Item 26 - Public Hearing Regarding Bristol Project

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Response to Comment L16: Pete dated August 12, 2024 Comment L16.1: This comment states that the Applicant is proposing funds for low-income housing and other funds for community benefit and that the areas around the Project will be greatly impacted by the Project. The comment states that the commenter feels that the area and City will benefit from sensible development. The comment states that previous development agreements were not delivered as promised (per the attached document). Response L16.1: This comment does not provide substantial evidence of a significant environmental impact or provide any comments on the Draft or Final SEIR. CEQA is an environmental protection statute that is concerned with physical changes to the environment (CEQA Guidelines Section 15358(b)). The environment includes land, air, water, minerals, flora, fauna, ambient noise, and objects of historic or aesthetic significance (CEQA Guidelines Section 15360). The Project's potential economic and social effects are not considered effects on the environment (CEQA Guidelines Sections 15064(e) and 151 31(a)). Thus, consistent with CEQA, the Draft Supplemental EIR includes an analysis of the Project's potentially significant physical impacts on the environment and does not include substantial discussion of the Project's economic or social effects, such as economic effects related to the development agreement. This comment will be forwarded to City decision -makers as part of the staff report for the Project. Comment L16.2: This comment states that the EIR reports that the traffic will increase in the area by 260 percent and that the Project will make congestion worse. The comment states that portions of Macarthur Boulevard are not ADA compliant and people with disabilities are forced into the streets. The comment states that the flow of construction traffic is not discussed in the EIR and that residents will be impacted by construction trucks, commuters and increased noise, gas emissions, hazards and hazardous wastes. The comment states that the commenter would like to have better details on the mitigation of those effects. The comment asks what the queuing on Macarthur Boulevard for Greenville Fundamental School would look like. Response L16.2: This comment does not provide substantial evidence of a significant environmental impact. The Draft SEIR Section 5.13, Transportation, details that Senate Bill (SB) 743 changes include the elimination of auto delay, LOS, and similar measures of vehicular capacity or traffic congestion as the basis for determining significant impacts. As part of the 2019 amendments to the State CEQA Guidelines, SB 743 directed that the revised CEQA Guidelines "shall promote the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the development of multimodal transportation networks, and a diversity of land uses" (Public Resources Code Section 21099[b][1 ]); and that "automobile delay, as described solely by level of service or similar measures of vehicular capacity or traffic congestion, shall not be considered a significant impact on the environment" (Public Resources Code Section 21099[b][21). As such, pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 21099(b)(2), the Supplemental EIR is not required to analyze impacts related to traffic congestion during construction or operation of the Project. As discussed in Section 5.1, Air Quality, proposed Specific Plan Mitigation Measure AQ-1: Construction Exhaust and Dust Control requires the preparation of a construction traffic control plan detailing the locations of equipment staging areas, material stockpiles, proposed road closures, and hours of construction operations, and designing the plan to minimize impacts to roads frequented by passenger cars, pedestrians, bicyclist, and other non -truck traffic. As such, the Project would be required to follow a designated construction route to avoid residential areas in the vicinity of the Project. In regard to increased noise, gas emissions, hazards and hazardous waste, the commenter is referred to the Draft SEIR's discussions in Section 5.1, Air Quality, Section 5.6, Hazards and Hazardous Materials, and Section 5.9, Noise, which include thorough discussions of Project impacts on those topic areas and further analysis of applicable mitigation measures, which would serve to reduce potential impacts. No further response is warranted. 36