According to SSFFD data, the current five fire stations in South San Francisco responded to 14,857 calls in year 2021, or an average of approximately 2,970 responses per station per year, or about 8 responses per day. Even at such high short-term noise levels, a combined period of 80 to 160 seconds per day (8 responses times 10 to 20 seconds each) would occur randomly, would be very short-term, and would not substantially change the daily Ldn or CNEL noise levels in the vicinity of the fire station. These intermittent siren events would not constitute a significant change in the existing noise environment.
Other typical noise sources associated with the fire station would be backup beepers caused by firetrucks re-entering the firetruck bay (assuming a station design with back-in bays), firehouse activities, and training activities/fire fighter drills. Backup beepers can generate noise levels up to 79 dBA at 30 feet, or about 66 dBA at 100 feet. Like siren noise, back-up beeper noise would only occur occasionally, would be of a short-term duration, and would not substantially change the existing daily noise levels in the vicinity.
• The Project is located in the industrial and business section of East of 101, where no residential uses currently exist. The Project would remove an existing warehouse but would not directly displace people or housing.
• The potential new fire station would increase service levels to existing uses in East of 101 (including the Project), as well as to the planned mixed-use development around the nearby Caltrain station. • The Project site is not located in a Medium or High Wildfire Hazard Severity Zone. Accordingly, the Project would not expose Project occupants to pollutant concentrations from a wildfire or the uncontrollable spread of a wildfire. The Project would not expose people or structures to significant risk, including downslope or downstream flooding or landslides due to post-fire slope instability or drainage changes.
Vantage Master Plan Project – CEQA Analysis page 204
CEQA Determination / Findings
Based on the information and analysis contained in this Initial Study/CEQA Checklist, the Project is consistent with the development density and land use characteristics established by existing zoning and General Plan policies for which an EIR was certified (i.e., the SSF 2040 General Plan and its EIR).
The Project would be required to comply with all applicable regulatory requirements and/or mitigation measures as cited in the SSF 2040 General Plan EIR. With implementation of those regulatory requirements and/or mitigation measures, the preceding Initial Study/CEQA Checklist concludes that the Project would not result in a substantial increase in the severity of any significant impact and would not result in any new significant impacts that were not previously identified in that prior EIR.
In accordance with CEQA Guidelines Sections 15183 and as set forth in this Initial Study/CEQA Analysis, the Project qualifies for CEQA streamlining provisions because the following findings can be made.
Consistency with Community Plan or Zoning (CEQA Guidelines Section 15183) CEQA Guidelines Section 15183 provides that, “projects that are consistent with the development density established by existing zoning, community plan or general plan policies for which an EIR was certified shall not require additional environmental review, except as might be necessary to examine whether there are projectspecific significant effects which are peculiar to the project or its site”. These CEQA provisions are intended to streamline the environmental review of certain types of projects, and to reduce the need to prepare redundant environmental studies. These provisions of CEQA apply only to those projects that are consistent with a community plan adopted as part of a General Plan, a zoning action which zoned or designated the parcel on which the Project would be located to accommodate a particular density of development, or the General Plan of a local agency. Per CEQA Guidelines section 15183 (i)(2), “consistent means that the density of the proposed project is the same or less than the standard expressed for the involved parcel in the general plan, community plan or zoning action for which an EIR has been certified, and that the project complies with the density-related standards contained in that plan or zoning. Where the zoning ordinance refers to the general plan or community plan for its density standard, the project shall be consistent with the applicable plan”. An EIR must have been certified by the Lead Agency for the community plan, the zoning action or the General Plan, for these provisions to apply.
