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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-25-2014 th cal polyCAL POLY May 9, 2014 Honorable Carlyn Christianson Vice Mayor City of San Luis Obispo 990 Palm Street San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 -3249 Dear Carlyn: SAN LUIS OBISPO MAY 12 2014 DI5CEftf EAC+frk{YQ Z z g`Ig01'� OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT Thank you for your March 27 letter regarding the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for Cal Poly's proposed First -Year Student Housing South Project. Over this past month, Cal Poly and SWCA Environmental Consultants diligently reviewed the comments received to the recirculated DEIR, including the City's official comments submitted by Community Development Director Derek Johnson. Cal Poly staff and City staff held a number of meetings to discuss the University's response to the comments. I personally met with City staff, former Council Members, candidates for Council, all current members of the City Council, and local neighborhood leaders to discuss the Cal Poly's Vision for 2022. In addition, in all meetings, except that involving Mayor Marx (as she has a conflict), we also discussed the vision in the context of neighborhood relations and the proposed First -Year Student Housing South Project. In response to DEIR comments, Cal Poly submitted a Final Environmental Impact Report to the CSU Board of Trustees that provides further clarification and additional details to project descriptions and identified mitigations. The link to the document can be found online at http: / /afd.calpoly.edu/facilities /facp index.asp. A detailed list of City concerns and Cal Poly responses is attached, but I wanted to bring your attention to four significant items in the project that were able to be accommodated due to discussions between City, Cal Poly and neighborhood residents: 1) Lowering resident hall building adjacent to Slack Street from five to four and now three stories. 2) Adding sidewalks and lighting on the Cal Poly- adjacent side of Slack between Grand Avenue and Pacheco Way. 3) Significantly increasing the landscaping buffer, which may include a landscape wall. The design will be shared with the City as plans develop. CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA 93407 -1000 805- 756 -6000 PHONE PRESIDENTS OFFICE @CALPOLY.EDU 805- 756 -1129 FAX WWW.CALPOLY.EDU Honorable Carlyn Christianson Page 2 May 9, 2014 4) Committing to $534,000 in traffic circulation improvements, if funded by the state legislator, as Cal Poly's fair share contribution at the three city intersections mentioned. The City and Cal Poly have a long standing history of collaborating and communicating on items of overlapping interest. These include financial agreements, neighborhood wellness outreach and initiatives, planning and capital projects, and many more. In the spirit of these existing collaborations, Cal Poly seeks to establish additional partnerships and connectivity with the City. Attached is a list of existing and possible future topics that could be developed into tangible agreements. In particular, these items target critical areas to further enhance neighborhood wellness and capacity of services brought upon the City due to the existence of Cal Poly and its student body, faculty, and staff. Cal Poly would like to work with City staff and formalize these existing and potential partnerships into a draft collaborative agreement. Justin Wellner, Director of Government and Community Relations, will follow up with you to arrange a time for Cal Poly staff to meet with you and review each of the items in greater detail. Cal Poly believes it has fully complied with its obligations under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for our proposed housing project. Beyond CEQA and the housing project itself, Cal Poly is firmly committed to being a long- standing, good neighbor and working closely with the City and local residents near campus. A collaborative agreement between Cal Poly and the City will assist us in mapping out next steps to achieve this goal. Collectively, all these steps will be mutually beneficial for all parties involved and lead us into a bright future of working collaboratively on behalf of the citizens of California. Sincerely, Cam' effrey D. Armstrong President Enclosures ec: City Council Katie Litchtig, City Manager Christine Dietrick, City Attorney Derek Johnson, Community Development Director CAL POLY HOUSING SOUTH CITY CONCERNS Concern: The project would potentially conflict with the visual character of the surrounding area. Inappropriate or insufficient planting along the southern and western perimeters of the project could cause an increased visibility of the structures as seen from Slack Street and neighborhoods to the south, resulting in a direct, long -term significant impact to the visual character of the site and surroundings. Response: The project would appear consistent with the development patterns on campus and would not be an unexpected visual feature. However, as seen from public viewpoints and neighborhoods immediately adjacent to it, the project would appear out -of -scale and would reduce views to identified scenic resources. Although the project is technically