Exhibit “A”
CEQA Exemption
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CITY OF FRESNO
CATEGORICAL EXEMPTION
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT NO. P23-03457/P23-03708
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: Ken Vang
VICE
2491 Alluvial Ave Suite 15
Clovis, CA 93619
PROJECT LOCATION: 3572 North Blythe Avenue ; Located east of North Blythe Avenue, north of West Saginaw Way (APN: 511-250-02)
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Development Permit Application P23-03457 was filed by Ken Vang of VICE, on behalf of TCM Blythe LLC, and pertains to approximately 4.8 acres of property located at 3572 North Blythe Avenue. The applicant requests authorization to
construct 67 pre-fabricated residential units as well as various on-site and off -site improvements. Related Variance
Application P23 -03708 was filed by Ken Vang of VICE, on behalf of TCM Blythe LLC, and pertains to the same
approximately 4.8 acres of property located at 3572 North Blythe Avenue. The applicant requests authorization to deviate from the RM-1 interior side yard setback requirement of ten feet (10’) to allow for a five-foot (5’) interior side yard setback. The parcel is zoned RM-1/UGM (Multi-Family Residential, Medium High Density/Urban Growth Management).
This project is exempt under Section 15332/Class 32 (Infill Development ) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines.
Section 15332/Class 32 consists of projects characterized as in-fill development meeting the conditions described in this section:
a) The project is consistent with the applicable general plan designation and all applicable general plan policies as well as with applicable zoning designation and regulations.
By current standards, the subject site is identified as “in-fill” within an urban setting. This project is located on a site within the City limits and is consistent with the Fresno General Plan designation, policies, and zoning. The existing RM -1 (Multi -Family Residential, Medium High Density) zone district is consistent with the Medium High Density Residential planned land use designation approved for this site by the Fresno General Plan and West Area Community Plan.
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The project is consistent with the following Fresno General Plan goals, objectives and policies related to residential land use and the urban form:
Goals
Goal 7: Provide for a diversity of districts, neighborhoods, housing types (including affordable housing), residential densities, job opportunities, recreation, open space, and educational venues that appeal to a broad range of people throughout the city.
Goal 8: Develop Complete Neighborhoods and districts with an efficient and diverse mix of residential densities, building types, and affordability which are designed to be healthy, attractive, and centered by schools, parks, and public and commercial services to provide a sense of place and that provide as many services as possible within walking distance.
These goals contribute to the establishment of a comprehensive citywide land use planning strategy to meet economic development objectives, achieve efficient and equitable use of resources and infrastructure, and create an attractive living environment in accordance with Objective LU-1 of the Fresno General Plan.
Objectives
Objective LU -1 establishes a comprehensive citywide land use planning strategy to meet economic development objectives, achieve efficient and equitable use of resources and infrastructure, and create an attractive living environment.
Objective LU -2 plans for infill development that includes a range of housing types, building forms, and land uses to meet the needs of both current and future residents.
Objective LU-6 retains and enhances existing commercial areas to strengthen Fresno’s economic base and site new office, retail, and lodging use districts to serve neighborhoods and regional visitors.
Objective D-4 preserves and strengthens Fresno’s overall image through design review and create a safe, walkable and attractive urban environment for the current and future generations of residents.
Policies
Policy LU-1-a promotes new development, infill, and rehabilitation of existing building stock in the Downtown Planning Area, along BRT corridors, in established neighborhoods generally south of Herndon Avenue, and on other infill sites and vacant land within the City.
Policy LU -6-a fosters high quality design, diversity, and a mix of amenities in new development with uses through the consideration of guidelines, regulations and design review procedures.
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The proposed residential development is an infill property adjacent to an established neighborhood south of Herndon Avenue. The proposed design of the building is of high quality and various exterior materials complementary to the adjacent single -family neighborhood. There are no proposed exposed mechanical or electrical components roof-mounted or on the exterior of the building. The proposed building provides different recesses throughout which expresses detail in quality and residential compatibility.
Development Code
Multi-Family Residential uses are permitted uses in the RM-1 zone district in accordance with Fresno Municipal Code (FMC) Table 15-1002.
The applicant proposes the construction of 67 pre -fabricated residential units on approximately 4.8 acres of property. The existing vacant site will also include parking, solid waste enclosures, and various off -site improvements including, but not limited to, curb, gutter, and sidewalk.
Therefore, it is staff’s opinion that the proposed project is consistent with respective general and community plan objectives and policies, and the applicable zoning designation and regulations of the Development Code, and will not conflict with any applicable land use plan, policy, or regulation of the City of Fresno.
b) The proposed development occurs within city limits on a project site of no more than five acres substantially surrounded by urban uses.
The State of California Governor’s Office of Planning and Research states that infill development refers to “building within unused and underutilized lands within existing development patterns, typically but not exclusively in urban areas. The proposed project is located within city limits, occurs on a vacant site of approximately 4.8 acres (less than the five-acre maximum), and is substantially surrounded by other urban uses (single- family residences to the east and south, North Blythe Avenue (major street) to the west, and a vacant property to the north).
c) The project has no value as habitat for endangered, rare or threatened species.
