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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBackground ReportBACKGROUND REPORT Proposal The project proposes new construction of approximately 165,000 square feet of commercial building area, a total of 961 parking spaces, landscaping, signage, lighting, and utilities. In addition to the on -site development with its associated internal roads and utilities, the project would include vacation of D Avenue from 31 st Street to its terminus just north of SR-54 and vacation of unimproved 32nd Street from B Avenue to F Avenue. Road improvements at the proposed project's primary access point on National City Boulevard and 33rd Street, to include construction of a new traffic signal and widening of the primary access driveway, is also proposed. The commercial development would consist of five single -story buildings ranging in height from 25 to 50 feet. Table 1 summarizes the proposed uses and area for each building, as well as the jurisdiction in which the building would be located. A Table 1 — Proposed Commercial Uses Fast food with drive -through National City 3,500 B Bank with drive -through, or retail as described below National City 4,500 C Gas station, car wash, and convenient store/retail Chula Vista 3,770 E Auto retail commercial (Carmax) Chula Vista 32,500 G Retail, home improvement store (Lowe's) (120,587 ft2 main store and 31,658 ft2 garden National City 120,587 Total 164,857 As a potential alternate development for Building B, the project applicant may construct an in -line retail building of approximately 7,500 square feet. The project would also include off -site improvements on an approximately 0.25-acre area at the SR-54 westbound off -ramp to National City Blvd. within the Caltrans right- of-way. These improvements would consist of extending vehicle lane capacity along the existing off -ramp right-hand turn lane to approximately 590 feet, the construction of an additional right-hand turn lane with approximately 350 feet of lane capacity, re -striping the off -ramp travel lanes, and construction of a retaining wall along the northern portion of the off -ramp embankment. Improvements will also include modification to the. existing westbound off -ramp traffic signal in order to interconnect and coordinate it/with the proposed traffic signal at the project's main access point at National City Boulevard and 33rd Street. Construction of improvements in this area is subject to Caltrans approval. Signage proposed as part of the project includes tenant signs on three sides of the proposed buildings, several monument signs on the project site adjacent to National City Boulevard and SR-54 (including a gas station monument sign), a pylon sign at the project's primary access point at National City Boulevard and 33rd Street, and two freeway pylon signs along the southern boundary of the project site adjacent to SR-54 — one in National City and one in Chula Vista. The Gateway project is expected to be developed over approximately three years, with construction beginning in the first quarter of 2012. Construction of the project is divided into two phases; the initial phase of development would include demolition, rough grading, and construction of Buildings A, B, C, and G. As part of the first phase of development, the project would construct the SR-54 westbound off -ramp improvements, the internal spine road leading from the primary project access point at National City Boulevard and traveling along the southern boundary of the project site to the eastern portion of the site, as well as the project's extension of D Avenue from the existing cul- de-sac to the aforementioned spine road. On -site utilities and connections associated with the first phase buildings would be constructed/installed at the same time as Buildings A, B, C, and G. Environmental Review The applicant submitted an Initial Study (IS), which determined the proposed project could have a potentially significant environmental effect in the following areas: Aesthetics, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Geology/Soils, Hazards/Hazardous Materials, Hydrology/ Water Quality, Noise, and Transportation/Traffic. The Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) identifies mitigation measures that will avoid or reduce all potentially significant environmental effects to below a level of significance. 70 separate entities were mailed the Notice of Intent and/or Draft Mitigated Negative Declaration for review and comment. Comment letters were received from Sweetwater Authority, the Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), and San Diego County Archaeological Society (SDCAS). The comments were generally related to post -entitlement permits or activities (i.e., grading) and did not require any significant changes to the MND, although some clarifications were made to the MND as a result of comments. The MND was noticed for a 30 day period, commencing on October 14, 2010 and ending November 15, 2010. In technical studies provided with the Draft MND, no significant biological resources were located within National City, although the City of Chula Vista may require