75D - PH - MATER DEI EXPANSION AND PARKING STRUCTURE

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EIR No. 2013 -91 and Amend DA No, 1999 -01 July 13, 2015 Page 3 General Plan and Zoning Analysis The General Plan land use designation for the site is Institutional, which allows both government and educational uses such as Mater Del High School. The proposed project is consistent with this General Plan land use designation. A general plan amendment will be required for the 19 parcels and street right -of -way that will be used for the parking structure once they are under the control of the school. The subject site is located in the Open Space (0) zoning district. The O zoning designation allows uses such as educational facilities like Mater Del High School, As a result, the project site is consistent with the zoning designation. An amendment application (zone change) to change the zoning designation of the residential parcels to the Open Space (0) designation will be needed once the additional 19 parcels are acquired. Project Analysis Mater Dei is proposing to expand upon the operations of the existing school campus by constructing a three level, 990 -space parking structure on 19 parcels of land and street segments not currently owned by the school. Additionally, the school is proposing to demolish two older classroom buildings and construct a new two -story classroom building in the central section of the campus, Given the urban nature of the site, and the lack of available land surrounding the school, the applicant is proposing to expand into the adjacent single - family residential neighborhood. The following subsections of this staff report provide analyses for each of the recommended action items. Environmental Impact Report The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires the preparation and approval of an environmental impact report (EIR) for this project. The environmental issues analyzed in the EIR include aesthetics /light and glare, air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, housing, land use and relevant planning, noise, and traffic and circulation. Preparation of the EIR was originally initiated in late 2012 for the project. However, as a result of the economic downturn, minimal work was done on the EIR due to concerns with the ability to finance the project. During this time, the applicant was able to commence the purchase of some of the homes in the expansion area of the project. The applicant is now ready to move forward with the project, which includes the certification of the environmental impact report. In accordance with CEQA, the Notice of Preparation (NOP) for the project was circulated for a 30- day public review period on November 13, 2012. Further, a public scoping meeting was held on December 4, 2012 to receive comments on the NOP and project. The draft EIR was circulated for review and comment to public, local, regional and state agencies, and interested parties on October 0, 2014 for a 45 -day review period, On October 27, 2014, a public hearing was held on the document to obtain input from interested members of the public. By the close of the 45 -day review period, a total of five comments, three written comment letters and two oral comments, were received on the document. 75D -5