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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Comm Reports/1982/11/10 AGENDA City Planning Commission Chula Vista, California Wednesday, November 10, 1982 - 7:00 p.m. City Council Chambers PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE - SILENT PRAYER APPROVAL OF MINUTES - Meetings of October 20 and October 27, 1982 ORAL COMMUNICATIONS 1. PUBLIC HEARING (Cont.): EIR-79-6(b) on proposed Rayne Water Systems/UOP Fluid Systems Water Treatment Facility 2. PUBLIC HEARING (Cont.): Consideration of General Plan Amendment GPA-83-3 to redesignate 3 acres at the southwest quadrant of "J" Street and Bay Boulevard from "Parks and Public Open Space" to "Research and Limited Industrial" DIRECTOR'S REPORT CO~qISSION COMMENTS To: City Planning Commission From: Bud Gray, Director of Planning Subject: Staff report on agenda items for Planning Commission Meeting of November 10, 1982 1. PUBLIC HEARING: (Continued) EIR-79-6(b) Proposed Ra,¥ne Water Systems/UOP Fluid Systems Water Treatment Facility A. BACKGROUND This item was continued from the Planning Commission meeting of October 20, 1982 in order to complete the review of the document through the State Clearing- house. The review period ended on November 4, 1982 and a check with Clearinghouse staff indicated that additional comments will be made. Those comments along with a response will be available to the Planning Commission prior to the meeting. B. RECOMMENDATION Close the public hearing and if no further response to testimony is necessary, certify that EIR-79-6(b) has been prepared in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act, the State CEQA Guidelines and the City of Chula Vista'$ Environmental Review Procedures, and further, that the information in the document will be considered as the Planning Commission makes a decision on the project. C. COMMENTS ON THE DRAFT EIR 1. WESTEC Services has prepared the attached material which includes revised pages for the draft EIR and a new section comprising of the comments, both in writing and in transcript form, from the October 20, 1982 public hearing along with a response to the environmental issues raised in those comments. These pages combined with the draft EIR comprise the final EIR for this project. 2. Comments from the Regional Water Quality Control Board raised some question regarding the disposition of the existing Rayne Water site at the foot of F Street. A paragraph has been added to the text which explains the disposition of that site. 3. Since the October 20 meeting a letter has been received from the San Diego Unified Port District. That document has been included in the comment section with an appropriate response made and required changes in the text accomplished. SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY 1.1 INTRODUCTION This focused Environmental Impact Report (EIR), prepared under contract to the City of Chula Vista, addresses the proposed relocation of Rayne Water Systems and UOP Fluid Systems water treatment operations from their respective existing sites at F Street and on Harbor Drive to City-owned prop- erty known as the J Street Park. The I/IR is designed to serve as an informa- tional document for a series of decisions that must be made by governmental agencies regarding planning and ultimate lend use of the property. Persons reviewing this document should keep in mind that the material pro- vided herein is, under State law, informational in nature. It is intended to enable appropriate public agencies to evaluate environmental impacts associ- ated with the project ~s proposed. The responsible public agencies remain obligated to balanco possible adverse effects against other public objectives, including economic and social factors, in determining whether the project is approved. This report is being submitted to the City of Chula Vista in accordance with their procedural guidelines for implementation of CEQA and the State of Cali- fornia, Guidelines for the Preparation and Evaluation of Environmental Impact Reports under the California Environmental (~uality Act of 1970, with recent amendments (1982). 1.2 SUMMARY OF ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENT 1.2.1 Project Description Rayne Water Systems of San Diego proposes to move its existing soft water recharging facility from its existing location at the bay and F Street in Chula Vista to a new location on City-owned property near the bay end of J Street. This move is required due to the City of Chula Vista Redevelopment Agency's plan to convert the F Street site and surrounding area into a bayfront park. UOP Fluid Systems proposes to move their existing reverse-osmosis desalting research facility from Harbor Drive, where their lease has expired, to the same J Street site. In abandoning the F Street site, Rayne Water will remove all non-permanent equipment, vehicles and unused process products. No chemicals or other hazardous or non-hazardous wastes will be left at the site. The project site is presently developed as a park. The project will require, among other things, a General Plan Amendment, a Redevelopment Agency Plan Amendment, a Local Coastal Program Amendment and a Coastal Permit. The following subsections briefly describe the conclusion of the detailed envi- ronmental analysis contained in Section 3 of this report. The City of Chula Vista has distributed a Notice of Preparation of Draft EIR and has conducted public scoping meetings on the project. As a result of these actions, this environmental impact report has been prepared and limited to only those issues determined by the City to be potentially significant. Justification for the determination of issues is given in Section 8 of this document. The poten- t/ally significant issues are as follows. 