25B - ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES THE PLANNING CENTER

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November 9, 2010 Page 2 Specific Plan, the project would require revisions to the zoning code and design guidelines to accommodate neW higher-density residential land uses and mixed-use land uses along the corridor. The project would also require an amendment to the Circulation Element of the General Plan to accommodate a new street classification for Harbor Boulevard. Potential environmental issues associated with the proposed Vision Plan include an increase in air pollutant emissions and deterioration of the level of service at intersections in the vicinity of the project as a result of an increase in vehicle trips. In addition, because the land uses are commercially oriented, new residential and mixed-use land uses may have different requirements related to public infrastructure (e.g., sewer, water, storm drainage). Construction activities associated with redevelopment of the Harbor Corridor could also increase noise levels at adjacent noise-sensitive receptors. The City's 2006--2014 Housing Element was approved by the state this summer. Pursuant to state requirements, the Cityis required to implement changes to the City's zoning in order to accommodate the increase in residential density. Changes to the zoning are required to be adopted by summer 2011. Consequently, the City desires to fast-track the Vision Plan to adopt the zone changes required for the Harbor Boulevard Corridor in addition to implementing the Vision Plan. Approach In our view, the appropriate CEQA document for the Harbor Boulevard Corridor Vision Plan is a Program EIR (PEIR). This type of EIR covers broad, cumulative issues, so that future CEQA reviews of specific development projects could be focused on site-specific issues. It is also ideal for analyzing the relative environmental impacts and tradeoffs between broad-scale project alternatives as in the proposed scenarios for the Vision Plan. The Planning Center will utilize existing information compiled as part of our recent work with the City on the Housing Element in order to efficiently document existing conditions and identify potential environmental impacts. The Planning Center's team of CEQA practitioners will work closely with The Planning Center's Planning and Design Team for the SCAG Demonstration project to minimize overlap and draw upon technical information during that phase of the project for environmental processing. IBI Group has been included in our scope of work because of their understanding of the benefits of the mixed-use, transit-oriented project, and they will expand upon technical information being evaluated for work under the SCAG Demonstration Project regarding traffic and other infrastructure needs (e.g., sewer, water, and storm drainage). Scope of Work TASK 1 - TECHNICAL STUDIES The following technical studies will be prepared to identify potentially significant environmental impacts: Task 1.1 Transportation and Traffic IBI Group will prepare a traffic analysis for the PEIR that documents the potential impacts associated with implementation of the Vision Plan and recommends mitigation measures for any identified significant impacts. Level of service (LOS) and intersection performance for signalized intersections for existing and future conditions will be quantified. Data Collection & Existing Conditions. The work effort in this task will build-off of the existing conditions work done as part of the SCAG Demonstration project. For the EIR effort, 161 will incorporate the appropriate information obtained 25B-12