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Section 1: Introduction (continued) WHITTIER BOULEVARD REDEVELOPMENT AREA SUPPLEMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT David Evans and Associates, Inc. has recently completed the Whittier Boulevard Redevelopment Area Supplemental Environmental Impact Report for the City of Whittier. The SEIR evaluates the impacts of extending the City's powers of eminent domain and increasing the agency's ability to incur debt to fund future redevelopment projects. The City of Whittier is located in the greater Los Angeles area, approximately fifteen miles east of downtown Los Angeles. Major regional access to the city is provided by the San Gabriel River Freeway (1-605) which is immediately adjacent to the western city limits, and the Pomona Freeway (I-60) to the north and Santa Ana Freeway (1-5) to the south. The project area consists of approximately 238 acres of land currently developed with a mix of residential, commercial and industrial uses. The redevelopment plan was adopted in 1978 address the problems of inadequate infrastructure, older buildings not suited for their current use, and the need for private sector participation in the revitalization of the area. The proposed amendment to the Whittier Boulevard Redevelopment Plan would (1) extend the period that the Agency can use the powers of eminent domain for another 12 years, and (2) permit the Agency to incur debt (up to a maximum of $50,000,000) for an additional 30 years. No changes were proposed to the original Land Use Plan for the area or to the estimates of ultimate build -out densities. The proposed amendments simply permit continued implementation of the original plan and allow the Agency to continue to encourage revitalization of the area. The SEIR analyzes the proposed project area amendment's impacts on earth, air, noise, land use, population, housing, traffic/circulation, public services, energy, utilities, and cultural resources. The assessment focuses on describing changes to the environmental setting since the plan was first adopted and subsequent changes in the impacts at buildout of the plan. Since the adopted plan for ultimate development of the Whittier Boulevard Redevelopment Project Area is not being changed, much of the information and analysis contained in the EIR prepared are still valid and useful. For that reason, Supplemental EIR updates only that information which has changed since the initial adoption of the plan (such as the land use distributions in the area) and adds sections addressing recent changes in state law (such as the requirement for a mitigation monitoring program). Marc Blodgett, Laura Hudson, Josephine Tan Alido and Robert Campbell worked on this $30,000 project which was completed for the original estimated cost. Contacts: Chris Jackson, Senior Planner or Elvin Porter, Planning Director 13230 E. Penn Street Whittier, CA 90602 (213) 945-8200 City of Santa Ana Redevelopment Plan EIR 1-6