Exhibit G – Environmental Assessment
CITY OF FRESNO
CATEGORICAL EXEMPTION
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR
DEVELOPMENT PERMIT APPLICATION NO. P22-01346
T
HE PROJECT DESCRIBED HEREIN IS DETERMINED TO BE CATEGORICALLY
EXEMPT FROM THE PREPARATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTS
ACCORDING TO ARTICLE 19 OF THE STATE CEQA GUIDELINES.
AP
PLICANT: Orlando Ramirez
Ramirez Development
4233 West Wathen Avenue
Fresno, CA 93722
PR
OJECT LOCATION: 4941 East McKinley Avenue, located on the northwest corner of East McKinley and North Fine Avenues in Fresno, California.
APN: 494-291-05 (Council District 4)
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Development Permit Application No. P22-01346 was filed by Orlando Ramirez of Ramirez Development and pertains to a ±4,400 square-foot building consisting of a 120-f oot
carwash tunnel and 16 vacuum stalls on a ±0.69-acre parcel located at the property noted above. The subject property is located in the IL (Light Industrial) zone district.
T
his project is exempt under Sections 15332/Class 32 (In-fill Development Projects) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines as follows:
S
ection 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) T
he project is consistent with the applicable general plan designation and all applicable gen policies as well as with applicable zoning designation and regulations.
T
he proposed project ( Automobile/Vehicle Washing) will meet all the provisions of the Fresno Municipal Code. The project is consistent with the Fresno General Plan designation, policies, and zoning. The existing IL ( Light Industrial ) zone dis trict is consistent with the Employment-Light Industrial planned land use designation approved for this site by the Fresno General Plan, McLane Community Plan, and the Fresno County Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan. b) T
he proposed development occurs within city limits on a project site of no more than five acres substantially surrounded by urban uses.
T
he proposed project (Automobile/Vehicle Washing) is located within the city limits, occurs on a vacant site of approximately 0.69 acres, which is less th an the five- acre maximum, and is surrounded by offices.
c) T
he project has no value as habitat for endangered, rare or threatened species.
T
he site is currently vacant the Fresno Program Environmental Impact Report ( PEIR) did not identify this site as habitat for rare or threatened species. Surrounding developments consists of EA No. P22-01346
December 8, 2022
existing fast-food restaurants and offices; therefore, it has no value as habitat for endangered, rare, or threatened species.
d) Approval of the project would not result in any significant effects relating to traffic, noise, air quality, or water quality.
The proposed 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.
Traffic
Senate Bill (SB) 743, signed in 2013, changes how 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.
Based upon the City of Fresno’s adopted VMT thresholds and guidelines, screening of projects is permitted if a project qualifies as a low trip generator (less than 500 daily trips generated). The proposed automated car washing project consists of approximately 4,400 square feet of building consisting of a 120-foot automated-washing tunnel. Vehicle washing facilities experience the most traffic on Saturdays and peak hours can vary between 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Peak hour demand rate on Saturday is generally 20% higher then on weekdays. Based on a peak rate number of 14.2 peak trips per 1,000 sf gross floor area (4,400 sf. building), anticipated peak trips will not exceed 62 vehicle peak hour demand rate and is anticipated to generally occur between 3:00 and 4:15 p.m. Trip generation rates for the proposed project was gathered through analysis of the 10th Edition Trip Generation Manual published by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE). Subsequently, the project includes site improvements to the 0.69- acre commercial parcel that upon full buildout, the carwash is anticipated to be used by 300- 400 vehicles per day . The total estimated ADT generated by the proposed project is less than the 500 ADT established screening threshold. Given the adopted significance threshold criteria of the City of Fresno, staff determined that the proposed project can be screened out from further VMT impact analysis and, therefore, would not result in any significant traffic impacts based upon the City of Fresno's adopted thresholds and guidelines for VMT analyses.
Noise
Staff reviewed the policies of the Fresno General Plan, Fresno Program Environmental Impact Report (PEIR), and Municipal code to determine if the proposed project produces a significant increase in ambient noise levels. The City of Fresno Noise Element of the General Plan establishes a Noise Exposure from Stationary Noise Sources standard of 50 dBA H ourly Equivalent Sound Level (Leq) and a Maximum Sound Level (Lmax) of 70 dBA during the daytime (7 a.m.-10 p.m.) and 45 dBA and 60 dBA for nighttime (10 p.m.-7 a.m.) respectively. The noise exposure standard is applied to the property line of the receiving land use.
EA No. P22-01346
December 8, 2022
Hourly Equivalent Sound is a single-number representation of the fluctuating sound level in decibels over a specified period of time, in this case one hour. It is a sound-energy average of the fluctuating level. The Maximum Sound Level is the highest value measured by the sound level meter over a given period of time, based on the time-weighted sound level in dB, using either the fast or slow time constant. A-weighting decibels (dBA) are the measurements from a sound meter which gives more value to where the ear is more sensitive and less value to frequencies that the ear is not as sensitive to. Most modern sound meters automatically convert to A-weighted decibels.