1.2.2 Land Use The proposed change in land use from an established park to an industrial development is in direct conflict with the Bayfront Eedevelopmant Project Plan. Similarly, the proposed action appears contrary to policy contained within the City's General Plan and the Lecal Coastal Program. From a land use planning standpoint, the project would have a significant adverse impact. Industrial use is compatible with many of the surrounding land uses~ which are also primarily industrial in nature. A major area of concern~ howevar~ is the project's interface with the adjacent Port District park to the west. Construc- tion of the structural and appurtenant facilities in close proximity to the park could potentially degrade the park experieece. Also, the project would contra- diet the goal of creating a visually effective gateway to the bayfront along J Street by increasing the industrial identity of the area. The project's land use impacts are considered unmitigable. 1.2.3 Geolo~ and Soils A limited geotechnical investigation of the site by Owen Geotechnical Consul- tants Inc. has concluded that there are no serious geotechnical hazards or unmitigable adverse impacts associated with the proposed project. Additional subsurface analysis has been proposed to determine compaetive properties of the soil in preparation for building foundations. 1.2.4 Water Quality The project will generate up to 430,000 gallons per day of discharge to the drainage channel onsite. Initially this discharge will be very near the quality of water in the bay, thus no water quality impants are forecasted. Ultimately 810~000 gallons per day of a concentrated waste brine will be discharged to the drainage channel onsite. This discharge will have all of the elements that seawater normally has except that the eoecentratious per volume of water will be elevated approximately 1.25 times. An analysis of tidal flushing in the channel has lead to the conclusion that the discharge will not accumulate and will be adequately flushed. Additionally~ the magnitude of the discharge will not degrade water quality in the South Bay area. 1.2.5 Biological ltesourees A significant biological resource is associated with the J Street marsh. Numerous high-interest and protected species are found in the vicinity. The J Street marsh extends into the drainage channel adjacent to the site and up to where the channel becomes concrete-lined. The proposed project will not have significant direct or indirect impacts on the tidal channel onsite as a result of the proposed discharge, lighting or noise. The facility may have a positive effect on wildlife by reducing human pressures adjacent to the channel. 1.2.6 Visual Quality/Aesthetics The proposed project is considered to have significant visual impact associated with the loss of open space, inoreased industrial elements along a significant gateway to the Chula Vista bayfront, and the bulk and scale of the proposed structural elements of the project. The proposed use conflicts within the visual goals of the Bayfront Redevelopment Plan and Coastal Act Policies. Site plan design options could mitigate some of the adverse visual elements of the project; however, the construction of an industrial use at the proposed site would still have significant, unmitigable visual impact. 1.2.7 Noise All noise-generating equipment and processes will be housed within the pro- posed structure, underground, or will have special sound attenuating equip- ment, and will not have a significant adverse impact on surrounding noise- sensitive land uses. Construction activities will result in short-term noise impaet to surrounding land uses which is not considered significant. 1.2.8 Energy Use Project energy use has been estimated to be 930 kilowatts peak demand and 5.75 million kilowatt hours per year average consumption at ultimate develop- ment. The project will require a transformer onsite and may require offsite improvements (although this cannot be determined until project design has been established). Supplying energy to the site does not present a significant problem; however, efforts should be made to conserve energy use where possible, as discussed in Section 3.7.3. SECTION 2 PROJECT DESCRIPTION 2.1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND The proposed project involves the relocation of two separate industrial opera- tions to City-owned property near the bay end of J Street. The project site is presently developed as a park although it has not formally been dedicated to the City. One of the industrial operations, Rayne Water Systems, currently operates a water softener recharging facility near the bay end of F Street in Chula Vista. Beeanse of the City Redevelopment Agency's plan to convert the F Street site and surrounding area to the bayfront park, the City is cooper- ating with Rayne Water Systems in finding a suitable site to relocate. Rayne is a longtime business establishment in the City, having operated from F Street for about 30 years. Before the relocation became imminent, Rayne had been negotiating with UOP Fluid Systems for the lease of a portion of the F Street site. Fluid Systems is a major manufacturer and marketer of reverse osmosis elements and pro- cesses. Fluid System's Harbor Drive research facility lease was due to expire and would not be renewed. The current proposal, which is the subject of this El_R, is to relocate both the Rayne Water Systems operation and the UOP Fluid Systems research facility to the J Street site. Both operations would share one 15,000-square-foot buiIding. 