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1991/01/22 City Council Resolution (2)RESOLUTION NO. 91 -24 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROHNERT PARK CERTIFYING THE DRAFT FOCUSED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FOR THE EXPRESSWAY MALL WITH ALL PUBLIC COMMENTS AND RESPONSES THERETO AS THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT EXPRESSWAY MALL WHEREAS in March, 1990 The City of Rohnert Park did direct that an environmental review be conducted and an environmental report be issued for a project known as the Rohnert Park Expressway Mall, and WHEREAS the project area consists of six separate parcels comprising 83.65 acres and is located on the west side of U.S. Highway 101, contiguous to and south of the Rohnert Park Expressway, and WHEREAS a Draft Focused Environmental Impact Report, hereinafter referred to as the "DFEIR," was prepared for the project by Mr. Elgar Hill, and WHEREAS the Planning Commission did hold a public hearing on the DFEIR on December 13, 1990 at which time members of the public did appear and comment on the DFEIR and the project, and WHEREAS at the conclusion of the public comments the Planning Commission noted the comments, closed the hearing and directed Mr. Hill to prepare responses to the comments from the public that were received at the hearing, and WHEREAS Mr. Hill has prepared responses to the public comments made at the public hearing and has included them as supplements and addendums to the DFEIR, and WHEREAS the Rohnert Park Planning Commission at its meeting of January 10, 1991 adopted Resolution No. 91 -1 recommending that the City Council certify the DFEIR, and WHEREAS on January 22, 1991 the Rohnert Park City Council did hold a duly noticed public hearing to consider the DFEIR, the recommendation of the Planning Commission, Planning Commission Resolution No. 91 -1 and all public comment thereto, and 1 WHEREAS after the consideration of the foregoing the Rohnert Park City Council makes the following findings: I The Project The Project has been included in a series of Environmental Impact Reports, "EIRs," that have been prepared for the area. The EIRs include the EIR prepared for the Rohnert Park General Plan which was adopted in May, 1990, the EIR prepared for Northwest Rohnert Park and the Cumulative Supplement thereto prepared in 1989 and 1990, respectively, and the WAL -MART EIR which was prepared in October 1990. The City Council has considered those EIRs and the findings and recommendations therein contained in its deliberations and determinations regarding this project. The project has been designated in the Rohnert Park General Plan as regional - commercial and consists of uses that attract regional services and businesses and which cater to customers from outside the immediate area who arrive by means of automobile. II Significant Environmental Impacts from the Project The DFEIR has identified the following impacts from the project. A. The major impact of the project will be its effect upon traffic and traffic patterns in the area. For traffic coming into the area from outside of Rohnert Park the most heavily used access route is US Highway No. 101. On the west side of U.S. Highway No. 101 the other major north -south roadway is Stony Point Road. To the east of U.S. Highway No. 101, Commerce Boulevard, other north -south city streets and Petaluma Boulevard /Snyder Lane, farther east, establish north -south traffic patterns. If these alternate north -south roadways are used it is necessary to access the project area by using an east- 2 west roadway. Rohnert Park Expressway is the major east -west access. Traffic volume on peak hours on U.S. Highway No. 101 is approximately 6800 vehicles per hour. Rohnert Park Expressway carries approximately 2900 vehicles at peak traffic hours. It has been estimated that traffic will increase on the various adjacent roadways and critical intersections adjacent to the project from 13% (U.S. 101 Freeway north of Rohnert Park Expressway) to 243% (Rohnert Park Expressway west of Redwood Drive) Cumulative traffic impacts as calculated by Mr. Hill are the impact of existing traffic, the impact of project traffic, the impact of other known Rohnert Park developments, the impact of all other development buildout under the Rohnert Park General Plan, buildout of all City parcels, Cotati General Plan buildout and the Sonoma County General Plan buildout. Information for the latter two calculations was taken from the traffic models of the affected public agency. B. Impact of the project upon public services. 1. Water. The DFEIR indicates an estimated demand for water created by the project of 292,640 gallons per day. This demand will not occur at once but will increase as the project is built and will reach the figure at project completion. The projected demands can be met by the City. 2. Sewage Disposal. It is anticipated that the project will utilize 45,725 gallons per day in sewage capacity. Rohnert Park has estimated remaining capacity of .55 million gallons per day including .05 mgd allowed to Cotati. The project demand (.05 mgd) would not exceed remaining sewage capacity but would reduce it to .48 mgd. 3. Public Safety. (Police and fire protection, animal control and civil defense). The DFEIR projects a need for a public safety substation west of U.S. Highway No. 101. Preliminary design of this facility has been started by the City. l The project would also necessitate some increase in police department time in patrolling and serving the area. C. Housing. It is anticipated that the project will generate 600 new jobs. Anticipated housing units between 1990 and 1995 is 970. It may be difficult for the City to meet projected housing needs between 1990 and 1995 because of limited sewage treatment capacity. D. Animal and plant life. Various species of animal and plant life were found in the project area. However, no rare or endangered species were found nor do previous studies indicate that they are in the project area. The western portion of the project adjoins Laguna