TEL: (707) 825-8260 P.O. Box 4581 [email protected] FAX: (707) 825-9181 Arcata, CA 95518 www.planwestpartners.com
SCOPE OF SERVICES
Planwest Partner’s is under contract with the City of Fortuna to complete the “City of Fortuna Mill District Specific Plan.” The City of Fortuna (City) is working with the new purchaser of the former mill site located east of Highway 101, south of Newburg Road, and west of Fortuna Boulevard, a property that comprises the majority of the Fortuna General Plan Mill District.
The City is seeking to modify the Fortuna General Plan Mill District land use designation to:
Remove reference to the prior Draft Mill District Area Plan and to limit the applicability of the areas where pedestrian‐friendly and is connected with surrounding neighborhoods and districts is applicable.
Allow small- and large-scale industrial as a compatible use. Modify LU‐14.2, Community Interaction to limit applicability to Newburg Rd and S.
Fortuna Blvd potential commercial areas.
Modify LU‐14.4, Balanced Transportation, to refer to Newburg Rd and S. Fortuna Blvd commercial areas and connection to Great Redwood Trail. Modify LU‐14.3 Open Space and Parkland to specify riparian protection and allow development within 100-yr floodplain of Strongs Creek.
The new property owner seeks to modify the Fortuna General Plan relating to the Mill District to Remove the caps on commercial and add industrial development without caps that can occur within the Mill District.
Allow development within floodplain consistent with City standards.
In order to carry out the above, the consulting team proposes the following additional tasks:
Task 1 – Floodplain Encroachment Analysis
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) requires communities participating in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to adopt FEMA floodplain maps and limit flooding caused by new development. The goal of performing the floodplain encroachment analysis is to identify the limits of allowable encroachment within the Mill District on Strongs Creek, consistent with the City’s participation in the NFIP and City standards. GHD will complete a floodplain encroachment analysis using the City’s existing HEC-RAS model that was developed based on FEMA’s HEC2 model files for the Flood Insurance Rate Study and updated using the most recent topographic information. GHD will identify the extents of floodplain encroachment that results in a 1-foot rise (the maximum allowable for conformance with NFIP) within the Mill District and associated rise upstream of Fortuna Boulevard, downstream of Highway 101 and south of Kenmar Road. GHD will also identify the extents of floodplain encroachments that results in no rise to developed areas upstream of Fortuna Boulevard, downstream of Highway 101, or south of Kenmar Road. GHD will conduct one (1) site visit to verify current topography supports the modeled water surface elevations and extents within the floodplain.
TEL: (707) 825-8260 P.O. Box 4581 [email protected] FAX: (707) 825-9181 Arcata, CA 95518 www.planwestpartners.com Deliverables:
Draft electronic copies in MS Word format of the Floodplain Encroachment Analysis Technical Memorandum and accompanying figures
Final electronic copies in pdf format of the Floodplain Encroachment Analysis Technical Memorandum and accompanying figures
Task 2 – Drainage Infrastructure Analysis
The City of Fortuna requires that all development comply with the requirements of the City’s MS4 NPDES permit as outlined in the Humboldt County Low Impact Development (LID) Stormwater Manual. Projects other than Single-Family Homes that create or replace greater than or equal to 5,000 square feet of impervious surface are considered to be Regulated Projects. The postproject runoff rate(s) shall not exceed the pre-project runoff rate(s) for the 25-year 24-hour storm event. GHD will provide preliminary sizing and siting of stormwater LID facilities to achieve the post-project runoff rate(s) requirements for development within the floodplain, based on proposed land use and the encroachment footprints developed in Task 1. GHD will also summarize the additional requirements of the Humboldt County LID Stormwater Manual, MS4 NPDES permit, and other relevant City requirements.
