Agenda Item: 6
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
CONSENT CALENDAR
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
DATE: April 8, 2025
SUBJECT: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FOR WILEY CANYON
DEVELOPMENT PROJECT (MASTER CASE 20-238) - CONTRACT
MODIFICATIONS
DEPARTMENT: Community Development
PRESENTER: Erika Iverson
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council:
1. Authorize an increased expenditure authority for the environmental consultation with Dudek contract for the preparation of the Wiley Canyon Development Project Environmental Impact Report (Master Case 20-238) from $335,200 to $371,450 and include a contingency in the amount of $18,572, for a total contract amount not to exceed $390,022.
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 project 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 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, and requires an environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Based on anticipated impacts associated with the Project, and CEQA requirements, an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was deemed necessary. Since the City does not have the in-house expertise or resources available
to complete an EIR. City staff solicited proposals from qualified firms to prepare the EIR in August 2021.
On November 9, 2021, the City Council awarded the environmental consultation contract to Dudek for a total contract amount not to exceed $263,956.
Dudek has since prepared a Draft EIR which has been circulated for public review and presented/discussed at two public hearings held by the Planning Commision. At the last Planning Commission hearing, held in June 2024, the Planning Commission continued the public hearing to a date uncertain to allow the applicant time to address their requests for more information and to complete responses to public comments on the Draft EIR.
Due to the high number of individual comments that were submitted on the Draft EIR, additional work was necessary, which required the Dudek contract to be updated. On August 27, 2024, the City Council approved an amendment to the Dudek contract, increasing the contract amount to $335,200 plus authorization for a ten-percent contingency of $33,520.
Since that time, the applicant team, inclusive of the technical consultants, has been unable to provide responses to comments on the technical reports that must be addressed as part of the Final EIR. Additionally, the applicant has decided to revise the Project in response to Planning Commission comments, as well as comments received by the public. As a result, the scope of work for Dudek needs to be amended, as described below, to address all outstanding comments and to finalize the EIR.
CONTRACT AMENDMENT
The original proposal for the preparation of the EIR, and the subsequent contract amendment, assumed that responses to comments on the technical studies prepared by the applicant team would be addressed by the technical consultants who prepared the reports; however, the applicant team is unable to provide responses to comments on their technical reports. The City’s consultant, at the cost of the applicant, will have to prepare responses that the applicant’s consultant team is unable to address, including Air Quality and Greenhouse Gas Emmission, Biological Resources, Jurisdictional Resources, Geology and Soils, Hazards and Hazardous Materials, Hydrology and Drainage, and Noise.
Additionally, further site plan changes were not contemplated when the previous amendment was considered. Another project alternative will be analyzed as a result of the applicant’s latest changes to the Project. This additional work cannot be completed within the available contingency funds that have already been authorized by the City Council.
The applicant’s project changes, the Final EIR with responses to all the comments received on the Draft EIR, and the additional analysis for another project alternative will be considered by the Planning Commission at a future hearing if this amendment is approved.
The outstanding comments on technical reports require a response in the Final EIR and the revisions to the site plan, resulting 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 $371,450, an increase of $36,250. City staff has included a five-percent contingency for $18,572, for a total contract amount not to exceed $390,022.
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 is no fiscal impact associated with this item. All costs associated with the preparation of the EIR for the Wiley Canyon Development Project will be the responsibility of the applicant.
ATTACHMENTS
Dudek Change Order 2
Aerial