considered as in -fill, the interface between the large buildings along the perimeter would not have a harmonious visual transition to the surrounding community, and cumulative impacts would be significant. Even with feasible mitigation measures to prepare a comprehensive Landscape Plan to use trees planted from a minimum 48 -inch box size; plant trees and shrubs along the southern and western perimeters to provide screening of at least 80 percent of the project at maturity from certain public viewpoints on Slack Street; use of hardscape, fencing and other features to reduce the impression of a continuous building surface and limit the height of Building 4 to three stories along Slack Street, the impact to aesthetics will remain significant. Concern: Implement circulation improvements at Grand Avenue /Slack Street Response: Text clarifying the project's impact to Grand Avenue has been prepared as part of the Response to Comments. The response includes the following summary table: Page 1 of 9 Item AM Peak Hour Southbound Northbound PM Peak Hour Southbound Northbound Redistributed Residential Trips on 4 3 13 11 Grand Avenue 90% Redistributed General Trips -12 -35 -4 -2 Freshmen Commute Reduction -24 -72 -32 -17 Total Net Trips on -32 -104 -23 -8 Grand Avenue Gateway Net Trips at Grand -136 -31 Avenue /Slack Street Net Trips at Grand Avenue /Loomis Street- -136 -31 US 101 Southbound Net Trips at Grand Avenue /US 101 -121 -27 Northbound- Abbott Street The project reduces traffic along Grand Avenue. Bicycle and pedestrian impacts are addressed through existing mitigation, which includes coordination with the City of San Luis Obispo (City) and the school district. No alterations are proposed. Concern: Commit to assisting with Fair Share of the improvements and also partnering on grant opportunities at the following intersections. 1. Taft/California 2. California /101 3. Foothill /Santa Rosa Response: The California State University (CSU) has negotiated in good faith with the City of San Luis Obispo regarding its fair -share of the costs to construct improvements in the City's jurisdiction related to this project. While agreement with the City was not reached, Cal Poly is seeking trustee approval to request a total of $534,000 in capital funding from Cal Poly Housing South Page 2 of 9 Response - City Concerns DEIR the governor and legislature for the identified, off -site mitigation measures below. Payment is contingent upon (a) the state legislature appropriating the funds for said improvements as requested by the CSU in the state budget process; and (b) the City allocating its share of the mitigation improvement costs and ensuring said amount is available for expenditure, thereby triggering the CSU's fair share contribution payment. The improvements which have been identified by the City and included as mitigation measures in the EIR are as follows: • Foothill Boulevard and Santa Rosa Street: The existing conditions are already at a Level of Service D and will be at Level of Service F under cumulative conditions (due to planned City and other projects). Therefore, due to cumulative conditions and the addition of the project, the intersection needs widening as identified in the City of San Luis Obispo's State Route 1 Major Investment Study. Cal Poly estimates its fair share for the improvements of this intersection to be $342,166 based on the project contributing a 1.9 percent increase to the number of existing intersection trips. • California Boulevard and Taft Street: The existing conditions are already at a Level of Service F and will be at Level of Service F under cumulative conditions. Therefore, due to cumulative traffic and the addition of the project, the intersection needs signalization or a roundabout control upgrade. Cal Poly estimates its fair share for the improvements of this intersection to be $97,547 based on a 2.6 percent net trip increase in existing conditions. • US Highway 101 and California Boulevard: The existing conditions are already at a Level of Service F and will be at Level of Service F under cumulative conditions. Therefore, due to the project traffic, the intersection needs modification to provide a painted median and two -way left turn lane to accommodate a two -stage left turn, while due to cumulative traffic the intersection needs improved signalization or a roundabout control upgrade. Cal Poly estimates its fair share for the improvements of this intersection to be $93,795 based on a 2.5 percent net trip increase to existing conditions. Concern: Provide sidewalks along Slack Street Response: No significant impacts have been identified beyond the Grand and Slack intersection. No alterations to the existing mitigation are proposed. Concern: The Master Plan needs to be updated to accommodate the proposed Housing Project South to address the disposition of the identified housing sites in the existing Master Cal Poly Housing South Page 3 of 9 Response - City Concerns DEIR Plan. Creating a new site for housing without retiring existing housing sites reflects increased housing capacity not addressed in either the original or recirculated Draft EIR. Response: The following amendments will be made to text on page ES -7. "Under the current proposal, the bed count identified in the Master Plan for housing sites H -4 through H -7 would be consolidated at the current site and the complexes at sites H -4 through H -7 would be removed from the current Master Plan. The project is intended to meet existing and projected demand for housing. The project does not increase enrollment over current levels. The Poly Canyon Village project, developed in 2008, included an amendment to the total Master Plan bed count, and an EIR was certified for the project. The proposed housing does not increase bed count over projections in the Master Plan, as amended." Concern: Building Design — Step buildings back on upper floors; provide fixed windows to reduce noise impacts Response: The Building Design would appear consistent with the development patterns on campus and would not be an unexpected visual feature. However, as seen from public viewpoints and neighborhoods immediately adjacent to it, the project would appear out - of -scale and would reduce views to identified scenic resources. Although the project is technically considered as in -fill, the interface between the large buildings along the perimeter would not have a harmonious visual transition to the surrounding community, and cumulative impacts would be significant. Even with feasible mitigation measures to prepare a comprehensive Landscape Plan to use trees planted from a minimum 48 -inch box size; plant trees and shrubs along the southern and western perimeters to provide screening of at least 80 percent of the project at maturity from certain public viewpoints on Slack Street; use of hardscape, fencing and other features to reduce the impression of a continuous building surface and limit the height of Building 4 to three stories along Slack Street, the impact to aesthetics will remain significant. The Draft EIR points out existing housing regulations as found in the University Housing Resident Handbook, item 19.b, state, "The right to quiet supersedes the right to make noise." The campus police act in response to noise events. The Draft EIR has proposed a mitigation measure that restricts amplified outdoor events in areas south of the Great Lawn after 10:00 p.m. to help ensure consistency with the City of San Luis Obispo Noise Ordinance. It is Cal Poly's position that Cal Poly has more control regarding behavior issues of on- campus residents than those students who choose to live off - campus. Notwithstanding this, and though not required to do so, Cal Poly has proposed the mitigation measure regarding amplified events. Cal Poly Housing South Page 4 of 9 Response - City Concerns DEIR However, Cal Poly has committed to the following clarifications to the project description: • The project locates two 24 -hour professional staff residences in the southernmost buildings (Building 4 and 5) • The southernmost building (Building 4) will be designated programmatically a "Quiet Dorm ". The "Quiet Dorm" will have strict rules regarding the amount of noise. Concern: Implement Transportation Demand Management (TDM) measures committed to in the last Master Plan or better explain why they were not implemented. Agree to monitor TDM and any impacts after construction. If the traffic impacts, for any reason, 1 -5 years after construction are significantly different than what is show in the EIR. Response: Based on the evidence provided in the EIR, including Response to Comments prepared by Fehr & Peers in response to the City's comment letter, the assumptions underlying the Traffic Impact Analysis are valid and do not rely on success of Master Plan - identified TDM (see below). The City's assertions that Master Plan TDM and the success of TDM need to be validated are not supported by the evidence. Excerpt from forthcoming response: Trip generation for the transportation study for the Student Housing South EIR was calculated using three methodologies: • Trip generation based on April 2013 general parking lot occupancy counts and May 2013 roadway segment counts along Grand Avenue south of McCollum Street (general parking redistributed trips) • Trip generation based on April 2013 freshmen parking lot occupancy counts, 2012 -2013 school year freshmen parking permit purchase rates and October 2013 freshmen parking lot in /out rates (freshmen redistributed trips) • Trip generation based on freshmen trip rates and freshmen commute reductions from the 2000/2001 Master Plan EIR (commute reduction) Trip generation for general parking redistributed trips was calculated by estimating the proportion of morning and afternoon peak parking demand during the peak hour of travel. This process uses data more recent than the Master Plan EIR. April 2013 parking lot occupancy counts were used to determine the morning and afternoon peak parking demand that would Cal Poly Housing South Page 5 of 9 Response - City Concerns DEIR be required to shift to other lots because of the reduction of parking capacity at the project site. The May 2013 Grand Avenue counts were used to determine the proportion of morning and afternoon peak parking demand during the peak hour of travel. Multiplying the morning and afternoon peak period shifted demand by the morning and afternoon peak hour travel proportions yielded the number of general parking redistributed trips. Trip generation for residential parking redistributed