CITY OF FRESNO
CATEGORICAL EXEMPTION
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR
DEVELOPMENT PERMIT APPLICATION NO. P21-00192
THE PROJECT DESCRIBED HEREIN IS DETERMINED TO BE CATEGORICALLY
EXEMPT FROM THE PREPARATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTS
PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 19 OF THE STATE CEQA GUIDELINES.
APPL
ICANT: Sanveer Chhina,
Blair Church & Flynn
451 Clovis Avenue, Suite 200
Clovis, California 93612
PROJ
ECT LOCATION: 2330 East Kaviland Avenue; located on the south side of East Kaviland, between State Route 41 and South Cherry Avenues in Fresno, California.
APNs:
479-224-32
(Council District 3)
PROJ
ECT DESCRIPTION: Development Permit Application No. P21-00192 was filed by Sanveer Chhina of Blair Church & Flynn and pertains to ±2.99 acres of property located at the location noted above. The subject property is located in the IL ( Light Industrial) zone district which permits Large Vehicle and Equipment Sales, Service and Rental uses subject to a Development Permit.
Dev
elopment Permit Application No. P21-00192 was filed for purposes of facilitating physical development of the site to construct a 4,800 square-foot repair shop on a vacant lot with on- site and off-site improvements including but not limited to curbs, gutters, sidewalks, and landscaping. The project proposes 11 vehicular parking stalls, a two-cell trash enclosure and three service bays.
Publ
ic Works File No. 12931 proposed to vacate approximately ±806.7 square feet of excess right -of-way land along the northwest area of the property. The proposed vacation would allow the property owner to accommodate a 70- foot-wide driveway approach.
Thi
s project is exempt under Section 15332/Class 32 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines.
Sec
tion 15332/Class 32 (Class 32/In- Fill Development Projects) of the CEQA Guidelines exempts from the provisions of CEQA, projects characterized as in-fill development, which meet the following conditions:
a) The proj
ect is consistent with the applicable general plan designation and all applicable gen policies as well as with applicable zoning designation and regulations.
Given the conditions of approval, t he proposed commercial project will meet all the provisions of the Fresno Municipal Code (FMC). The project is consistent with the Fresno General Plan designation, policies, and zoning. The existing IL ( Light Industrial ) zone district is consistent with the Light Industrial planned land use designation approved for this site by the Fresno General Plan, and the Fresno County Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan. The proposed development was reviewed for intensity, building form, massing, and location standards and no inconsistencies were found with the proposed setbacks, landscape standards, intensity, height or lot coverage. The project proposes a Floor Area Ration (FAR) of 0.03 where the maximum allowable FAR is 1.5. Setbacks are a minimum of 15 feet for front yards. Building design, window design, materials and finishes all conform to the standards of the IL zone district. It can be concluded that the proposed light industrial project conforms to the development standards of the Light Industrial planned land use and IL zone district.
b) The pr
oposed development occurs within city limits on a project site of no more than five acres substantially surrounded by urban uses.
The propos
ed project is located within City limits, occurs on a vacant site of approximately ±2.99 acres, which is less than the five- acre maximum, and is surrounded by other urban uses. Existing light industrial uses are located to the north, east, and south. c) The pr
oject has no value as habitat for endangered, rare or threatened species.
The proj
ect site is currently vacant and has previously disturbed land. The Fresno Master Environmental Impact Report ( MEIR) did not identify this site as habitat for rare or threatened species. Surrounding developments consists of light industrial uses and vacant parcels; therefore, the site has no value as habitat for endangered, rare, or threatened species.
d) Appr
oval of the project would not result in any significant effects relating to traffic, noise, air quality, or water quality.
The propos
ed project was routed to the San Joaquin Air Pollution Control District, the City of Fresno Public Utilities Department -Water Division, Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District, and no significant effects were identified relating to traffic, noise, air quality, or water quality.
Tra
ffic
Senat
e Bill (SB) 743, signed in 2013, changes the way transportation studies are conducted in California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) documents. Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) replaces motorist delay and level of service (LOS) as the metric for impact determination. The Office of Planning and Research provides a Technical Advisory (TA) as a guidance document to establish thresholds for this new VMT metric. The TA acknowledges that conditions may exist that would presume that a development project has a less than significant impact. These may be size, location, proximity to transit, or trip- making potential. As a result of the final rulemaking surrounding SB 743 and the implementation deadline of July 1, 2020, the City of Fresno adopted new VMT thresholds and guidelines to address the shift from delay -based LOS CEQA traffic analyses to VMT CEQA traffic analyses on June 25, 2020, and became effective on July 1, 2020.
St
aff analyzed Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) by using the Fresno Council of Governments (COG) VMT Screening Application for this non- residential project. For non- residential projected the adopted threshold of significance is 13% reduction (less than 22. 8 VMT per EMP).
The VM
T Screening Application provided that the project is within Traffic Assessment Zone (TAZ) 767. TAZ 767 results in average VMT per employee of 22.8 which is below than the
25.7 County average. However, considering the project’s number of employees (3) would result in a VMT of 22.8. Therefore, the parcel with the proposed use and number of employees would generate moderate VMT. With transportation demand management (TDM) van pool mitigation the proposed project would not result in any significant traffic impacts based upon the City of Fresno’s adopted thresholds and guidelines for VMT analyses.
Nois
e
The proj
ect is a new light industrial shell warehouse/office building. The site is adjacent to other similar light industrial uses and is not located adjacent to sensitive uses. Therefore, the project would not result in a significant amount of noise compared to the other adjacent uses and would be conditioned to comply with any applicable noise standards of the Citywide Development Code.
Air Q
uality
The proj
ect is conditioned to comply with any applicable regulations and conditions from the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District and the project is subject to review by the agency in regards to air quality during construction and operation. The project as described will not occur at a scale or scope with potential to contribute substantially or cumulatively to existing or projected air quality violations or impacts.
Wat
er Quality
Fres
no Metropolitan Flood Control (FMFCD) provided comments on March 4, 2021, which stated that conveyance should be directed towards the southeast area of the property onto permanent drainage facilities near Cherry Avenue. On-site grading will be reviewed by the City of Fresno Building Division and FMFCD for compliance with storm water conveyance and pollution prevention.
The appl
icant will be required to comply with all requirements of the City of Fresno Department of Public Utilities that will reduce the project’s water impacts to less than significant. When Conditional Use Permit s are issued, the subject site will be required to pay drainage fees pursuant to the Drainage Fee Ordinance.
Theref
ore, compliance with conditions of approval dated April 14, 2021 will ensure that the proposed project will not result in any significant effects relating to traffic, noise, air quality, and water quality.
e) The site can be adequately served by all required utilities and public services.
The s
ite has been reviewed and conditioned by the Fresno Irrigation District, Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District, Fresno County Public Health, City of Fresno Public Works, City of Fresno Police, City of Fresno Public Utilities, and the City of Fresno Fire Departments. In addition, given the surrounding properties and neighborhoods have been substantially developed and utilities and public services already exist in the area, the site can be adequately served by all required utilities, including sewer, water, and solid waste, as well as public services.
None of
the exceptions to Categorical Exemptions set forth in the CEQA Guidelines, Section 15300.2 apply to the project. Furthermore, the proposed project is not expected to have a significant effect on the environment. A categorical exemption, as noted above, has been prepared for the project and the area is not environmentally sensitive.
Dat
e: December 8, 2021
Prepared By: Jose Valenzuela, Planner III
Submitted by:
Jose Valenzuela
Planner
City of Fresno
Planning & Development Department
(559) 621-8070