Section 15183(a) of the CEQA Guidelines provides that, in approving a project meeting these requirements, a public agency shall, “limit its examination of environmental effects to those impacts that the agency determines, in an Initial Study or other analysis:
• are peculiar to the project or the parcel on which the project would be located • are not analyzed as significant effects in a prior EIR on the zoning action, General Plan or community plan
• are potentially significant off-site impacts and cumulative impacts that were not discussed in the prior EIR prepared for the general plan, community plan or zoning action, or • are previously identified significant effects which, as a result of substantial new information which was • not known at the time the prior EIR was certified, are determined to have a more severe adverse impact than discussed in the prior EIR”
This CEQA Checklist includes information that demonstrates the Project is consistent with the development density established by existing zoning and the 2040 General Plan. The General Plan and Zoning Consistency Vantage Master Plan Project – CEQA Analysis page 205
Analysis demonstrates that the Project is consistent with the density and land use standards as established by policies of SSF 2040 General Plan and implementing regulations of the applicable zoning district for the site. • A Program EIR was prepared and certified by the City of South San Francisco for the SSF 2040 General Plan. The Project is consistent with the development assumptions of that prior General Plan EIR. • This Initial Study/CEQA Checklist examines whether the potential impacts of the Project have already been addressed in the General Plan EIR and concludes that the Project’s effects have been thoroughly addressed in that prior EIR, and no Project-specific significant effects that are peculiar to the Project or its site will occur.
• This Initial Study/CEQA Checklist demonstrates that the Project will not result in significant impacts that were not previously identified in the General Plan EIR as significant project-level, cumulative or off-site effects.
• This Initial Study/CEQA Checklist also presents substantial evidence that the Project would not result in new or more severe environmental effects than those previously disclosed in the General Plan EIR, or which may be peculiar to the Project or its site.
• The Project’s potentially significant effects have already been addressed as such in the General Plan EIR and will be substantially mitigated by implementation of General Plan EIR mitigation measures and/or imposition of identified regulatory requirements, and/or the Project’s plans as prepared pursuant to those mitigation measures and regulations.
Therefore, the Project would meet the CEQA streamlining criteria of CEQA Guidelines Section 15183 and no further environmental review is required. Based on an examination of the analysis, findings and conclusions of the SSF 2040 General Plan EIR, all of which are summarized in this Initial Study/CEQA Checklist, the potential environmental impacts associated with the Project have been adequately analyzed and covered in that prior EIR.
No further review or analysis under CEQA is required.
Reliance on a Prior Program EIR
Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15168, “a Program EIR is an EIR that has been prepared on a series of actions that can be characterized as one large project and that are related either geographically, as logical parts in a chain of contemplated actions, in connection with general criteria to govern the conduct of a continuing program, or as individual activities carried out under the same authorizing statute or regulatory authority and having generally similar environmental effects which can be mitigated in similar ways”. CEQA Guidelines Section 15168(c) provides that, “later activities in the program must be examined in the light of the Program EIR to determine whether an additional environmental document must be prepared (unless that project is determined to be eligible for a categorical exemption):
• If a later activity would have effects that were not examined in the program EIR, a new Initial Study would need to be prepared leading to either an EIR or a negative declaration. That later analysis may tier from the Program EIR as provided in Section 15152.
• If the lead agency finds, pursuant to Section 15162, that no subsequent EIR would be required, the lead agency can approve the activity as being within the scope of the project covered by the Program EIR, and no new environmental document would be required. Whether a later activity is within the scope of a Program EIR is a factual question that the lead agency determines based on substantial evidence in the record. Factors that an agency may consider in making that determination include but are not limited to consistency of the later activity with the type of allowable land use, overall planned density and building Vantage Master Plan Project – CEQA Analysis page 206
intensity, geographic area analyzed for environmental impacts, and covered infrastructure, as described in the program EIR.
• The Lead Agency shall incorporate feasible mitigation measures and alternatives developed in the Program EIR into later activities in the program.
• Where the later activities involve site-specific operations, the Lead Agency should use a written checklist or similar device to document the evaluation of the site and the activity, to determine whether the environmental effects of the operation are within the scope of the Program EIR.
Based on information presented in this Initial Study/CEQA checklist, the Project would not have effects that were not examined in the SSF 2040 General Plan EIR, no subsequent EIR would be required, the City may approve the Project as being within the scope of the project covered by the General Plan EIR, and no additional environmental document is required.