Deliverables:
Draft electronic copies in MS Word format of the Drainage Infrastructure Analysis Technical Memorandum and accompanying figures
Final electronic copies in pdf format of the Drainage Infrastructure Analysis Technical Memorandum and accompanying figures
Task 3 – Economic Analysis
The City and developer seek to remove the caps on commercial and add industrial development without caps that can occur within the Mill District. The Fortuna General Plan EIR relied upon the caps in its finding that development within the Mill District would not result in urban decay within the City or region. Amendments to General Plan policy that removes square footage caps would trigger the need for the following additional CEQA analysis. a. Review the assumptions contained in the Fortuna General Plan Economic Analysis and Environmental Impact Report to determine if there is substantial evidence that the removal of the cap on commercial/industrial square footage in the Mill district will result in local and regional urban decay or blight and evaluate General Plan policies and programs relating to commercial district preservation/revitalization and commercial / industrial use levels and caps.
b. Evaluate the effectiveness/need for Fortuna General Plan policies and programs relating to commercial and industrial use levels and caps, including:
a. potential modifications to policies and programs, to include objective criteria for the monitoring of Main Street, to allow the removal of use caps, TEL: (707) 825-8260 P.O. Box 4581 [email protected] FAX: (707) 825-9181 Arcata, CA 95518 www.planwestpartners.com b. modifications to policies to better address the urban decay/blight conditions that the caps are indirectly intended to reduce.
c. Evaluate other local or similarly situated city General Plans to determine if they contain similar conclusions regarding urban decay or include commercial/industrial square footage policy capsto reduce urban decay. Prepare a memo summarizing the analysis and findings.
d. Seek the review of this analysis and its conclusions by a land use economist with experience in CEQA-related urban decay and blight analysis if necessary. e. Prepare draft revisions to the Fortuna General Plan, as necessary, and revisions to Fortuna General Plan EIR Section 3.3 for environmental compliance.
Task 4 – CEQA Compliance
The existing agreement assumed that the existing General Plan Programmatic Environmental Impact Report evaluating the Mill District Specific Plan was adequate for the approval of a Mill District Specific Plan that did not trigger General Plan policy changes without modification or circulation. The City and developer seek to modify Fortuna General Plan and Mill District policy, triggering the need for additional CEQA analysis.
a) Prepare a supplement to the Fortuna General Plan Programmatic Environmental Impact Report evaluating the Mill District Specific Plan, including the modifications to the Specific Plan described in the tasks above, and that contains the following:
i) Revised project description.
ii) Summary of the effects found not to be significant to allow the CEQA review to concentrate on potentially significant environmental effects. The determination of which impacts would be potentially significant and evaluated in detail in the supplement to the Fortuna General Plan PEIR will be made based on an Initial Study or the review of applicable planning documents, analysis/fieldwork, feedback from public and agency consultation, comments received on the NOP, research, and analysis of relevant project data.
iii) Analysis of the potentially significant effects, most likely relating to Biological Resources; Energy; Greenhouse Gas Emissions; Land Use and Planning; Economic Impacts; Transportation and Circulation; Hydrology and Water Resources; Parks, Recreation and Open Space; Public Facilities and Services; and Flooding. iv) Cumulative and other CEQA considerations.
b) Prepare and circulate Notice of Availability (NOA) of Supplemental EIR. Assist City with SCH submittal, agency, and public noticing and review.
c) Respond to comments and prepare final CEQA document. d) Assist City with staff report and resolution for adoption.
Task 5 – General Plan Amendment Support
Planwest will assist the City with staff reports, resolutions, support at Planning Commission and/or City Council meetings and other required information to prepare and present the proposed General Plan Amendments to City decision-makers.
TEL: (707) 825-8260 P.O. Box 4581 [email protected] FAX: (707) 825-9181 Arcata, CA 95518 www.planwestpartners.com Task 6 – Project Management, Coordination, and Outreach Planwest will continue to collaborate with the City and property owner representatives to attend and schedule meetings on a regular basis throughout the project. This may include additional meetings with agency representatives, property owners, stakeholders, and the public. The cost estimate below includes biweekly meetings with the City, up to two agency/stakeholder meetings, and one public meeting.
Cost Estimates
Task Cost
Task 1 – Floodplain Encroachment Analysis $15,000
Task 2 – Drainage Infrastructure Analysis $13,500
Task 3 – Economic Analysis $12,000
Task 4 – CEQA Compliance $ 9,000
Task 5 – General Plan Amendment Support $ 4,500
Task 6 – Project Management & Outreach $ 9,000
TOTAL $63,000
The cost for the above work will be on a time and materials basis at current charge rates.