trips was conducted using the same general methodology as the general parking redistributed trips. For residential parking redistributed trips, the determination of how many freshmen vehicles would be shifted comprised of two parts: April 2013 freshmen parking lot occupancy counts were used to determine the demand shift of existing vehicles Freshmen parking permit purchase rates for the 2012 -2013 school year were used to determine how many new on- campus freshmen would bring a car to campus Based on the above data, the projected number of shifted residential vehicles was determined. The October 2013 counts at freshmen on- campus parking lot R -1 were used to determine what proportion of freshmen parked cars travel during the morning and afternoon peak hour. Multiplying the morning and afternoon peak period shifted demand by the morning and afternoon peak hour travel proportions yielded the number of residential parking redistributed trips. Data provided by the City for the three gateway intersections into campus (Santa Rosa Street/Highland Drive, California Boulevard /Foothill Boulevard and Grand Avenue /Slack Street) indicates that the overall trip generation for Cal Poly is higher than what the 2000/2001 Master Plan EIR predicted. The following table details the estimated number of peak hour trips per the Master Plan EIR and the actual trip data as collected by the City in May 2013: Data Source 2000/2001 Master Plan EIR (Existing with Project Volumes) May 2013 Counts Cal Poly Housing South Response - City Concerns DEIR Trips Counted AM Peak Hour PM Peak Hour In Out In 1691 187 963 2648 595 1515 Out 1752 2698 Page 6of9 This data suggests that the trip generation rates assumed in the Master Plan EIR may be too low. Increases in the number of trips could be the result of increased faculty /staff, visitor or student commute trips; increases in trips due to faculty or other non -on campus freshmen are not relevant to this project because the Student Housing South project will house freshmen. project would not redistribute staff trips because staff -only parking is not affected; any staff parking in the general lots would be counted as part of the general parking redistribution. The trip generation calculations for the general parking redistribution trips and freshmen parking redistribution trips are not subject to potential errors in the Master Plan EIR rates — the trip generation for general and residential redistribution is based on travel data collected in and around the time of the City's May 2013 counts. Freshmen trip rates per bed from the Master Plan EIR are used in the study to calculate the freshman commute reduction. The freshmen vehicle trip rates from the 2000/2001 Cal Poly Master Plan update were based on field collected data at Cal Poly and other California colleges around 2000. The on- campus field collected data consisted of counts at a resident -only parking lot on the Cal Poly campus. These rates may have fluctuated slightly over time, but these same rates have been used for the Cal Poly Master Plan Update EIR (2000/2001) and the Cal Poly Student Housing North EIR (2003). To confirm that Master Plan EIR rates were appropriate for use in this study, an additional comparison between the 2000/2001 Master Plan EIR freshmen trip rates and more recent count data was performed. As part of the transportation study for the Student Housing South EIR, midweek roadway tube counts were also conducted at entries and exits to the R -1 residential parking lot in October 2013. The R -1 lot serves the South Mountain ( "Red Brick "), North Mountain and Cerro Vista student housing complexes. Yosemite and Sierra Madre Halls are served by the R -2 lot on the proposed project site. At the time of the counts in October 2013, these complexes were almost exclusively populated with freshmen. Freshmen in these complexes are required to purchase a dining plan, which limits their need for off - campus shopping trips. At the community open forum on December 2, 2013, Cal Poly presented that the pre -2001 Master Plan update capacity of on- campus housing with 2,783 beds. These 2,783 beds included all beds at the North Mountain, Red Brick, Sierra Madre and Yosemite residence halls (this value does not include beds at the newer Cerro Vista or Poly Canyon Village complexes). Many of these residence halls have been changed to triple -bed configurations between 2000 and 2013 (they were double -bed previously), so the actual total number of beds in these older residence halls is likely Cal Poly Housing South Page 7 of 9 Response - City Concerns DEIR greater than in the Cal Poly's December 2013 presentation. The Cerro Vista Apartments house 796 beds as per the Cal Poly's December 2013 presentation. Using a conservative assumption of 2,500 occupied beds for the R -1 parking lot service area (250 beds for each of the 6 Red Brick dorms plus 796 beds at Cerro Vista and 250 beds total in the North Mountain halls), the following table details the trip generation rates calculated from the data. Data Source Freshmen Beds Counts 2,500 2011 Master Plan EIR Trips Counted AM Peak PM Peak Hour Hour Calculated Trip Rate AM Peak Hour PM Peak Hour In Out In Out In Out In 13 18 52 62 0.005 0.007 0.021 Out 0.025 -- -- -- -- 0.038 0.013 0.046 0.086 The R -1 