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The Bowery Mixed -Use Project CEQA Comment May 11, 2020 Page 8 Here, the EIR's traffic analysis does precisely what the courts prohibit. The EIR relies on hypothetical permitted levels of use rather than the real conditions on the ground when the environmental analysis began. By relying on a skewed baseline, the EIR understates the Project's traffic impact. In order to determine the amount of traffic generated by the Project compared to the baseline levels, the EIR calculated the Project's projected traffic, and then deducted "trip credits" based on estimates of existing traffic levels. Mr. Smith explains in his comments that the "trip credits" taken for existing use of the site are excessive, overstating existing traffic, and as a result understates the Project's traffic impacts. Ricoh Electronics, Inc., a manufacturer and distributer of thermal paper and toner, formerly occupied the entire Project site from 1985 through 2017. DEIR, 3-1. The DEIR lists the Project site's current uses as: 1) 119,121 square feet of warehouse and distribution, 2) 5,000 square feet of research and development, 3) 53,000 square feet of vacant space, and 4) 30,000 square feet in use as a temporary homeless shelter. DEIR, 3-1. The DEIR specifies that these "tenants began utilizing the site after cessation of the Ricoh Electronics operations." DEIR, 5.9- 13. Rather than relying on baseline traffic conditions existing at the time the Notice of Preparation ("NOP") was issued July 26, 2019, the EIR's traffic analysis relies on a baseline that assumes the entire 212,121 square feet of existing building area is fully occupied and being used as an industrial park. Smith, p. 1. There is no evidence that the Project site was fully occupied and operating as an industrial park when the NOP was issued or when the EIR was prepared. It is unclear whether the EIR's baseline assumption is premised on the site being zoned for Light Industrial, or if it was based on the site previously being fully operated with industrial uses. Either explanation requires use of a hypothetical baseline, which violates CEQA. Table 1 — Trip Rates Based on Prior Land Use* Land Use Category Use Size (sq. ft.) Daily Trips** AM Peak** PM Peak** Warehouse 119,121 279 27 31 Research & Development 5,000 56 2 2 Homeless Shelter 30,000 negligible 0 0 Vacant Space 53,000 0 0 0 Total trips from existing uses 207,121*** 335 29 33 EIR Baseline based on Industrial Park Use 212,121 1,326 159 159 Percent increase when EIR baseline is compared to Existing Use baseline 395% 540% 481% *Data based on Trip Generation, I e Edition. ** Numbers are trips in passenger car equivalents ("PCE").