2009-025 - Final Environmental Impact Report No. 2004-02

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Resources Board (GARB) and ensures statewide consistency in how CO2 emissions are modeled and reported from various project types. The URBEMIS model is the most effective tool for assessing COZ greenhouse gas emissions available to date. The EIR identified air quality impacts that would result from project implementation, both short-term construction and long-term operational. As detailed in the EIR, project-related operational emissions will exceed the SCAQMD significance thresholds for CO, ROG, and NOx primarily due to area source (consumer product) emissions. These are considered an unavoidable adverse impact. Additionally, construction activity impacts will exceed significance thresholds for ROG due to application of architectural coatings. The removal of the Cinema Lofts and the retaiUrestaurant uses, and addition of the hotel is not anticipated to either greatly alleviate or greatly increase project impacts from what was analyzed in the EIR. Thus, the project's impacts on air quality are anticipated to remain the same as the original project's impacts, which on a cumulative basis are significant and adverse. No changes have occurred in this area from the analysis provided in the EIR. Therefore, the EIR remains adequate and complete for this topic. b) Would the project violate any air quality standard or contribute substantially to an existing or projected air quality violation? (No Substantial Change from Previous Analysis) The Air Quality Assessment in the EIR included projected COZ emissions for demolition, mass grading, fine grading, trenching, building construction, architectural coatings, and asphalt emissions. Construction and operational emissions are difficult to assess, given that no thresholds for greenhouse gases have been established. Typical thresholds are based on types of use, such as residential, office, or retail, and are further defined by such things as number of units and square footage. The project will include a construction phase during which heavy equipment will be used for demolition, grading, and construction. The construction schedule for the lofts, retail and restaurant portion of the previous project was 14 months for complete build out, and the construction schedule for the proposed project is anticipated to be the same. Short-term impacts in the area of greenhouse gases will be due to the use of heavy equipment. Short-term construction related impacts were limited to ROG emissions from architectural coatings. As detailed in the EIR, ROG emissions still exceed threshold levels even with the use of all available measures if all project paints and coating were applied in a single month. Thus, air quality impacts from construction of the proposed project will not change substantially from the previous analysis. As noted, in the EIR, the MacArthur Place South project will exceed thresholds for CO, ROG, and NOx in the long-term operational use. Long-term project-related impacts include exceeding the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) significance thresholds for CO, ROG, and NOx primarily due to area source (consumer product) emissions. The addition of the 185-room hotel will result in an increase in CO due to consumer product emissions by the hotel guests. The proposed reduction in unit size (removal of 15 units because the Cinema Lofts will not be built) could result in lower population estimates, which could reduce consumer use emissions. The EIR includes mitigation measures to reduce and minimize air quality impacts. The following Mitigation Measure is proposed in order to further minimize the incremental increase from greenhouse gases during construction of the hotel: Mitigation Measure A¢ 1 -During design and construction, the project developer shall incorporate features into the project that will minimize impacts from greenhouse gas emissions such as planting onsite trees as a means of providing carbon storage, promoting energy saving measures beyond Title 24 requirements, and encouraging the use of Energy Star equipment and appliances. Resolution No. 2009-025 Mali2lat;®`~outh EIR Addendum 34