Item 26 - Public Hearing Vista Heritage Charter School (601 North Fairview Street)

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Vista Charter Public Schools District Office and Outdoor Space Project CEQA Exemption 15183 on the center of the rooftop and the closest sensitive receptor to the HVAC units is the existing Vista Charter Global Academy located at approximately 130 feet to the south. At the distance of 130 feet, HVAC noise levels would attenuate to approximately 33 dBA. Therefore, HVAC noise levels would be below the City's exterior daytime standards of 55 dBA and nighttime standards of 45 dBA in accordance with RR NOI-3 and would be lower than existing ambient noise levels of 66.2 dBA near the nearest sensitive receptor (Vista Charter Global Academy); refer to Table 7. Furthermore, HVAC equipment are already present on the rooftop of the existing building and the project would not introduce additional HVAC equipment. Therefore, the nearest sensitive receptors would not be directly exposed to substantial noise from on -site HVAC equipment and impacts would be less than significant. Parking Areas Traffic associated with parking activities is typically not of sufficient volume to exceed community noise standards, which are based on a time -averaged scale such as the CNEL scale. However, the instantaneous maximum sound levels generated by a car door slamming, engine starting up and car pass -by may be an annoyance to adjacent noise -sensitive receptors. Estimates of the maximum noise levels associated with some parking lot activities are presented in Table 9, Typical Noise Levels Generated by Parking Lots. Table 9 Typical Noise Levels Generated by Parking Lots Noise Source Maximum Noise Levels at 50 Feet from Source Car door slamming 61 dBA Uq Car starting 60 dBA Uq Car idling 53 dBA Uq Source: Kariel, H. G., Noise in Rural Recreational Environments, Canadian Acoustics 19(5), 3-10, 1991. The project would provide 63 parking spaces on -site. As shown in Table 9, parking activities can result in noise levels up to 61 dBA at a distance of 50 feet. The proposed project would have intermittent parking activities noise due to the movement of vehicles. The nearest sensitive receptors are the existing single-family residences located approximately 100 feet from the proposed parking spaces on the north of the project site. At this distance, noise levels from parking activities would range from 47 dBA to 55 dBA. As previously noted, parking lot noise are instantaneous noise levels compared to noise standards in the CNEL scale, which are averaged over time. As a result, actual noise levels over time resulting from parking lot activities would be far lower than what is identified above. Further, parking activity noise currently exists within the project site and would not represent a new source of noise. Impacts would be less than significant in this regard. Outdoor Play Area The proposed project proposes outdoor play areas along the northern boundary of the existing Vista Charter Global Academy building, in the southern portion of the project site. The play area has the potential to be accessed by groups of children intermittently for gathering, etc. Noise generated by groups of people (i.e., crowds) is dependent on several factors including vocal effort, impulsiveness, and the random orientation of the crowd members. Crowd noise is estimated at 60 dBA at one meter (3.28 feet) away for raised normal speaking.26 This noise level would have a +5 dBA adjustment for the impulsiveness of the noise source, and a -3 dBA adjustment for the 21 M.J. Hayne, et al, Prediction of Crowd Noise, Acoustics, November 2006. Dec i y ouncil 26 — 107 1/16/202 e47