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Date: August 9th, 2023
Prepared by: Brooke Blandino
To: City of Signal Hill
Community Development Department
2175 Cherry Avenue
Signal Hill, CA 90755
Project
Location:
2901 E. Pacific Coast Highway Project
Signal Hill, CA 90755
Subject: CEQA Class 1 Exemption – 2901 E. Pacific Coast Highway Project Chris Mata (Applicant) is seeking approval from the City of Signal Hill to amend a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) that was approved in 2000 amending conditions of approval and adding new ones to address operational concerns of the self-storage facility (proposed Project). The Project does not include any physical changes to the Project site. The proposed Project does not include any expansion or increase in square footage and the existing commercial building is to remain in place. The City of Signal Hill is the Lead Agency for the proposed Project. The Lead Agency will utilize this document as evidence that the proposed Project qualifies for a Categorical Exemption – Class 1 Existing Facility Exemption – from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which is further described below.
Project Description
The proposed Project site is located at 2901 E. Pacific Coast Highway, Signal Hill, California, 90755 in the southeast portion of the City of Signal Hill in Los Angeles County. The Project site is identified as Assessor’s Parcel Numbers (APNs) 7217-010-014 and 7217-010-015. The Project site encompasses approximately
0.13-acre and is developed with an existing approximate 49,933 SF building that is currently being utilized as a self-storage facility. The Project site is shown in Figure 1, Local Vicinity.
The site has a General Plan land use and zoning designation of Pacific Coast Highway Specific Plan (SP10). As it relates to the Project, the Specific Plan intended to provide limited commercial uses compatible with adjacent residential uses and establish precise zoning areas to allow for the reuse of existing commercial and industrial buildings. The use of self-storage is a conditionally permitted use.
Areas to the west of the Project site include the Colorado Motel which has a land use designation of Commercial General and is zoned Pacific Coast Highway Specific Plan (SP-10) followed by commercial uses. The areas immediately east of the Project site consists of multi-family residential uses with a land use designation of High Density Residential and is zoned Pacific Walk Residential Specific Plan (SP-18). The area to the north of the Project site has a land use designation of High Density Residential and is zoned City View Residential Specific Plan (SP-15). Pacific Coast Highway is directly south of the Project site followed by Sea Rock Inn and Shin Restaurant which are within the City of Long Beach.
The Applicant is requesting approval of a CUP amendment to allow for new hours of operation that would be reduced from the existing 24-hour operations to the following hours:
• Monday through Friday 9:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.
• Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.
Attachment H
Categorical Exemption – Class 1
City of Signal Hill 2901 E. Pacific Coast Highway Project 2 • Sunday 9:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.
• 24-hour operations shall be prohibited.
• Closed on Federal Holidays
The site is improved with sidewalks and landscaping including turf grass and other ornamental vegetation.
Access to the site is provided via from E Pacific Coast Highway on the south side of the property and a driveway along Ellis Avenue on the north side of the property. Initial access to the interior of the self-storage facility would require tenants to check in at the front office first. The pedestrian gate located at the northwest corner of the property would provide access to the front office during business hours and shall be locked during non-operation hours. The operator/property owner shall ensure all loading and unloading of tenant items take place behind the gated driveway aisle located off Ellis Avenue or in the parking garage located on the southerly portion (adjacent to Pacific Coast Highway) of the property. Informational signage would be installed on the exterior of each access door on the Ellis Avenue side of the property. The operator/property owner shall provide written instructions identifying locations on private property where the parking, loading, and unloading for patrons may occur. The Project would not include any physical changes to the Project site.
Class 1 Existing Facility Exemption
Article 19 of the CEQA Guidelines includes, as required by Public Resources Code Section 21084, a list of classes of projects which have been determined not to have a significant effect on the environment. This document demonstrates that the proposed Project qualifies for a Categorical Exemption as an Existing Facility (Class 1 Exemption), consistent with the provisions of CEQA Guidelines Sections 15301 and 15300.2 and provides information for City decisionmakers to find that the proposed Project is exempt under CEQA.
Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301, a Class 1 Exemption consists of the operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of existing or former use. The types of "existing facilities" itemized in the CEQA Guidelines are not intended to be allinclusive of the types of projects which might fall within Class 1 Exemption. The key consideration is whether the project involves negligible or no expansion of use. According to Section 15302 (e)(2), expansions of use are considered negligible if additions to existing structures will not result in an increase of more than 10,000 square feet (SF) and the project site is (A) in an area where all public services and facilities are available to allow for maximum development permissible in the General Plan and (B) the area in which the project site is located is not environmentally sensitive.
The City of Signal Hill determined that the proposed Project would not result in any significant effects on the environment. This finding is supported by the analysis provided in Table 1, Environmental Impact Analysis, below. The City of Signal Hill makes the following findings in support of the Class 1 Exemption (refer to CEQA Guidelines §15301):
This project is categorically exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Article 19, Section 15301 Class 1 as an Existing Facility (Class 1 Exemption). The proposed Project qualifies for the Class 1 categorical exemption because it consists of the continuation of self-storage uses in an existing commercial building and does not involve expansion of the existing building or require offsite utility improvements.