This Initial Study/CEQA Checklist documents the evaluation of the Project and its site and determines that the environmental effects of the Project are within the scope of the prior SSF 2040 General Plan EIR. A finding of reliance on a prior program EIR may be made concurrently, and in addition to a finding for CEQA streamlining pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15183.
Based on the analysis presented in this initial Study/CEQA Checklist, the City of South San Francisco has determined that none of the conditions described in CEQA Guidelines section 15162 calling for the preparation of a subsequent EIR or Negative Declaration have occurred. This Initial Study/CEQA Checklist references and relies on the analyses completed in the SSF 2040 General Plan EIR and incorporates the conclusions of that prior EIR by reference, as appropriate.
Each of the above findings provides a separate and independent basis for CEQA compliance. ________________________________________ _____________
Date:
Environmental Review Officer
City of South San Francisco
Vantage Master Plan Project – CEQA Analysis page 207
Sources and References
Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), BAAQMD CEQA Guidelines, May 2017, accessed at:
https://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/planning-and research/ceqa/ceqa_guidelines_may2017- pdf.pdf
California Department of Conservation, Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program, accessed at:
https://maps.conservation.ca.gov/DLRP/CIFF/
California Department of General Services, California Green Building Standards Code—Part 11, Title 24, California Code of Regulations (CALGreen), accessed at: https://up.codes/viewer/california/ca-greencode-2022/ California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), EnviroStor database, accessed at: at:
https://www.envirostor.dtsc.ca.gov/public/ , October 2022 California Geological Survey, Earthquake Zones of Required Investigation, San Francisco South Quadrangle, 2021 California Regional Water Quality Control Board San Francisco Bay Region, Municipal Regional Stormwater NPDES Permit (Permit #CAS612008, Order #R2-2022-0018), May 11, 2022 California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB), GeoTracker database, accessed at:
https://geotracker.waterboards.ca.gov/ , October 2022
California Water Service (Cal Water), 2020 Urban Water Management Plan: South San Francisco District, available at: https://www.calwater.com/docs/uwmp2020/SSF_2020_UWMP_FINAL.pdf., June 2021 City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County (C/CAG), VMT Estimation Tool, accessed at:
https://gis.smcgov.org/apps/CCAG_VMT_EstimationTool/
C/CAG, Comprehensive Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan for the Environs of San Francisco International Airport (ALUCP), November 2012
DieselNet, accessed at: https://dieselnet.com/standards/us/nonroad.php EKI Water and Environment, Water Supply Assessment for Healthpeak Vantage Project (WSA), March 2023 Fehr & Peers, Healthpeak Vantage Transportation Impact Analysis, May 2023 Fehr & Peers, Healthpeak Vantage Transportation Demand Management Program, November 30, 2022 Flad Architects, Vantage Conditional Use Permit Application, October 14, 2022 Flad Architects, Vantage Preliminary Lot Line Exhibit, October 14, 2022 Flad Architects, Vantage Precise Plan (January 21, 2022) and Vantage Parking Entitlement (May 25, 2022)
Groundwater Exchange, accessed at https://groundwaterexchange.org/ , October 2022 Lamphier-Gregory, California Emissions Estimator Model, Construction Period Emissions, November 2022 Lamphier-Gregory, California Emissions Estimator Model, Operational Period Criteria Pollutant Emissions, November 2022
Lamphier-Gregory, C/CAG VMT Estimation Tool Results, November 2022 Langan Engineering and Environmental Services Inc. (Langan), Soil Management Plan for Vantage Phases 2 and 3, November 4, 2022
Vantage Master Plan Project – CEQA Analysis page 208
