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<br />Chapter 3 Findings Regarding Project Alternatives <br /> <br />. Transportation-Under this alternative, a greater level of commercial development could result in <br />greater vehicle trips associated with the proposed project site, resulting in potentially greater <br />impacts, <br /> <br />Implementation of Alternative 2 would result in lesser environmental impacts than the proposed project <br />with respect to Aesthetics, Population and Housing, Public Services, and Utilities and Service Systems <br />due to the lack of changes to existing land uses that would occur at the proposed project site. Impacts <br />with respect to Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Geology and Soils, Hazards and Hazardous <br />Materials, Hydrology and Water Quality, and Land Use would result in impacts similar to the proposed <br />project under this alternative. <br /> <br />Findings <br /> <br />The City hereby fmds that the No Project/Development Under Existing General Plan Alternative is <br />infeasible for the following environmental, economic, social, and other considerations: <br /> <br />. Would not create an active, mixed-use urban village where it is possible to live, work, shop and <br />play all within a short walk of each other to the extent of the proposed project. <br />. Would not achieve the harmonious integration of new mixed-use development within the existing <br />fabric of the mid-rise and high-rise office environment due to the reduced development intensity <br />compared to the proposed project. <br />. Would not create a differentiation between different areas of the Overlay Zone. <br />. Would not provide for a mix of housing in order to encourage a continuum of living and a variety <br />of household types to the extent of the proposed project. <br />. Would not facilitate project designs that encourage adequate amounts of retail or commercial <br />space to service residents and/or employees within the development and the larger Overlay Zone. <br />. Would not allow for the development of varied residential types in a mixed-use configuration <br />including, but not limited to, loft-style units, live/work units, attached row houses, and high- <br />quality stacked flats to the extent of the proposed project. <br /> <br />. Alternative 3: Reduced Residential Component Alternative <br /> <br />The Reduced Residential Component Alternative would involve construction of a smaller mixed-use <br />development on the project site. This alternative would construct the buildings in the same location as <br />under the proposed project, and maintain the ground floor use as commercial; however the height of <br />each residential tower would be reduced to a maximum of 19 stories each. This would reduce the total <br />FAR of the property from a 2.7 FAR under the proposed project, to a 2.5 FAR under this alternative, <br />which is the minimum envisioned FAR in the Active Urban district under the proposed Overlay Zone. <br />With a reduced height limit, the number of residential units would also be reduced from 374 to <br />approximately 335. <br /> <br />Implementation of Alternative 2 would result in lesser environmental impacts than the proposed project <br />with respect to Air Quality, Noise, Population and Housing, Public Services, Transportation, and Utilities <br />and Service Systems due to the reduced level of development that would occur at the proposed project <br />site. Impacts with respect to Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Geology and Soils, Hazards and <br />Hazardous Materials, Hydrology and Water Quality, and Land Use would result in impacts similar to the <br />proposed project under this alternative. <br /> <br />Metro East Mixed Use Overlay Zone EIR Findings of Fact/Statement of Overriding Considerations <br /> <br />3-9 <br /> <br />758-75 <br />