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Notice of Preparation DATE: October 28, 2013 TO: Public Agencies and Interested Parties FROM: City of Anaheim SUBJECT: Notice of Preparation of Draft Environmental Impact Report No. 348 for the Anaheim Canyon Specific Plan Project In 2011, the City of Anaheim (City) was awarded a grant from the California Strategic Growth Council to prepare a Specific Plan for Anaheim Canyon, a primarily industrial area of the City, generally located east of State Route (SR) 57 and north of SR 91 and more specifically described below. In late 2011 and early 2012, workshops were held with City Council, Planning Commission, Anaheim Canyon Advisory Group and the Community to gain input and provide public awareness for this project. In May 2013, the City released to the public the first draft of the Anaheim Canyon Specific Plan document on the Anaheim Canyon project webpage: www.anaheim.net/anaheimcanyon. It is anticipated that the document may be further modified to reflect changing conditions and community input, prior to review for approval by the Planning Commission and City Council. In order to analyze the impacts of the Anaheim Canyon Specific Plan project, the City of Anaheim, as Lead Agency, will prepare Draft Environmental Impact Report No. 348 (DEIR No. 348). The purpose of this notice is to request public input regarding the scope and content of the environmental information that should be included in DEIR No. 348. Project Location: The Anaheim Canyon Specific Plan (ACSP) area encompasses approximately 2,600 acres in the northern portion of the City of Anaheim, roughly bounded on the north by Orangethorpe Avenue, on the south by the Santa Ana River, on the east by Imperial Highway (State Route 90), and on the west by the Orange Freeway (SR-57). The project site is accessed from SR-91 to the south, SR-90 to the east, SR-57 to the west, and a Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF)/Metrolink rail line to the north. The project area includes the existing Northeast Industrial Specific Plan area and the PacifiCenter Anaheim Specific Plan area. ---PAGE BREAK--- Project Description: The proposed ACSP would update and consolidate two specific plans (the Northeast Area Specific Plan and the PacifiCenter Anaheim Specific Plan) and the Scenic Corridor Overlay Zone, as it relates to Anaheim Canyon, into one new specific plan. The goal of the ACSP is to encourage sustainable development and create a business environment attractive to a wide variety of industries. The ACSP is anticipated to remove obstacles to the reuse of existing structures and promote infill development of currently vacant or underutilized properties. It would also facilitate and encourage use of multiple types of transportation by improving and enhancing the Anaheim Canyon Metrolink Station and area sidewalks, bike lanes, trails, and bus stops while continuing to provide functional access for goods movement and automobiles. Transit-oriented, residential mixed-use development would be focused adjacent to the Metrolink Station and a wide variety of commercial, office and industrial uses would be permitted south of La Palma Avenue, west of the transit-oriented area, to take advantage of visibility and access from SR 91. Smaller clusters of local commercial areas would continue to be permitted at major intersections, within the industrially-oriented interior of the specific plan area. There would be no change to the open space areas which are primarily used for ground water percolation. Areas north of SR 91/west of Blue Gum Street and south of SR 91/east of Glassel Street would continue to be used for recycling and material recovery uses. Existing and proposed general plan and zoning maps are provided on the project web page at www.anaheim.net/anaheimcanyon. If all of the properties within the Anaheim Canyon were to be developed in accordance with the proposed specific plan, the maximum development intensity at build-out would include approximately 47 million square feet of non-residential uses and 2,919 dwelling units, as shown below. All of the residential units would be located within Development Area 3 (Transit Oriented). Non-Residential Development Area Acreage Maximum FAR Maximum Buildout (Square Feet) DA1 (Industrial) 1,364.94 0.50 29,728,497.06 DA2 (Recycling) 88.72 0.50 1,932,298.72 DA3 (Transit Oriented) 48.65 3.00 6,357,881.45 DA4 (Local Commercial) 63.94 0.45 1,253,273.05 DA5 (General Commercial) 142.07 0.50 3,094,207.52 DA6 (Open Space) 834.10 0.10 3,633,340.83 DA7 (Flex Area) 58.15 0.50 1,266,452.88 Total 2,600.57 47,265,951.51 Residential Development Area Acreage Maximum Dwelling Units/Acre Maximum Buildout (Dwelling Units) DA3 (Transit Oriented) 48.65 60 2,919 Approval of the ACSP will require amendments to the Anaheim General Plan, Zoning Code and Zoning Map, and OCTA’s Master Plan of Arterial Highways. Together, the ACSP, proposed amendments, and their implementation constitute the “Project” for purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). ---PAGE BREAK--- In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidelines Section 15063(a), the City of Anaheim determined that an EIR would be required for this project. Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(d), "If the lead agency can determine that an EIR will be clearly required for a project, the agency may skip further initial review of the project and begin work directly on the EIR process….in the absence of an initial study, the lead agency shall still focus the EIR on the significant effects of the project and indicate briefly its reasons for determining that other effects would not be significant or potentially significant." Additionally, as stated in CEQA Guidelines Section 15063, if a lead agency can determine that an EIR will clearly be required for the project, an Initial Study is not required. In accordance with the aforementioned CEQA Guidelines sections, the City has prepared this Notice of Preparation for the proposed project without an accompanying Initial Study. The City will instead substantiate the elimination of a number of topical areas in the Introduction section of the EIR (including Agriculture/Forestry Resources and Cultural Resources), while analyzing the following topics in detail in their respective sections of the EIR: Aesthetics Hazards & Hazardous Materials Population/Housing Air Quality Hydrology/Water Quality Public Services Biological Resources Land Use/Planning Recreation Geology/Soils Mineral Resources Transportation/Traffic Greenhouse Gas Emissions Noise Utilities/Service Systems Responses: The City would like to know your views as to the scope and content of the environmental information to be included in Draft EIR No. 348, in connection with the proposed project. The 30-day NOP review period starts on October 28, 2013 and ends on November 27, 2013. Due to the time limits mandated by State law, please send your written response to the City of Anaheim at the address below at the earliest possible date but not later than November 27, 2013 at 5 p.m. Please include your name and address. Responses may also be submitted by fax to (714) 765-5280 or by email to [EMAIL REDACTED]. Susan Kim, AICP, Senior Planner City of Anaheim Planning Department 200 S. Anaheim Boulevard, Suite 162 Anaheim, CA, 92805 Scoping Meeting: The City will hold a public scoping meeting and project open house from 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM. on November 12, 2013 at the Kaiser Permanente, Anaheim Medical Campus, Kraemer Medical Office Building 2, 3460 East La Palma Avenue, Conference Room CC1 (located on the 4th floor), Anaheim, California. Please see the following agenda for more information. Questions: Please contact Susan Kim, AICP, Senior Planner, at (714) 765-4958 or [EMAIL REDACTED]. Project Title: DSEIR No. 348 for the Anaheim Canyon Specific Plan Project Project Applicant: City of Anaheim ---PAGE BREAK--- For more information, please visit www.anaheim.net/anaheimcanyon or contact Susan Kim, Senior Planner at [PHONE REDACTED] or [EMAIL REDACTED]. All comments on the scope of the EIR must be received in writing by mail or in person to Susan Kim, Anaheim Planning Department, 200 S Anaheim Blvd, MS 162, Anaheim, CA 92805 or by e-mail to [EMAIL REDACTED], no later than November 27, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. Open House and Environmental Impact Report (EIR) Scoping Meeting Date November 12, 2013 Location Kaiser Permanente, Kraemer Medical Office Building 2 3430 East La Palma Avenue Conference Room CC1 (located on the 4th floor) Time 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. 4:30 p.m. I. Open House Participants are welcome to ask questions and provide comments on the draft Anaheim Canyon Specific Plan and/or the scope of the associated EIR 5:00 p.m. II. Specific Plan Presentation and EIR Scoping Meeting Welcome and Introductions (City Staff) Draft Anaheim Canyon Specific Plan Overview (Chris Beynon, MIG) Environmental Analysis/EIR Scope (William Halligan, The Planning Center/DC&E) 5:30 p.m. III. Open House An additional opportunity for participants to ask questions and provide comments on the draft Anaheim Canyon Specific Plan and/or the scope of the associated EIR 6:30 p.m. IV. Close