Agenda Item: 6
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
CONSENT CALENDAR
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
DATE: August 27, 2024
SUBJECT: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FOR WILEY CANYON
DEVELOPMENT PROJECT (MASTER CASE 20-238) CONTRACT
INCREASE
DEPARTMENT: Community Development
PRESENTER: Erika Iverson
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council:
1. Authorize an expenditure increase to the Dudek contract for the preparation of the Wiley Canyon Development Project Environmental Impact Report (Master Case 20-238) from $239,960 to $335,200 and include a contingency in the amount of $33,520, for a total contract amount not to exceed $368,720.
2. Authorize the City Manager or designee to execute all documents, subject to City Attorney approval.
BACKGROUND
The Wiley Canyon Development Project (Project), Master Case 20-238, is a request by Wiley Canyon, LLC, (applicant) to develop a mixed-use development consisting of a four-story senior living facility, ground-floor commercial, and 379 apartment units within three planning areas on an approximately 31-acre site east of Interstate 5 and west of Wiley Canyon Road, between Hawkbryn Avenue and Calgrove Boulevard in the community of Newhall, as shown on the attached aerial map. The property is located in the Mixed Use Neighborhood (MX-N) zone and is within the Calgrove Corridor/Smiser Ranch area, which has a maximum allowable development of 830,000 square feet, as identified in the City of Santa Clarita’s (City) General Plan.
The Project was formally submitted on October 28, 2020. An environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) was initiated. Based on anticipated impacts associated with the Project, the appropriate CEQA document required for the Project is an
Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Because the City does not have the in-house expertise or resources available to complete an EIR, an outside environmental consulting firm is required to complete this task. In August of 2021, staff solicited proposals from qualified firms to prepare the EIR.
On November 9, 2021, the City Council awarded the contract to Dudek for a contract amount of $239,960, with a ten percent contingency of $23,996, for a total contract amount not to exceed $263,956. Since then, the Draft EIR has been prepared and circulated for public review, and two public hearings have been held by the Planning Commission.
The Draft EIR was circulated for a 45-day public review beginning March 1, 2024, and ending April 15, 2024. During the review period, the first Planning Commission meeting was held on March 19, 2024, to provide an introduction to the project proposal and an overview of the Draft EIR. Following the meeting on March 19, 2024, and the close of the public review of the Draft EIR, comments received on the Draft EIR were reviewed and organized, and individual comments were numbered for purposes of preparing responses. Based on comments from the Planning Commission, the applicant made revisions to the site plan. A second Planning Commission meeting was held on June 18, 2024, to provide an overview of the revisions proposed by the applicant, and the Planning Commission continued the hearing process to a date uncertain while the applicant finalizes the site plan, addresses requests for more information from the Planning Commission, and all responses to comments on the Draft EIR are prepared.
CONTRACT AMENDMENT
The original proposal for the preparation of the EIR assumed that no more than 100 individual comments would be received on the Draft EIR. Following the close of the public review and the Planning Commission hearing on March 19, over 500 individual comments were identified.
Preparation of the Final EIR, which will be considered by the Planning Commission at a future hearing, will include responses to all comments that were received on the Draft EIR. In addition, to address site plan changes made by the applicant in response to comments, the Final EIR will include a chapter for changes to the Draft EIR to identify instances where revisions to the Draft EIR are appropriate.
The high volume of individual comments that require a response in the Final EIR and the revisions to the site plan, result in the additional work to be done by the consultant, and therefore the need to update the contract with Dudek. The updated total cost of the Dudek proposal is $335,200. Staff has included a ten-percent contingency for $33,520, for a total contract amount not to exceed $368,720. The applicant is responsible for all costs associated with the preparation of the EIR, including the additional costs of this proposed amendment. The applicant will deposit the additional funds into a trust account to be maintained by the City. Any unspent funds would be returned to the applicant following completion of the project review and public hearing process.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION
Other action as determined by the City Council.
FISCAL IMPACT
There will be no fiscal impact. All costs associated with the preparation of the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Wiley Canyon Development Project will be the responsibility of the applicant.
ATTACHMENTS
Aerial Map
Dudek Change Order 1