2.2 PROJECT LOCATION The proposed project site is City-owned property consisting of approximately 2.7 acres. The property is within the City's redevelopment area and also within the Coastal Zone. The location of the project from a regional and local perspective is provided in Figures 2-1 and 2-2. The site is bordered on the east by a San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) power line easement, on the south by oil storage tanks owned by SDG&E, on the west by a park developed by the San Diego Unified Port District (and also what is known ns J Street marsh), and on the north by J Street and Rohr Corporation. A storm drainage channel along the southern boundary of the site consumes approximately 1 acre of the site. These surrounding land uses earl be viewed on the aerial photo provided in Figure 2-3. 2.3 PROPOSED PROJECT AND REQUIRED PERMITS The operations of Rayne Water Systems (RWS) and UOP Fluid Systems, here- after referred to as Fluid Systems, will be housed within a single building of approximately 15,000 square feet. The RWS operation will utilize approxi- mately 5000 square feet within the building while Fluid Systems will oeeupy the remaining 10,000 square feet. A generalized site plan showing the location of the proposed building and appurtenant facilities is contained in Figure 2-4. The proposed structure will be approximately 14 feet tall and will be a modern SECTION 10 CERTIFICATION OF ACCURACY AND QUALIFICATIONS This report was prepared by WESTEC Services, Inc. of San Diego, California. Members of the WESTEC Services professional staff and consultants contributing to the report are listed below: Thomas C. Ryan; M.S. Environmental Studies Kurt Kline; Ph.D. Ecology Stephen B. Lacy; M.S. Biology Ann M. Nussbaum; B.A. Geography Frank Kingery; M.S. Geology Gregory T. Farrand; Owen Geoteehnieal Consultants, Inc. We hereby affirm that to the best of our knowledge and belief, the statements and information contained herein are in all respects true and accurate and that all information concerning the potentially significant environmental effects of the project has been included and fully evaluated in this EIR. Thomas C. Ryan Project Manager SECTION 11 RESPONSE TO COMMENTS ON DRAFT EIR This section contains all letters received during the Draft EIR review period and a response to the significant points raised. The response to points raised is in the form of a written comment which is located beside each letter. Minor changes to the text have been made in response to comments received. Publie input has been received at a public hearing held on October 20, 1982 and continued to November 10, 1982. Public comments and discussions at this meeting are contained in the transcript of public testimony whieh is included herein. Responses to public testimony presented at the hearing and germane to the environmental impact report are included with the hearing transcript. · REFERENCES Marshall, B.E., and R.B. Park, 1976. The ecotone between spartina foliosa trin. and Salieornia virginiea L. in saltmarshes of northern San Franeiseo Bay. J. Ecol. 64.421 Mall, R.E. 1969. Soil-water-salt relationships of waterfown food plants in the suisun marsh of California. Calif. Dept. Fish, Game, Wildlife (Bulletin) #1. City Planning Commission Agenda Items for Meeting of November 10, 1982 Page 2 2. PUBLIC HEARING (Cont.): Consideration of General Plan Amendment GPA-83-3 to redesignate 3 acres at the southwest quadrant of "J" Street and BaN Boulevard from "Parks and Public Open Space" to "Research and Limited Industrial" The public hearing on this General Plan Amendment was opened on October 20, and after taking testimony the hearing was continued to November l0 to allow action to be taken on the environmental impact report prior to action on this application. See attached staff report for October 20 for the analysis and recommendation on this General Plan Amendment. City Planning Commis_.an Agenda Items for Meeting of October 20, 1982 Page 8 3. PUBLIC HEARING: Consideration of General Plan Amendment GPA-83-3 to redesi§nate approximately 3 acres of land, located at the southwest quadrant of "J" Street and Bay Boulevard, from "Parks and Public Open Space" to "Research and Limited Industrial" on the plan diagram of the Chula Vista General Plan; and to amend the Bayfront and Local Coastal Plans in order to bring said plans into a state of consistency with the proposed redesignation A. BACKGROUND 1. Mr. James Cappos, applicant and owner of Rayne S~ft Water Company, located at the foot of "F" Street, has proposed the relocation of his operation to a 2.71 acre parcel of city-owned parkland in the southwest quadrant of "J" Street and Bay Boulevard. In conjun'ction with the proposed relocation, the applicant plans to develop a reverse-osmosis, desalinization testing facility on the subject parcel. 