Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Deborah Bazan, Director of Project Development Unit
Subject: Draft Environmental Impact Report
RECOMMENDATION:
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Public Hearing for the proposed County Government Center Campus Development Project:
A) Open public hearing
B) Closed public hearing
C) Accept comments regarding a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR), pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), for the proposed County Government Center Campus Development Project.
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BACKGROUND:
The proposed project will construct County Office Building #3 (COB3) on the County block bounded by Middlefield Road, County Center, Hamilton Street and Marshall Street. The building will house 616 relocated employees, approximately 216 of these employees would transfer from adjacent buildings on the County Government Campus while the remaining 400 employees would relocate from off-site County locations. COB3 would be designed as five to seven-story building ranging from 121,000 to 156,000 square feet (sq. ft.).
The proposed project also involves construction of a parking structure for 850 to 1,200 stalls adjacent to the existing County parking structure, moving the historic Lathrop House adjacent to the back of the County History Museum; possible relocation of the San Mateo County Superior Court Traffic and Small Claims to the Hall of Justice and demolition of the vacated court building; demolition of the vacant former First American Title Company and Lebsack building; converting the northern terminus of Hamilton Street and County Center for pedestrian only use; and creation of a plaza and promenade linking the government buildings on the County Government Center campus.
DISCUSSION:
Consistent with CEQA and CEQA Guidelines the DEIR focuses on the potentially significant direct and indirect impacts that could result from implementation of the proposed project. These potential impacts are outlined in the attached DEIR or via (<https://cmo.smcgov.org/sites/cmo.smcgov.org/files/SMC_Govt_Center_DEIR_and_Appendices_2018017.pdf>) in Table S-1 beginning on page S-1.
Notice of Preparation (NOP) for the EIR was published on September 15, 2017 to invite comment on the scope and content of the environmental review; the comment period closed on October 15, 2017. Six comment letters were received in response to the NOP and are included in the DEIR Appendix A. The County held a public scoping meeting on November 6, 2017 for the purpose of inviting public comments on the project. Public Notice of the scoping meeting was distributed to the adjacent property residents, homeowner and neighborhood associations, local community agencies, and interest groups. Notice was also published in the newspaper of local circulation. Three written comment cards were received at the public meeting and are included in DEIR Appendix A. A presentation was made on 2/8/18 to Redwood City’s Historic Resources Advisory Committee regarding the Lathrop House relocation.
The DEIR became available for public review and comment for 45 days beginning January 18, 2018 and will close on March 5, 2018.
The DEIR discusses a number of topics and potential impacts generated by the proposed project. The DEIR identifies the following categories of potentially significant environmental impacts associated with the proposed project: air quality, climate change, biology, cultural/tribal/historical resources, noise, and traffic. Mitigation Measures were identified and incorporated into the project. Mitigation measures include, but are not limited to: utilize on-site electrical hook-ups instead of diesel powered equipment where feasible, adherence to relevant California Fish and Game Code requirements relating to bird nesting and bats, preservation of trees when possible, incorporate renewable energy, careful preparation of Lathrop House prior to relocation, identified personnel attend archaeological and paleontological sensitivity training, noise reduction, utilizing and traffic demand measures.
CONCLUSION
The purpose of this public hearing is to provide interested parties an opportunity to present comments to the Board of Supervisors regarding the Draft EIR for the County Government Center Campus Development. No decision regarding the Draft EIR or the County Government Center Campus Development will be made at February 27, 2018 meeting. Following the close of the public review period on March 5, 2018, MIG/TRA in consultation with the Project Development Unit, will review and prepare responses to comments received at the February 27, 2018 meeting, as well as written comments received by the Project Development Unit staff during the public commenting period. Comments and responses to comments will be included in a Final EIR document. It is anticipated that the Final EIR will be available in May of 2018 and will be presented to the Board of Supervisors to consider certification of the Final EIR.