CITY OF FRESNO
CATEGORICAL EXEMPTION
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
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.
APPLICANT: Capital Projects Department
City of Fresno
2600 Fresno Street
Fresno, CA 93721
PROJECT LOCATION: South of California Avenue, between Fruit Avenue and Thorne Avenue
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The project will replace a segm ent of the Fanning No. 76 canal with a 36-inch diameter underground pipeline.
This project is exempt under Section 15302/Class 2 of the State of California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines as follows:
Section 15302/Class 2 consists of replacement or reconstruction of existing structures and facilities where the new structur e will be located on the same site as the structure replaced and will have substantially the same purpose and capacity as the structure replaced.
Through ongoing coordination with the Fresno I rrigation District, it was determined that a project to convert the open chan nel portion of the Fanning Ditch between Fruit Avenue and Thorne Avenue to an underground pipeline would be mutually beneficial to the District and the City. The project effort s will be shared between the Distr ict and the City under a Joint Project Agreement.
The proposed project consists of the replacement of a segment of the Fanning No. 76 canal with a 36-inch diamet er underground pipeline. This is the last remaining 0.2-mile open channel segment of the nearly 2.5 miles of Fanning No. 76, between the pipeline’s starting point at State Route 180 and Thorne Avenue, and the City limits at West Avenue and Florence Avenue. The proposed 36-inch diameter pipeline will match the size of the existing pipeline at the beginning and term inus of the channel and will no t provide any expansion of the existing channel capacity, or the existing pipeline capacity.
Due to the fact that the propos ed replacement of the existing channel will not result in any expansion of capacity, the replacement or reconstruction of existing utility systems and/or facilities meet the requirements for a Class 2 Cate gorical Exemption pursuant to Section 15302 of the CEQA Guidelines.
Further, none of the exceptions to Categorical Exemptions set forth in the CEQA Guidelines, Section 15300.2 apply to this project. The project site consists of 0.2 miles of the Fanning No. 76 open channel, located south of Californ ia Avenue, between Fruit Avenue and Thorne Avenue. The small site is surrounded by urban development, and there are no wetlands, streams, aquatic or ripari an habitat, scenic vistas, or ot her environmentally sensitive resources on the project site. Accordingly, the project site is not located in an environmentally sensitive area.
Thus, based on staff analysis, it was determi ned that no adverse env ironmental impacts would occur as a result of the proposed project. Therefore, a categorical exemption, as noted above, has been prepared for the project.
Date: August 9, 2023
Prepared By: Cassie L. Scholz, PE 80,684
Submitted by:
Cassie L. Scholz
Professional Engineer
City of Fresno
Capital Projects Department
(559) 621-8720