Categorical Exemption – Class 1
City of Signal Hill 2901 E. Pacific Coast Highway Project 3 None of the exceptions to the exemptions as set forth in State CEQA Guidelines Section 15300.2 apply.
Specifically, the proposed Project:
a. Is not located in a particularly sensitive environment. The subject site is located in an urbanized area where all necessary public services and facilities are available, and the surrounding area is not environmentally sensitive.
b. There is no possibility of a cumulative impact of the same type of project in the same place over time. The proposed Project involves the continuation of self-storage uses in an existing commercial building. Once the Project is completed, the likelihood of a successive project on this site is low and probability of a cumulative impact is low.
c. No Significant Effect. No adverse environmental impacts will occur as a result of the proposed Project’s continued use of the existing building for self-storage. d. Would not damage scenic resources, including but not limited to, trees, historic buildings, rock outcroppings, or similar resources, within a highway officially designated as a state scenic highway. e. Is not located on a site which is included on any list compiled pursuant to Section 65962.5 of the Government Code.
f. Would not cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a historical resource.
The proposed Project would not meet any of the conditions of exceptions, and therefore, would qualify for a Class 1 Exemption.
Categorical Exemption – Class 1
City of Signal Hill 2901 E. Pacific Coast Highway Project 4 Figure 1 – Local Vicinity
Categorical Exemption – Class 1
City of Signal Hill 2901 E. Pacific Coast Highway Project 5 Environmental Analysis
The discussion in Table 1 below compares the environmental impacts of the proposed Project to the existing conditions.
Table 1: Environmental Impact Analysis
Environmental Topic Impacts
Aesthetics: No impact. The Project does not propose any physical exterior or interior improvements to the Project site or existing building.
Agriculture and Forest Resources: No impact. The Project would not result in land use changes or ground disturbance.
Air Quality: No impact. The Project would not require construction or changes in existing operation of the Project site.
Biological Resources: No impact. The Project would not result in construction or changes to existing vegetation on the Project site.
Cultural Resources: No impact. The Project would not result in construction or ground disturbance.
Energy: No impact. The Project would not require construction or changes in existing operation of the Project site.
Geology/Soils: No impact. The Project would not result in construction or ground disturbance.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions: No impact. The Project would not require construction or changes in existing operation of the Project site.
Hazards and Hazardous Materials: No impact. The Project would not result in the use or transport of hazardous materials.
Hydrology/Water Quality: No impact. The Project would not result in construction or changes to site hydrology and water quality.
Land Use/Planning: No impact. The Project would not result in land use changes.
Mineral Resources: No impact. The Project would not result in mineral extraction.
Noise: Less than significant impact. Noise is regulated in Signal Hill by Chapter 9.16 (Noise) of the Signal Hill Municipal Code (SHMC) which prohibits the generation of any loud, unnecessary, or unusual noise which disturbs the peace or quiet of any neighborhood or which causes discomfort or annoyance to any reasonable person of normal sensitiveness in the area. The hours of operations would be reduced from 24 hours a day to the following:
• Monday through Friday 9:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.
• Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.
• Sunday 9:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.
• 24-hour operations shall be prohibited.
Categorical Exemption – Class 1
City of Signal Hill 2901 E. Pacific Coast Highway Project 6 • Closed on Federal Holidays
The operational hours would allow the continued use of selfstorage. The use would also be subject to the SHMC Noise Standards of Chapter 9.16 and any nuisances will be cited under Code Enforcement procedures. Thus, noise impacts would not be exceed in comparison to the existing conditions with the reduction in operational hours. Overall, impacts related to noise would be less than significant.
Population/Housing: No impact. The Project would not result in changes to population or housing.
Public Services: No impact. The Project would not result in changes to public services.
Recreation: No impact. The Project would not result in changes to public recreation facilities.
Transportation: Less than significant impact. Access to the site is provided from E Pacific Coast Highway on the south side of the property and a driveway along Ellis Avenue on the north side of the property.
Initial access to the interior of the self-storage facility would require tenants to check in at the front office first. The pedestrian gate located at the northwest corner of the property would provide access from the north side (rear) to the front office during business hours and shall be locked during non-operation hours. The Project would not result in an increase in vehicle trips as the Project does not propose any increase in square footage. Additionally, signage would be installed to provide written instructions identifying where parking, loading, and unloading may occur as well as where patrons can enter and exit. Use of the existing garages and parking spaces would not result in significant impacts related to transportation. Overall, impacts related to
transportation would be less than significant.
Tribal Cultural Resources: No impact. The Project would not result in construction or ground disturbance.
Utilities/Service Systems: No impact. The Project would not result in the construction or relocation of utility systems.
Wildfire: No impact. The Project would not result in construction or changes to the site that could exacerbate the risk of wildfire.