REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Jason Simpson, City Manager
Prepared by: Damaris Abraham, Assistant Community Development Director Date: November 14, 2023
Subject: Professional Services Agreement with Helix Environmental Planning, Inc. for Environmental Documentation for the Collier Commercial Project Recommendation
Approve and authorize the City Manager to execute an agreement with HELIX Environmental Planning, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $53,700 to prepare California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) compliance documents, in such final form as approved by the City Attorney.
Background
The City of Lake Elsinore is the lead agency to evaluate the environmental impacts of development projects proposed within the City. The Community Development Department is responsible for preparing the necessary information and, depending on the scope and size of the project, will either prepare the environmental documents in-house or have a consultant prepare the documents and studies. Through the application fee process, the project applicant (Edward and Leslie Hamud) pays for the cost of preparing the environmental analysis.
Discussion
The applicant has submitted an entitlement application for a new industrial development located on the east side of Minthorn Street between Chaney Street and North Riley Street (APNs: 377- 190-002, 377-190-003, and 377-190-004). The project proposes a General Plan Amendment to change the General Plan land use designation from General Commercial (GC) to Limited Industrial (LI), and a Zone Change to change the zoning designation from General Commercial (C-2) to Limited Manufacturing (M-1) in conjunction with a Design Review to construct one (1) 3,000 square foot industrial building and one (1) 8,975 square foot industrial building on an approximately 2.63-acre site.
The project must prepare technical studies such as a Traffic Impact Report, Air Quality Report, Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report, Energy Report, Noise Report, Hydrology Report, Biological Report, Cultural Resources Report, Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment, Paleontology Collier Commercial Properties (HELIX Environmental)
Report, and Geotechnical Report. Helix Environmental Planning, Inc. will utilize the above referenced technical studies to prepare a detailed analysis for the project as required by CEQA.
Fiscal Impact
The cost of preparing the environmental review will be paid by fees collected from the developer through the City’s cost recovery program. All administrative staff time and consultant costs are paid from the applicant’s fees. No General Fund budgets will be allocated or used for the completion of the CEQA documents for the project.
Attachments
Attachment 1 - Agreement
Attachment 2 - Proposal