mitigation of non- native grasslands on the property within their jurisdiction. No historical or cultural resources were noted in site studies and it was also determined that there would be no impacts on land use and planning with the recent zone changes enacted by the City. It was determined that potential impacts related to geological conditions, hazardous materials, hydrology/water quality, noise and transportation/traffic would be present, mostly during construction. Traffic — A Traffic Impact Analysis was prepared and submitted as a technical appendix to the MND. The report was based on a shopping center use of 257,000 square feet (the original project size) and also analyzed the cumulative projects shown in Table 1. The original project was predicted to result in 15,720 average daily trips (ADT). The new layout (with Camiax) would only generate 15,170 ADT. The higher number was used for purposes of environmental analysis. The current state (swap meet) generates almost 3,000 ADT. Table 1 — Cumulative Projects Big Box retail Costco site near Plaza Bonita 152,591 ft2 retail Not constructed Plaza Bonita Westfield Plaza Bonita 184,600 ft2 retail Complete Riverview Gateway Sweetwater Rd. & 1-805 24,000 ft2 commercial expansion & 643 residential units Not constructed Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan Chula Vista Bayfront Mixed Use, RV -park, Hotel, Industrial Not constructed It should be noted that the proposed Gateway project is now only around 165,000 square feet in size and that three of the four cumulative projects are yet to be constructed. Furthermore, there is a strong likelihood that the potential projects, if constructed, will be smaller than originally proposed. Based on the information contained in the traffic analysis, the traffic engineer has identified two direct impacts that can be attributed to the Gateway project. The impacts are to the intersection of National City Blvd. at 33`d Street, and to the intersection of D Avenue at 30th Street. These impacts are noted under opening year 2011 with project conditions and under horizon year 2030 with project conditions. In both cases, the level of service (LOS) for these intersections would be below LOS D, or failing. In order to mitigate these impacts, four mitigation measures have been included in the MND. These measures are: • New traffic signal at National City Blvd. and 33`d Street timed to coincide with existing signal at National City Blvd. and westbound SR-54 off ramp; • Demolition of median and relocation of Mile of Cars sign on National City Blvd. north of 33`d Street, to increase storage lane capacity; • Extending existing right-hand turn lane on westbound SR-54 off ramp and adding new right -turn lane; • Re -striping of turn lanes at the D Avenue and 30th Street intersection to increase storage lane capacity; • Traffic control plan for pre and post construction activities. With these mitigation measures in place, the project area roadways are intended to operate at LOS D or better. A Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP) is included with the MND to ensure that all potential impacts from the project to surrounding areas will be mitigated to a level of less than significance. Mitigation measures include the following: • Aesthetics — photometric lighting plan and outdoor lighting studies. • Biological Resources — avoid impacts to raptors and/or migratory birds. • Cultural Resources Historical, archaeological and paleontological resource monitoring during construction and development activities. • Geology & Soils — building design to accommodate liquefaction settlement. • Hazards & Hazardous Materials — hazardous material management for demolition and grading activities. • Hydrology & Water Quality — Best Management Practices (BMPs) for grading and construction activities, as well as after project completion. • Noise — management of construction activities with regard to noise and ongoing compliance with Municipal Code standards. • Transportation & Traffic — traffic control improvements including a new traffic light, freeway off -ramp widening, re -striping and traffic light timing; construction traffic management. Concerns noted in the comment letters mentioned above included discovery of artifacts during grading (NAHC), and identification of potentially contaminated sites (DTSC). These comments were incorporated as mitigation measures in the MMRP (CR-1 through 3 and HAZ-1 and 2). SDCAS wrote in support of the proposed mitigation measures related to cultural resources (CR-1 and 2) located in the MMRP. A Condition of Approval of the associated discretionary permit requires compliance with all Sweetwater Authority requirements (2008-37 LS, SC, CUP, MUP, Z). The Mitigated Negative Declaration (2008-37 IS) including Mitigation Monitoring & Reporting Program (Appendix Z) was provided electronically. The Planning Commission conducted a hearing on this project on October 17, 2011, at which time they recommended approval of the Mitigated Negative Declaration including Mitigation Monitoring & Reporting Program based on attached findings (Resolution No. 24-2011). Staff concurs with the decision of the Planning Commission.