de Santa Rosa. Some consideration should be given to the effect of the project on the Laguna. E. Urban run off. Run off from the project after development has been estimated at 10 to 20 acre feet. The DFEIR estimates that approximately 3000 pounds of petroleum products would be carried off each year in the runoff which is about the average for other similar projects. F. Air Quality. The DFEIR projects that air pollutants produced from the project will approximate the following: CO 2.5 tons per day TOG .35 tons per day NOX .4 tons per day G. Noise. Construction of the project will result in the production of noise. Once the project is constructed the main sources of project noise have been identified as the chiller units at the Price Club facility which would operate 24 hours per day, rooftop HVAC equipment, trash compactors that would operate during store hours, tire center noise, truck delivery noise and traffic noise. Maximum noise levels have been calculated to be 59 db at the closest use adjacent to the project. 4 III Mitigation Measures As has been indicated in the Resolution and in the DFEIR previous EIRs have identified project impacts that are similar to the impacts of this project. For example, as each project is developed additional burdens are placed on the traffic system, the sewage disposal system, the water supply system and the ability of the community to provide housing and address the other environmental concerns of clean air, pure water and an atmosphere in which pollution and waste disposal are manageable. In addressing the concerns in the DFEIR the City Council is aware of the findings and recommendations as those EIRs and has used and relied on them in making findings and recommendations in this Resolution. With regard to specific project related mitigation measures the City Council has considered these mitigation measures. A. Traffic. 1. Consideration should be given to planning for and construction of the State Farm Business Park undercrossing of U.S. Highway No. 101. 2. The City should consider adding one additional traffic lane in each direction (eastbound and westbound) between the Rohnert Park Expressway /northbound U.S. Highway No. 101 ramps intersection and 500 feet east of the intersection of Commerce Boulevard and Rohnert Park Expressway. 3. At the Rohnert Park Expressway northbound ramps, consideration should be given to adding a second westbound lane and removing one of the eastbound lanes, adding a northbound freeway on loop and widening the freeway bridge across U.S. Highway No. 101 to 6 lanes between the intersections on the east and west side. 4. At the Rohnert Park Expressway southbound ramps the city should consider construction of an eastbound right turn lane and 5 adding a southbound freeway on -loop. The same recommendation is made regarding widening the freeway bridge to six lanes. 5. At Rohnert Park Expressway at Redwood Drive consideration should be given to striping dual southbound left - turn lanes by converting a southbound through lane to a left -turn lane, and adding an eastbound and westbound lane through the intersection. 6. At Rohnert Park Expressway and Labath Avenue consideration should be given to signalizing the intersection, constructing a northbound through lane, a northbound right -turn lane, a northbound left -turn lane, an east bound right -turn lane and adding a southbound and a westbound left -turn lane. 7. Consideration should be given to widening U.S. Highway No. 101 to six lanes. 8. Consideration should be given to certain median changes to Rohnert Park Expressway as set forth at page 3 -31 of the DFEIR. 9. Consideration should be given to the installation of a walking trail and bike paths along Hinebaugh Creek and the freeway at Commerce Boulevard and the construction of a bike path and walking trail along the north side of Laguna de Santa Rosa and the south side of part of the project area to connect with a future bike path on Redwood Drive and a pedestrian bridge at Copeland Creek. Consideration should also be given to the installation of bus pull -outs and shelters on both sides of Rohnert Park Expressway at Labath Avenue with walkway connections to these stops. 10. Cumulative mitigation measures are set forth at pages 3 -32 to 3 -34 to accommodate all cumulative traffic considerations in the project area. These measures should be considered as additional mitigation measures. B. Public Service. 1. Water. Measures to mitigate existing demands on Rohnert Park water supply and to increase its future capacity have been addressed in previous EIRs and are mentioned at page 3 -35 of the P DFEIR. Those are ongoing considerations. In addition to those measures, consideration should be given to drilling one or more new water wells in the project site and the implementation of water conservation measures. Negotiations should be undertaken to secure additional water from the Sonoma Water Agency or water agency customers with surplus water who will allow the City to use their excess water. The latter measure should not be considered for the long term. 2. Sewage Disposal. Previously, measures have been adopted to respond to Rohnert Park's long -term sewage disposal needs. They are the subject of previous EIRs and are mentioned at pages 3 -47 and 3 -48 of the DFEIR. In addition to those measures which are ongoing, consideration should be given to continued monitoring of available sewage capacity so that each project is assured adequate sewage capacity. 3. Public Safety. Public safety needs should be expressed as each increment of the project is proposed so that the proper financial share of the impact of the project on public safety will be borne by the developer. This can be done by properly imposed development fees. Installation of fire alarm and reporting services should be considered. These facilities, where appropriate, should be incorporated into the buildings constructed on the project. All industry energy conservation measures such as insulation, energy efficient motors, etc., should be utilized whenever possible. C. Housing. The provision of affordable housing should be emphasized in order to supply lower cost housing for lower wage scale workers in the project area. Consideration should be given of methods to reduce the cost of housing so that the developer has the minimum amount of public cost in any project. D. Animals and Plants. Consideration should be given to maintaining open space and buffer transitional areas between the project and the Laguna de Santa Rosa on the west side of the project. Landscaping in the project should complement the open space to the west as well as the project. 