In other words, the A-weighted decibel provides a measurement to how the human ear perceives sound.
Knowledge of the following relationships is helpful in understanding how changes in noise and noise exposure are perceived:
Except under special conditions, a change in sound level of 1 dB cannot be perceived; • A 3 dB change is considered a just-noticeable difference; • A 5 dB change is required before any noticeable change in community response would be expected. A 5 dB increase is often considered a significant impact; and • A 10 dB increase is subjectively heard as an approximate doubling in loudness and almost always causes an adverse community response.
Outdoor ambient noise levels are permitted to be higher for urban areas and commercial sites, and higher still for industrial areas.
Longstanding City policy for stationary sources has been to require enclosure, muffling, and/or greater setbacks so that adjacent properties are not exposed to excessive noise levels. Nuisance noise abatement has been accomplished through the City’s Noise Ordinance. Noise from transportation facilities has been controlled primarily by State and federal standards but also by distancing sensitive uses from these facilities, and by use of sound- proofing construction measures, such as masonry walls and sealed buildings.
According to the project applicant the proposed car wash would utilize MacNeil RS ‐301 High Side Washer, MacNeil RS‐400 Low Side Washer with MacNeil brush systems. The proposed car wash would also utilize a Motor City Wash Works Air One Dryer system. Noise level measurements were provided at both the entrance and exit sides of the car wash tunnel. The dryer (blower) portion of the operation represents the loudest equipment, which is located at the tunnel exit.
Therefore, noise levels at the exit side of the tunnel are louder than those at the entrance side of the tunnel. The measured noise levels provided describe the project ‐related noise levels at a distance of fifty (50) feet directly facing both the tunnel entrance and the tunnel exit. Numbers obtained from identical facilities in the region provide readings of 71 Leq and 75 Lmax at 50 feet, directly facing the entrance. Readings from 50 feet and directly facing the tunnel exit are 79 Leq and 82 Lmax. The car wash tunnel will be oriented in an east/west alignment direction, where the tunnel walls will provide varying levels of acoustical shielding to locations to the north and south.
The entrance portion of the carwash tunnel will be approximately 140 feet when measured at an approximate 45 degree angle, from the nearby Rivendell Adult Day Care Center door and approximately 85 feet from the west property line. Noise levels can be expected to be reduced to 6-8 dB at 50 feet away measured at a 45 degree angle from the tunnel entrance and further decibel reduction at a greater distance. The exit portion of the tunnel will face North Fine Avenue, near the East McKinley Avenue and North Fine Avenue corner. Facing the tunnel at 90-degrees, noise levels can be expected to be reduced by 10-15 dB below noise levels that were measured directly EA No. P22-01346
December 8, 2022
in line with the tunnel, at the same distance of 50 feet. Further noise reduction would occur with the proposed exit tunnel located approximately 143 feet away from the adjacent office building and 122 feet from the north property line.
The project would include a vacuum station area with approximately 16 vacuum stalls. The project would utilize Vacutech Model: FT‐DD‐T330HP4 (30HP T3 Turbine Vacuum Producer with Exhaust Silencer) vacuum units at the site. Noise level data provided by the manufacturer indicates that the noise levels associated with the vacuum units would be expected to be approximately 60 dB at a distance of 5 feet from the turbine. The closest proposed vacuum unit to the north property line adjacent to exiting office land uses is setback a distance of approximately 30 feet. Taking into account the standard rate of attenuation with increased distance from a point source ( -6 dB/doubling of distance), noise levels associated with the vacuum units would not exceed the standards of 50 Leq and 70 Lmax at the shared property lines.
The proposed project will not involve activities which would be anticipated to result in major noise- generating stationary uses which would impinge on existing noise-sensitive uses within the project area, including but not limited to those daycare and office uses located at a distance of more than 120 feet from the proposed carwash tunnel.
Air Quality
The project 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 regard to air quality during construction and operation. No significant air quality impacts were identified the air district.
Water Quality
The site has been reviewed and conditioned by the Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District, Fresno County Public Health, and the City of Fresno Public Utilities in regard to water quality. The surrounding properties have been substantially developed and therefore utilities and public services infrastructure exists in the area. Therefore, no significant water quality impacts were identified.
None of the exceptions to Categorical Exemptions outlined in the CEQA Guidelines, Section 15300.2 apply to the project. Furthermore, the proposed project is not expected to affect the environment significantly. A categorical exemption, as noted above, has been prepared for the project, and the area is not environmentally sensitive.
Date: December 8, 2022
Submitted
by:
Jose Valenzuela
Supervising Planner
Planning & Development
Department
(559) 621-8070