DIR-2021-1238-TOC-SPP-HCA

2024041008

City of Los Angeles

NOE - Notice of Exemption

8/19/2024

8/19/2024

Danalynn Dominguez

City of Los Angeles, City Planning Department

City Planner

Lead/Public Agency

200 N Spring Street Room 621
Los Angeles, CA 90012

(213) 978-1340

danalynn.dominguez@lacity.org

Ben Rocca

Rocca Development, Inc.

Representative

Parties Undertaking Project

22287 Mulholland Highway, Space 287
Calabasas, CA 91302

(818) 288-8669

brocca@roccadevelopment.com

34°5'29.7"N 118°17'40.7"W

Heliotrope Dr & Santa Monica Blvd

90029

1114 North Heliotrope Drive

Yoav Atzmon, 1114 Heliotrope Partners, LLC (Applicant/Property Owner)

Categorical Exemption

Section 15332, Class 32

The City has considered whether the Proposed Project is subject any of the five (5) exceptions that would prohibit the use of a categorical exemption as set forth in State CEQA Guidelines Section 15300.2. There are five (5) Exceptions which must be considered in order to find a project exempt under CEQA: (a) Cumulative Impacts; (b) Significant Effect; (c) Scenic Highways; (d) Hazardous Waste Sites; and (e) Historical Resources. (a) Cumulative Impacts. All exemptions for these classes are inapplicable when the cumulative impact of successive projects of the same type in the same place, over time is significant. The project is located at 1114 North Heliotrope Drive within the Hollywood Community Plan. There are currently six (6) projects dating back to March 4, 2019, which are either currently filed with the Department of City Planning or have received a Letter of Determination from the Department of City Planning but have yet to receive a Certificate of Occupancy from the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS). As such, there are projects within 1,320 feet of the same type and in the same place as the subject project. According to SCAQMD, individual construction projects that do not exceed the SCAQMD’s recommended daily thresholds for project-specific impacts would not cause a cumulatively considerable increase in emissions for those pollutants for which the Air Basin is in nonattainment. Interim thresholds were developed by DCP staff based on CalEEMod model runs relying on reasonable assumptions, consulting with AQMD staff, and surveying published air quality studies for which criteria air pollutants did not exceed the established SCAQMD construction and operational thresholds. Construction-related daily emissions at the project site would not exceed SCAQMD’s regional or localized significance thresholds. Furthermore, an Air Quality Study prepared by Yorke Engineering, LLC on October 5, 2022, concluded that any cumulative impacts would be less than significant. Therefore, the project’s contribution to cumulative construction-related regional emissions would not be cumulatively considerable and therefore would be less than significant. Construction of the project also would have a less-than-significant impact with regard to localized emissions. As noise is a localized phenomenon and decreases in magnitude as distance from the source increases, only projects and ambient growth in the nearby area could combine with the proposed project to result in cumulatively considerable noise impacts. These above noted projects will begin construction and end construction at different timelines, with minor overlap between projects. Furthermore, a Noise Study prepared by Yorke Engineering, LLC on October 5, 2022, concluded that any cumulative impacts would be less than significant. Thus, the construction of these known projects will be staggered and therefore do not have the potential to cumulatively contribute to air quality, construction traffic, and noise levels. (b) