PC 051111 - Laserfiche WebLink

and actions identified in the Housing Element; and it will analyze the impact of all the sites, which will yield approximately 3,000 units, and choose the sites for the approximately 2,000 units needed. She noted that analyzing all the sites will provide enough flexibility for the City Council to make its decisions on the sites later on. Ms. Stern stated that the EIR will address a full array of topics that are identified as potential areas where there could be some impact, including Aesthetics, Agriculture and Forestry, Air Quality and Green House Gases, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Geology and Soils, Hydrology, Hazards and Hazardous Materials, Land Use and Planning, Population and Housing, Public Services and Utilities, Recreation, and Transportation and Traffic. She noted that some of the topics will have more specific impacts, and others will be barely addressed: for example, under Aesthetics, it is not known at this time what those projects will look like, but the number of stories is known, and some judgments about aesthetic impacts can be identified; on the other hand, no sites have been identified as having active prime agricultural land, so . She also noted that one site, the Irby-Kaplan-Zia, has some potential cultural resources in the older buildings on-site, and the EIR will address these to the extent of providing some direction in terms of what needs to be done regarding those resources. Ms. Stern advised that any members of the public who think something more specific within those topics should be addressed should say so at this time. Ms. Stern stated that there are other sections in the EIR: alternatives to the proposed project will be addressed and may include a subset of the sites that is not necessarily all of the sites, and alternatives in terms of a circulation system that does not include El Charro Road because that road may not be built by the time these sites come on line; cumulative effects; and growth inducing effects. She explained that the Housing Element addresses share of regional housing growth, and to that extent, it is growth inducing and accommodates the growth that is part of that regional share. She added that it is also looking at jobs-housing balance, and to that extent, there would not be as many growth inducing effects outside of this area in the larger region. She noted that this aspect will be dealt with in greater detail in the Draft EIR. In terms of the EIR process, Ms. Stern stated that the first step is the Notice of Preparation (NOP) and the EIR Scoping Meeting: staff wrote and mailed out the NOP to all interested parties, who have 30 days to respond to the NOP; and is now holding this Scoping Meeting at which comment from the public and agencies are received. She indicated that the City will continue to accept public comment on this matter at the Housing Element hearings and in writing or by email to Planning staff. She added that staff anticipates the completion of the Draft EIR in late July, which will be followed by a 45-day public comment period through early September, with the Final EIR completed in October. She noted that the Final EIR will not be ready before the City has to submit the Draft Housing Element to the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), although some traffic information may be available. She indicated that the Draft Housing Element will be subject to the findings of the Final EIR. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, May 11, 2011 Page 5 of 17