7 E. Urban runoff. The Cumulative Supplement of the Northwest Rohnert Park EIR contains recommendations for sumps, parking lot sweeping and providing marshland areas for mitigation of runoff. Those recommendations are set forth at page 2 -76 of the DFEIR. Consideration of those measures should be encouraged and implemented whenever possible. F. Air quality. The mitigation measures set forth in the Northwest Rohnert Park Project EIR and the Cumulative Supplement are recommended for consideration by the City. (DFEIR page 3 -78). G. Noise. Noise suppressors and buffers should be considered. Special designs should be considered to buffer noise units. Consideration should be given to the imposition of reasonable construction hours, trucks delivery hours, etc. IV Monitoring Program When a public agency appears or carries out a project for which an environmental impact report has been completed findings are required. In addition to the findings, state law requires that the public agency establish a reporting or monitoring program. Such a program is set forth in the previous EIRs referred to in this Resolution and the Planning Commission incorporates those programs into the Monitoring Program in this Resolution. A. Traffic. The DFEIR recommends that the City establish a program to conduct p.m. peak hour turning movements, institute traffic counts and compute service levels at six (6) months intervals at the five intersections listed in the Cumulative Supplement to the Program EIR, for September 1990. When service level falls below level "D" the City should review any pending development proposals to determine whether existing traffic volume will be affected and, if so, how the problems will be resolved. 0 B. Public Services. 1. Water availability should be closely monitored by measuring demand from the Sonoma County Water Agency against current entitlement and other available water sources. 2. Sewage Disposal. Available sewage capacity in the Santa Rosa Waste treatment plant should be calculated on a periodic basis. Wastewater conservation program should be followed and measured so that any successful program, if applicable, can be integrated into Rohnert Park. C. Housing. Inventories should be maintained on available housing stock. Low cost housing projects should be encouraged and expedited whenever possible when current available housing or the potential to provide additional housing falls below a predetermined level. D. Animal and Plant life. The Regional Water Quality Control Board is presently undertaking a study of the effects of run off on the Laguna de Santa Rosa and other down stream water conduits. The results of that study should be released to and reviewed by the City as soon as the report is available. Periodic inspections should be made of the major producers of materials that tend to pollute the air or water supply so that their activities may be monitored as a part of any public reporting and monitoring program. E. Urban run off. The same monitoring requirements apply to urban run off as apply to animal and plant life. F. Air Quality. The best source of information regarding air quality is the Bay Area Air Quality Management District "BAAQMD." BAAQMD issues periodic reports and studies and will issue air quality alerts when air quality levels fall below acceptable levels. When these reports and any monitoring conducted by the City indicates that air quality levels are being exceeded then any projects should be reconsidered as to development, including the time of development 0] G. Noise. Proposed plans should be reviewed by an acoustical engineer qualified to address noise related issues. Periodic monitoring of the City regarding noise and noise levels should be a part of the City noise level concerns under the Rohnert Park Municipal Code. V STATEMENT OF OVERRIDING CONSIDERATIONS In addition to the mitigation measures endorsed by the City Council and in addition to the monitoring and reporting systems adopted by the City, the City Council does make this Statement of Overriding Consideration. 1. The project is located in an area that has been planned and zoned for this type of development contemplated in the project since the adoption of the first City General Plan. 2. Subsequent General Plans have continued to show the area as an area to be so developed. 3. The City of Rohnert Park lacks adequate commercial and retail facilities and services at the present time. 4. The project is located near transportation arteries which are best equipped to serve a project of this magnitude. 5. The project will generate employment and supporting services that will result in economic benefits to the City. 6. The additional goods and services made available by project developments will lessen the need for citizens or Rohnert Park to leave the community to secure such goods and services. The City Council has weighed these considerations along with the mitigation and monitoring measures previously addressed. VI CONCLUSION The Rohnert Park City Council finds and determines that the DFEIR should be approved and certified as the Final Focused Environmental Impact Report Rohnert Park Expressway Mall, hereafter referred to as the FFEIR, and that the City Manager be 10 authorized and directed to file a Notice of Determination in the office of the Sonoma County Clerk. In Council duly passed and adopted this 22nd day of January, I.. and Eck Noes: (0) None Absent: (0) None Abstain:(0) None f-t". Mayor lingsworth, Hopkins, Reilly, Spiro, 11