2. The Redevelopment Agency reviewed the applicant's proposal at their meeting of July 8, 1982, and instructed the Planning Department to commence planning studies in order to determine the feasibility of the proposed General Plan Amendment and the subsequent rezoning of the property in accordance therewith. 3. The site in question is located within the Bayfront Redevelopment Project Area, and therefore is subject to other local adopted plans and policies for the Bayfront Community. These plans and policies are addressed in the "Analysis" section of this report. 4. Environmental Review - B. RECOMMENDATION 1. Adopt a resolution, and thereby deny General Plan Amendment 83-3, a proposal to redesignate approximately 3 acres of city-owned property, located in the southwest quadrant of "J" Street and Bay Boulevard, from "Parks & Public Open Space" to "Research and Limited Industrial" on the plan diagram of the Chula Vista General Plan; and, 2. Recommend that the City Council adopt an ordinance which establishes a moratorium on the processing of new plan amendments in the Bayfront Redevelopment Project Area. The proposed moratorium should remain in effect until the Bayfront Redevelopment Plan and the Local Coastal Program have been comprehensively amended, but shall not so remain for a period in excess of one year. City Planning Commis n Agenda Items for Meeting of October 20, 1982 Page 9 C. DISCUSSION 1. Planning and Zoning Information The subject site is designated "Parks and Public Open Space" on the plan diagram of the Land Use.Element of the Chula Vista General Plan, and is zoned "I", General Industrial zone. The subject area is also designated "Parks, Recreation and Other Open Space" on the Bayfront Redevelopment Land Use Plan, and "Park" on the Land Use Plan of the Local Coastal Program. The 2.71 acres in'question are level, and presently represent approximately one-half of the area of the existing "J" Street "Bayfront Park" site. The proposal area is depicted on Exhibit B of this report. 2. Existing General Plan designations (please see Exhibit A) North - General Industrial, railroad, and Thoroughfare Commercial South - General Industrial, railroad, and Research and Limited Industrial East - Railroad, Thoroughfare Commercial and Research & Limited Industrial West Parks and Public Open Space, and Visitor Commercial 3. Adjacent zoning and land use (please see Exhibit B) North - I - "J" Street right-of-way, SDG&E transmission line easement, Rohr storage yard, vacant parcel South - I - Drainage channel, SDG&E fuel reservoirs and transmission line easement East - I - SDG&E transmission line easement, SDSd~E railroad -CVP- Bay Boulevard right-of-way, drainage channel, vacant parcels, proposed SANDER site West - T- Park site, entrance to Marina D. ANALYSIS 1. The subject 2.71 acre parcel of land is currently city-owned and developed as a park. Immediately to the west, across the mean high tide line, lies approximately 3 acres of land which has been developed by the Unified Port District with park and recreational uses, and is used in conjunction with the "J" Street Park. 2. The subject site is situated at an important gateway to the Bayfront community, the "J" Street Marina, and therefore should be developed in a manner which would foster the order'and beauty of one of the Bayfront's primary points of entry. The existing park site makes a significant townscape statement at the "J" Street gateway. It not only provides visual relief from both freeway travel and the intense urbanization to the east of Freeway I-5, but it also meets the Bayfront Plan's important gateway concept in providing passive recreation, scenic quality, and a high level of amenity to the Bayfront community. In addition, the existing parkland provides a meaningful buffer from the existing industrial uses to the north and south, and constitutes a component part of a continuous strip of open space which runs from Bay Boulevard to the existing marina development. City Planning Commission Agenda Items for Meeting of October 20, 1982 Page 10 3. Existing land uses to the north and south are predominantly heavy industrial, and, because of their utility and ownership, seem to be permanent and not subject to future change. Located directly to the southeast of the proposal area are l0 acres of planned light industrial territory which are currently reserved for the proposed SANDER plant. 4. The applicant's request to amend the plan diagram of the Chula Vista General Plan embodies the proposal to divert existing parkland, which is utilized for park purposes, to private use. Under the principles of city planning, this diversion is generally unsupportable in the absence of substantial evidence that it would promote the public interest and improve the urban pattern of the involved jurisdiction. 5. I feel that the Bayfront Redevelopment Plan and the uncertified Local Coastal Program should be comprehensively amended. During the course of this program, the applicant's spatial needs could be appropriately addressed. E. CONCLUSION 1. In conclusion, I believe that the subject property is an important component of the Bayfront's park and open space system and should be retained as such. This retention would implement the Bayfront's gateway concept. 2. Since there are strong indications that the Bayfront Redevelopment Plan and the Local Coastal Program require comprehensive amendment, I believe the proposed incremental land use redesignation is premature.