Langan, Geotechnical Investigation for Vantage Phases 2 and 3, October 17, 2022 Langan, Preliminary Geotechnical Conclusions and Recommendations for Vantage Phase 2 – Fire Station, October 17, 2022
Langan, Preliminary Geotechnical Site Assessment, Gallo Site, October 27, 2020 Langan, Phase I Environmental Site Assessment - Gallo Site, October 23, 2020 Lisa Wise Consulting, Inc., City of South San Francisco Zoning Code Update, Public Review Draft, June 2022 Meyers + Engineers, Energy Performance Based on Preliminary Designs and Regulatory/Policy Compliance, November 2022
Preservation Architecture, Memo re: 440 Forbes Blvd, South San Francisco, October 28, 2022 Rincon Consultants, Inc., Cultural Resource Assessment for the 499 Forbes Boulevard Project, January 2020 San Mateo County Health Systems, Case Closure Summary, January 10, 2013, and Characterization and Reuse of Petroleum Hydrocarbon Impacted Soil, accessed at: https://www.smchealth.org/sites/main/files/fileattachments/869705846soil_reuse.pdf South San Francisco (South San Francisco), 2040 General Plan Update (Shape SSF 2040), October 12, 2022 South San Francisco, 2040 General Plan Draft EIR (June 24, 2022,) and Final EIR (September 6, 2022) South San Francisco, Climate Action Plan, August 10, 2022 South San Francisco, Significance Thresholds for Transportation, May 2020 South San Francisco, Genentech Master Plan EIR, 2019
South San Francisco, 494 Forbes Boulevard Research & Development Project Second Partial Recirculated EIR (SCH #2006092054), 2012
South San Francisco, Zoning Ordinance, accessed at: https://www.ssf.net/departments/economiccommunity-development/planning-division/zoning-ordinance US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), National Wetlands Inventory, accessed at:
https://fwsprimary.wim.usgs.gov/wetlands/apps/wetlands-mapper/ Wilsey Ham, FAA Part 77 Aeronautical Surface Areas, subject to Obstruction Evaluation/Airport Airspace Analysis, October 2022
Vantage Master Plan Project – CEQA Analysis
Attachment A
Vantage Master Plan, Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP) Vantage Master Plan Project – CEQA Analysis
Appendix B
California Emissions Estimator Model, Construction Period Emissions, Lamphier-Gregory, November 2022
Vantage Master Plan Project – CEQA Analysis
Appendix C
California Emissions Estimator Model, Operational Period Criteria Pollutant Emissions, Lamphier-Gregory, November 2022
Vantage Master Plan Project – CEQA Analysis
Appendix D
Energy Performance Based on Preliminary Designs and Regulatory/Policy Compliance Meyers + and Lamphier-Gregory, November 2022
Vantage Master Plan Project – CEQA Analysis
Appendix E
Preliminary Geotechnical Site Assessment, Gallo Site,
Langan Engineering and Environmental Services Inc., October 27, 2020 Vantage Master Plan Project – CEQA Analysis
Appendix F
Geotechnical Investigation for Vantage Phases 2 and 3
Langan Engineering and Environmental Services Inc., October 17, 2022 Vantage Master Plan Project – CEQA Analysis
Appendix G
Preliminary Geotechnical Conclusions and Recommendations for Vantage Phase 2 – Fire Station, Langan Engineering and Environmental Services Inc., October 17, 2022 Vantage Master Plan Project – CEQA Analysis
Appendix H
Phase I Environmental Site Assessment - Gallo Site
Langan Engineering and Environmental Services Inc., October 23, 2020 Vantage Master Plan Project – CEQA Analysis
Appendix I
Soil Management Plan for Vantage Phases 2 and 3
Langan Engineering and Environmental Services Inc., November 4, 2022 Vantage Master Plan Project – CEQA Analysis
Appendix J
Healthpeak Vantage Transportation Impact Analysis (TIA) Fehr & Peers, August 2023
Vantage Master Plan Project – CEQA Analysis
Appendix K
Healthpeak Vantage Transportation Demand Management Plan (TDM) Fehr & Peers, August 2023
Vantage Master Plan Project – CEQA Analysis
Appendix L
C/CAG VMT Estimation Tool Results
Lamphier-Gregory, November 2022
Vantage Master Plan Project – CEQA Analysis
Appendix M
Water Supply Assessment for Healthpeak Vantage Project
EKI Water and Environment, March 2023