Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Adam Ely, Director of the Project Development Unit
Subject: Cordilleras Health Campus Project - Draft Environmental Impact Report
RECOMMENDATION:
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Public Hearing for the Proposed Cordilleras Health Campus Project:
A) Open public hearing
B) Close public hearing
C) Accept comments regarding a Draft Environmental Impact Report, pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act, for the proposed Cordilleras Health Campus Project.
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BACKGROUND:
The proposed project will construct the Cordilleras Health System Campus (Cordilleras Project) located at 200 Edmonds Road in Redwood City, and will replace the existing Cordilleras Mental Health Center building, which is over sixty years old and has outlived its useful life. The building was originally constructed as a tuberculosis hospital and its design does not meet modern standards of care for seriously mentally ill individuals. The project will consist of the construction of five new buildings allowing residential treatment on a smaller scale, less institutionalized setting. The number of beds will increase from 117 to 121.
Consistent with the County Municipal Green Building Policy, and in keeping with the County’s goal of demonstrating leadership in sustainability, the Cordilleras Project will be designed to operate at Zero Net Energy (ZNE) to achieve certification in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
DISCUSSION:
Consistent with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and CEQA Guidelines, the Draft Environmental Impact Report (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 DEIR which can be accessed on the Project Development Unit Public Notifications webpage via https://cmo.smcgov.org/public-notifications.
A Notice of Preparation (NOP) for the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was published on July 1, 2015 to invite comment on the scope and content of the environmental review. The comment period closed on July 31, 2015. Two comment letters were received in response to the NOP and are included in Appendix A of the DEIR. The County held a public scoping meeting on September 17, 2015 for the purpose of inviting public comments on the project. Public Notice of the scoping meeting was distributed to: adjacent property residents; homeowner and neighborhood associations; local community agencies; and interest groups. Notice was also published in the newspaper of local circulation. No written comment cards were received at the public meeting. General comments raised during the meeting are included in Appendix A of the DEIR.
The DEIR became available for public review and comment for 45 days beginning November 8, 2019 and will close on December 23, 2019.
The DEIR discusses several topics and potential impacts generated by the proposed project and identifies the following categories of potentially significant environmental impacts associated with the proposed project: air quality, biological resources, geology, hazards, hydrology/water quality, noise, traffic, utilities, and wildfire. Mitigation Measures were identified and incorporated into the project. Mitigation measures include, but are not limited to: use of on-site electrical hook-ups instead of diesel powered equipment where feasible; adherence to relevant California Fish and Game Code requirements relating to nesting birds and bats; special-status species; sensitive habitats; tree protection; demolition debris management; storm water controls; noise reduction; and implementation of wildfire defensible space measures.
CONCLUSION
The purpose of this public hearing is to provide interested parties an opportunity to present comments to this Board regarding the DEIR for the Cordilleras Project. No decision regarding the DEIR or the Cordilleras Project will be made at the December 3, 2019 meeting. Following the close of the public review period on December 23, 2019, MIG/TRA, in consultation with the Project Development Unit, will review and prepare responses to comments received at the December 3, 2019 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 March 2020 and will be presented to this Board for consideration of final EIR certification.