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EIR No. 2020-01, GPA No. 2020-02, & AA No. 2020-01 – The Bowery Mixed-Use Development May 11, 2020 Page 10 Study for the project, it was determined that the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) required the preparation and certification of an environmental impact report (EIR) for this project. The purpose of an EIR is to identify the significant effects on the environment of a project, to identify alternatives to the project, and to indicate the way those significant effects can be mitigated or avoided. To determine what potential effects would be caused by the project, the Draft EIR analyzes issues related to Aesthetics; Air Quality; Cultural Resources; Energy; Geology and Soils; Greenhouse Gas Emissions; Hazardous Materials; Hydrology and Water Quality; Land Use and Planning; Noise; Population and Housing; Public Services and Recreation; Transportation; Tribal Cultural Resources; Utilities and Service Systems; and Project Alternatives. The Draft EIR analyzes the direct and indirect impacts resulting from construction and operation of the proposed project. On July 26, 2019, the Notice of Availability was released to solicit comments regarding the scope and content of the Draft EIR (DEIR). A scoping meeting was held on August 15, 2019 with one (1) person in attendance and 10 written comment letters received at the conclusion of the 30-day public comment period. The comments were reviewed and addressed as required by CEQA. The comments are included as part of the Final EIR. Three project alternatives were also analyzed within the document. These included a no build alternative, where the existing buildings would remain on site as is and be reoccupied by an office/industrial use (Alternative 1); a reduced multi-family project consisting of a 30 percent reduction in residential density and commercial square footages (Alternative 2); and build out of the site under the existing Professional zoning district development standards, which could result in an approximately 317,552-square foot light industrial office/industrial building (Alternative 3). The Draft EIR determined that the proposed project would require mitigation related to aesthetics, air quality, biological resources, hazardous materials, construction noise and vibration, interior noise, transportation, and tribal resources. On January 3, 2020, the Draft EIR was circulated for review and comment to public, City Council, Planning Commission, local, regional and state agencies, and interested parties for a 45-day public comment review period that ended February 18, 2020. In addition, a Planning Commission work-study session was held on February 10, 2020 where staff presented proposed project and described the Draft EIR. The City has evaluated the comments received from persons and agencies on the Draft EIR and completed detailed Response to Comments, revisions to the Draft EIR including clarifications and/or corrections to typographical errors, and a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP). The MMRP contains mitigation measures to address impacts to Air Quality, Geology and Soils, Hazards and Hazardous Materials, Hydrology and Water Quality, Transportation, and Tribal Cultural Resources. The response to comments, MMRP and Final EIR were published on April 27, 2020 for public review. The Draft EIR, responses to comments document, revisions to the Draft EIR, and the MMRP constitute the Final EIR for the project. The EIR identifies five significant and unavoidable impact associated with this project, which pertain to Air Quality, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and Transportation. Air Quality impacts stem from emissions from operation of the project exceeding SCAQMD’s threshold for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that would be derived from consumer products and vehicular activity that 3-10