2004-020 - Statement Overriding Considerations for the Property Located at One Broadway Plaza

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One Broadway Plaza Environmental Impact Report Findings and Facts in Support of Findings 8 6.0 ALTERNATIVES An EIR prepared pursuant to CEQA and the CEQA Guidelines must describe and comparatively evaluate a range of alternatives to the proposed project (Section 15126.6 of the CEQA Guidelines). Analysis of every possible alternative or options or combination of options would overburden the EIR with an unnecessary amount of detail that would be redundant and complex and would, as a result, fail to provide meaningful information for the City to consider in its review of the project. To develop alternatives that are analyzed in the EIR, a list of potential alternatives was prepared. For this analysis, the project alternatives were evaluated to determine the extent to which they meet the basic project objectives, while avoiding or substantially lessening any significant adverse impacts of the proposed project. The City of Santa Ana selected the alternatives discussed below for a variety of reasons; however, the goal for evaluating any and all alternatives is to identify ways to mitigate or avoid the significant adverse impacts of the proposed project. The EIR evaluated the following alternatives. 6.1 PROJECT ALTERNATIVE CONSIDERED BUT REJECTED 8 A potential Off-Site Alternative site located just east of the Main Place Mall on the old Main Street Concourse project site in the City of Santa Ana was considered as an alternative project site. The use of this site was rejected by the City because the Main Street Concourse project developer has brought a modified project back to the City for consideration and approval. This proposed project would also result in a high-density commercial project being developed on this site. There are no other sites in the City large enough to accommodate the One Broadway Plaza Project that are owned by the project developer or that currently have the appropriate General Plan and zoning designations that would allow their use for the One Broadway Plaza project. 6.2 NO PROJECT ALTERNATIVE The No Project Alternative would be the continuation of the land uses under the Midtown Specific Plan on the site. The Midtown Specific Plan objectives for this area call for the continued existence of the existing land uses in the Broadway Corridor. The Midtown Specific Plan allows a floor area ratio (FAR) of 0.5 to 2.0 for this site which is 4.32 acres (188,179 square feet). The existing FAR for the site is approximately 0.4. The ultimate FAR for the project site for this Alternative is assumed to be approximately 0.5 because the Midtown Specific Plan does not include any objectives to encourage substantial new development on this site. Based on a FAR of 0.5, approximately 94,090 square feet of commercial office space would be provided under the No Project Alternative. Currently, there are 75,272 square feet of existing development on the site. Therefore, 18,817 square feet of new commercial office space would be constructed on the site under the No Project Alternative. This square footage could be accommodated in a three story building with 6,272 square feet (0.14 acre) per floor or multiple buildings with a total square footage of 18,817 square feet. This square footage could be developed on the existing parking lots on the site without removing any existing structures. 8 The No Project Alternative would not meet the following project objectives: Resolution No. 2004-020 Page 67 of 73