parking lot data suggests that the actual pre- commute reduction freshmen trip rate is about 65 % -75% lower than the 2000/2001 Campus Master Plan rate used in the traffic analysis. The commute reduction assumed in the Master Plan EIR assumed that certain TDM strategies would be put in place as part of the implementation of the Master Plan. Based on discussion with City staff, it appears that not all of the TDM strategies assumed in the Master Plan EIR have been implemented. Since the pre- commute reduction trip rate assumed in the Master Plan EIR is based on counted rates from 1999 -2000, it appears that some of the TDM measures implemented between 2000 and 2013 have been effective in reducing freshman trips. If it is assumed that the TDM measures assumed for the commute reduction in the Master Plan EIR are actually 65% effective for freshmen (consistent with the count data presented above), then the trip generation rate calculation with the commute reduction is as follows: Cal Poly Housing South Page 8 of 9 Response - City Concerns DEIR AM Peak Hour PM Peak Hour Total In Out Total In Out Counted Trip Rate 0.013 0.005 0.007 0.046 0.021 0.025 65% * Commute Reduction from - - - - - - Master Plan EIR 0.076 0.057 0.019 0.108 0.038 0.070 Adjusted Counted Trip Generation Rate (with 65% TDM 0.064 0.052 0.012 0.056 0.014 0.042 reduction) Rate Used in Transportation Impact Analysis (from 2000/2001 0.065 0.049 0.016 0.034 0.012 0.022 Campus Master Plan) Difference in Trips at 1475 Beds +2 -4 +6 -32 -3 -29 (2013 Rate — 2000 Rate) As a result, the trip rates used in the analysis for freshmen commute reduction are generally equivalent to, or more conservative than, the rates calculated from the recent counts, regardless of whether TDM measures are assumed or not. Chapter 3 of Appendix F has been updated to include this information. The Student Housing South project, as proposed, will not increase the enrollment of Cal Poly. Moving freshmen on campus will eliminate commute (to /from campus) trips for these students, and the net peak hour trip generation rate for moving these students on campus should be negative because these freshmen will not be replaced off - campus. For consistency with previous campus planning efforts, the freshmen trip rates and freshmen commute reductions as described in the Cal Poly Master Plan Update EIR (2001) and the Student Housing North EIR (2003) were used. These field collected rates are more suitable for use as they directly represent a college campus environment versus the Apartment trip generation rate presented in the Institute of Transportation Engineers' Trip Generation. Trip Generation is a compendium of trip generation studies from across the United States. Volume 1 of Trip Generation indicates that the data are "primarily collected at suburban location having little or no transit service, nearby pedestrian amenities or travel demand management (TDM) programs." The rates in Trip Generation would therefore not accurately reflect the trip generation characteristics of an on- campus housing facility with good pedestrian and bicycle connectivity to on- campus dining and recreation facilities along with substantial transit service provided. Cal Poly Housing South Page 9 of 9 Response - City Concerns DEIR City of San Luis Obispo and California Polytechnic State University Existing Collaborations (May 2014) At the highest level, the relationship between the City of San Luis Obispo (SLO) and California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) is an obvious one. For over 100 years, SLO has been the host city and civic booster for Cal Poly. What is less obvious are the number of service -, program -, and communication - related partnerships which exist. These partnerships have fostered a healthy level of collaboration — among the best city - university relationships in the State of California. Therefore, when challenges surface in one aspect of the partnership, they must be met constructively, keeping in mind the breadth and significance of the entire partnership. Outlined below are some of our major partnership examples: 1. Christopher Cohan Center Performing Arts Center 2. Wastewater Service 3. Water Service 4. Whale Rock Commission 5. Transit Service 6. Fire Service 7. Fiber Optic Infrastructure 8. SLO HotHouse 9. Law Enforcement Cooperation and Collaboration 10. Student Neighborhood Assistance Program (SNAP) 11. SLO Solutions 12. Student Community Liaison Committee (SCLC) 13. Neighborhood Wellness /Community Civility Effort 14. Mustang Way (March 2014) 15. International Town -Gown Association (ITGA) 16. SLO -Cal Poly Lunches 17. SLO -Cal Poly Planning Meetings 18. Cal Poly Planning Committee DRAFT City of San Luis Obispo and California Polytechnic State University Future Collaborations Possible topics for agreement: 1. Annual Report 2. Memorandum of Understand (MOU) on Law Enforcement 3. Public Safety 4. Rental Inspection Program 5. Parking Initiatives 6. Neighborhood Stabilization Program 7. Grand Avenue Plan: Including landscaping /wall on border of campus 8. Pedestrian Improvement: Including sidewalks and lighting 9. Pedestrian and Bicycle Circulation Improvements 10. Cal Poly Campus Master Plan Update and Design Guidelines 11. Open Space and Natural Resources Management 5/8/14