Although the project site is currently vacant, immediately adjacent to the subject property is a major street (North Blythe Avenue (arterial)) to the west that produces high volumes of traffic as defined in the Fresno General Plan for arterial streets , which are generally prohibited corridors for species migration, and the site habitat has no trees that would attract birds or other species. As previously stated in Finding b, the site is substantially surrounded by residential and commercial development . Therefore, the site 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 Valley Air Pollution Control District, the City of Fresno Public Utilities Department-Water Division, Fresno Metropolitan Flood 4 | P a g e
Control District, and no significant effects were identified relating to traffic, noise, air quality, or water quality, as provided in detail below.
Traffic
Senate Bill (SB) 743 requires that relevant CEQA analysis of transportation impacts be conducted using a metric known as vehicle miles traveled (VMT) instead of Level of Service (LOS). VMT measures how much actual auto travel (additional miles driven) a proposed project would create on California roads. If the project adds excessive automotive travel onto our roads, the project may cause a significant transportation impact.
The State CEQA Guidelines were amended to implement SB 743, by adding Section 15064.3. Among its provisions, Section 15064.3 confirms that, except with respect to transportation projects, a project’s effect on automobile delay shall not constitute a significant environmental impact. Therefore, LOS measures of impacts on traffic facilities is no longer a relevant CEQA criteria for transportation impacts.
CEQA Guidelines Section 15064.3(b)(4) states that “[a] lead agency has discretion to evaluate a project’s VMT, including whether to express the change in absolute terms, per capita, per household or in any other measure. A lead agency may use models to estimate a project’s VMT and may revise those estimates to reflect professional judgement based on substantial evidence. Any assumptions used to estimate VMT and any revision to model outputs should be documented and explained in the environmental document prepared for the project. The standard of adequacy in Section 15151 shall apply to the analysis described in this section.”
On June 25, 2020, the City of Fresno adopted CEQA Guidelines for VMT Thresholds, pursuant to SB 743 to be effective as of July 1, 2020. The thresholds described therein are referred to herein as the City of Fresno VMT Thresholds. The City of Fresno VMT Thresholds document was prepared and adopted consistent with the requirements of CEQA Guidelines Sections 15064.3 and 15064.7. The De cember 2018 Technical Advisory on Evaluating Transportation Impacts in CEQA (Technical Advisory) published by the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR), was utilized as a reference and guidance document in the preparation of the City of Fresno VMT Thresholds.
The City of Fresno VMT Thresholds adopted a screening standard and criteria that can be used to screen out qualified projects that meet the adopted criteria from needing to prepare a detailed VMT analysis.
The City of Fresno VMT Thresholds Section 3.0 regarding Project Screening discusses a variety of projects that may be screened out of a VMT analysis including specific development and transportation projects. For development projects, 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. For transportation projects, the primary attribute to consider is the potential to increase vehicle travel, sometimes referred to as “induced travel.”
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The proposed project is eligible to screen out because pursuant to the City of Fresno VMT Thresholds Section 3.0 (Project Screening), the project proposes an average daily trip (ADT) generation of approximately 452 trips based on the 11th edition of the ITE Trip Generation Manual, which is lower than an ADT generation of 500 which is considered the maximum measurement to screen out of VMT . Additionally, the Fresno COG VMT Calculator Tool indicated the Transportation Analysis Zone in which the subject property is located within would generate 12.6 VMT per capita. As the City’s established VMT threshold is 14.01 VMT per capita, the Project’s impact to VMT is less than the 13 percent minimum threshold, resulting in a less than significant impact.
Noise
The project is for 67 pre -fabricated multi-family dwellings near other residential uses.
The project site is adjacent to single -family residences to the south and east , North Blythe Avenue (major street) to the west , and vacant land planned for Medium High Density Residential uses to the south.
Multi-family developments typically generate low noise levels due to limited automotive speeds within the complex and limited use of open space areas. Furthermore, noise from the existing adjacent major street (North Blythe Avenue) would exceed the noise levels produced within the multi -family development, assuring the proposed development would not cause a nuisance in exceeding noise decibel standard of the Fresno Municipal Code.
In any case, the project is conditioned to comply with all applicable noise standards of the Citywide Development Code, including the construction of a minimum 6-foot sound wall along the western property line, adjacent to North Blythe Avenue.
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. 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.
Water Quality
The Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District (FMFCD) memorandum dated December 18, 2023, states that conveyance of storm water should be directed to North Blythe Avenue and North Brunswick Avenue . On-site grading will be reviewed by the City of Fresno Building and Safety Services Division and FMFCD for compliance with storm water conveyance and pollution prevention.
The applicant is required to comply with all requirements of the City of Fresno Department of Public Utilities memorandum dated December 1 1, 202 3, which will reduce the project’s water impacts to less than significant. When Development Permits are issued, the applicant will be required to pay drainage fees pursuant to the Drainage Fee Ordinance.
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Therefore, compliance with the conditions of approval 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 project has been routed to various utilities and public service providers which have provided project conditions for development of the project. The site has been reviewed and conditioned by the Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District, Fresno County Environmental Health Division, City of Fresno Public Works Department, City of Fresno Public Utilities Department, and the City of Fresno Fire Department.
In addition, given the surrounding properties and neighborhood have been substantially developed and utilities and public services already exist in the area and 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 this project. Furthermore, as the subject site is a developed property in an urbanized commercial area, the proposed project is not expected to have a significant effect on the environment. Accordingly, a categorical exemption, as noted above, has been prepared for the project.
Date: February 16, 2024
Submitted by:
Rob Holt
Supervising Planner
City of Fresno
Planning and Development
Department
(559) 621-8056