Item 28 - Public Hearing - ZOA No. 20204-01 South Coast Technology Center

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South Coast Technology Center Project CEQA Exemption 15183 evaluated in the GPU PEIR, or previously identified significant effects that are determined to have a more severe adverse impact than discussed in the GPU PEIR. 2. Project Description 2.1 Project Location The City of Santa Ana is located in central Orange County, generally north of the San Diego Freeway (Interstate 405 [1-405]), south of the Garden Grove Freeway (State Route 22 [SR-22]), and west of the Costa Mesa Freeway (SR-55) and Interstate 5 (1-5). The City is approximately 30 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles; refer to Figure 1, Regional Vicinity. Santa Ana is surrounded by the cities of Orange and Garden Grove to the north, Tustin to the east, Costa Mesa and Irvine to the south, and Fountain Valley and Westminster to the west. The generally north - south trending Santa Ana River traverses the western portion of the City. The Project is located at 3100, 3110, and 3120 Lake Center Drive within the southwestern portion of Santa Ana on three land parcels (Assessor's Parcel Numbers [APN] 414-261-01, 414-272-09, and 414-272-10) that comprise approximately 15.8 net acres (Project Site) on the south side of Lake Center Drive in both the southeast and southwest corners of the intersection with Susan Street; refer to Figure 2, Site Vicinity. Regional access to the Project Site is provided via 1-405. Local access to the Project Site is provided via MacArthur Boulevard and Susan Street. 2.2 Existing Conditions The Project Site is located in a highly developed and urbanized area of Santa Ana. The Project Site consists of an existing 10.2-acre office park, the Lake Center Office Park, and an approximately 5.6-acre vacant field to the west of and separated from the office park by the north - south South Susan Street. As shown in Figure 2, the Lake Center Office Park is located on the eastern portion of the Project Site and contains three existing office buildings arranged in a rough U-shape around an artificial pond with fountain features, surface parking, a parking structure, a grass lawn, and landscaping. The western three-story building is approximately 60,634 square feet and fully vacant; the central three-story building is approximately 56,930 square feet and is leased to United Health Services but has been unoccupied since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The eastern six -story building is approximately 60,462 square feet, and the ground floor is leased to and occupied by OC 405 Partners Joint Venture, but will be vacant as of June 30, 2024.' Surface parking is located east and west of the buildings and a partially underground parking structure is located south of the buildings. The grass lawn runs south and west of the surface parking lot along Susan Street. Ornamental trees and landscaping are located throughout the office park along building perimeters and parking areas. The western portion of the Site, west of South Susan Street, is a vacant field. The field is fenced. Although the buildings are predominantly vacant at this time, this document analyzes an occupied baseline since the buildings were previously occupied and operational for the vast majority of the time. Furthermore, the property owner has the ability to lease, occupy and/or operate the currently underutilized spaces at any time under the current entitlements. July 2024 Page 3