 3.17-1 through 3.17-2 and 3.17-6 through 3.17-9. The Draft EIR presents information on the area groundwater basins, water supply availability and existing and planned efforts to address seawater intrusion. This information is also provided in the 2019 Final IS/ND on the Housing Element 5th Cycle. This information supports MCWD’s ability to serve the project area for 5th Cycle RHNA (86 units) in order to RHNA for 6th Cycle. Also, see Chapter 3, Master Responses, as well as Responsesto Comments E-1 and E-2, above. Assertions that the Proposed Project would increase groundwater pumping and thereby contribute to a cumulatively considerable groundwater impact, and a significant impact related to Salinas Valley Groundwater Basin (SVGB), do not take into account the programmatic nature of the project and the baseline conditions, including allowable uses under the current General Plan and Zoning.
This area has General Plan and zoning designations allowing maximum development in the land uses and intensities identified in Table 3.11-3 Summary of City General Plan Land Uses and Development within the Fort Ord Reuse Plan Area per General Plan EIR (See Responses to Comments E-1 and E-2. Therefore, density and development would be allowed under baseline conditions, at a much greater intensity and development of uses, as shown in Table 3.11-3.
These responses reinforce that the application of affordable housing within former Fort Ord does not exacerbate or increase the development allowed and in fact, is a minor component of allowable future development. Such future development already has an allocation of water from MCWD as presented in the Draft EIR and IS/ND for the 5th Cycle Housing Element. Such water may be drawn from the Salinas Valley Groundwater Basin or supplied though another source that MCWD provides. However, the use of water for residential units or for commercial uses would not impact the amount of water drawn or increase the water drawn if sources are 132
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from the SVGB. It is simply an allowable use for residential and it would not increase the water or in any way provide a new or significant environmental impact compared to existing conditions.
F-4 The comment references agreements related to water unit cap; item is referred to decision makers.
F5-F13 The comment references comments on individual programs and policies in the 6th Cycle Housing Element Draft Review. The comment not on the EIR for 5th Cycle however, is referred to decision makers as a consideration on the 6th Cycle Housing Element project.
F-14 The comment is referred to decision makers as a consideration on the Proposed Project. 133
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CHAPTER 5 Changes to the Draft EIR
The following section provides revisions to the text of the Draft EIR, in amendment form. The revisions are listed by page number. All additions to the text are presented in underline, and all deletions are shown in strikeout.
CHANGES TO THE SUMMARY OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT
CHANGES TO SUMMARY
Page ES-14 The following mitigation measure has been added to Table ES-1 Summary of Project Impacts under Biological Resources Section Impact BIO-1: Special-Status Species in response to CDFW comment:
Mitigation 3.4-6: Potential Impacts to Western Bumble Bee
3.4-6A A qualified biologist shall determine if suitable habitat is present within the Project site. If suitable habitat is present, a qualified biologist shall conduct focused surveys for WBB and their requisite habitat features to evaluate potential impacts resulting from ground- and vegetation-disturbance associated with the Project.
3.4-6B If surveys cannot be completed, all small mammal burrows and thatched/bunch grasses shall be avoided by a minimum of 50 feet to avoid and minimize take and potentially significant impacts any detection of WBB prior to or during Project implementation warrants consultation with CDFW to discuss how to avoid take, or if take cannot be avoided, what take authorization may be necessary to comply with CESA.
Footnote: Special Status Wildlife Species – Western Bumble Bee: WBB was once common throughout most of California. Potential impacts to WBB were analyzed in the Draft EIR. The Draft EIR determined that WBB was unlikely to occur within the survey area and be impacted by the project. However, based on consultation with CDFW, the CDFW suggested a higher level be identified in the EIR regarding the WBB due to the more recent listing of WBB and that potential ground-disturbing activities associated with future development have the potential to impact WBB and the EIR should identify specific avoidance and minimization measures. These are listed above.