URS CORPORATION 1A (2) -2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Task 1. Community Impact Assessment At the direction of Caltrans District 12, URS prepared a Community Impact Assessment (CIA) in accordance with reporting guidelines detailed in Caltrans' Environmental Handbook, Volume 4 (Community Impact Assessment). As part of URS' originally approved contract, it was believed that preparation of a Caltrans -compliant Relocation Impact Statement (RIS) would be satisfactory to assess the project's potential impacts on the surrounding community, particularly given the relative short distance of widening along the existing Grand Avenue alignment, and also because the project does not involve the displacement of any residential development. Furthermore, the previously prepared and certified Final Environmental Impact Report prepared for the proposed widening of Grand Avenue between First and Seventeenth Streets revealed no significant impacts to community cohesion. However, and as part of the preparation and approval of the Preliminary Environmental Studies (PES) Form, Caltrans memorialized therein that a stand-alone CIA technical study is required for the project. The additional effort associated with this task included preparation of the CIA and its associated analyses, including, but not necessarily limited to, additional field analyses. Further, URS prepared five draft versions of the CIA before Caltrans ultimately approved the report. It is important to note that the comments that were provided by Caltrans during their review of the CIA were different in nature than the round of review previous. Therefore, URS received new comments as part of each round of review by Caltrans (even though URS had addressed the comments in each previous round of review). Preparation of the CIA also entailed separate (i.e., not parallel) rounds of review by the City. Task 2. Historic Resources Evaluation Report As documented in the previously prepared and certified FEIR addressing the proposed widening of Grand Avenue between First and Seventeenth Streets, it was not anticipated that any historically significant structures would be impacted as a result of widening that section of Grand Avenue between First and Fourth Streets. Therefore, URS' originally approved contract only included preparation of a Caltrans -compliant Historic Property Survey Report (HPSR), accompanied by an Archaeological Survey Report. However, and at the direction of Caltrans District 12 Professionally Qualified Staff, URS was required to prepare a Historic Resources Evaluation Report (HRER) to accompany the above-described HPSR. The HPSR was prepared to meet the reporting requirements set forth in Caltrans SER, Volume 2 (Cultural). More specifically, the following out -of -scope efforts were incurred by URS to prepare the HRER and route it through the City, Caltrans, and ultimately the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) for final approval: Preparation of the HRER pursuant to requirements set forth in Caltrans SER, Volume 2 (Cultural), including additional rounds of review of the draft HRER by the City and Caltrans; Revision of Area of Potential Effects (APE) Map for review by City and Caltrans staff to account for direct and indirect effects to three historic -period properties (i.e., 1215 E. Second Street, 1215 E. Third Street, and 1212 E. Fourth Street); Additional site survey to assess above -referenced buildings potentially subject to direct and indirect impacts; 2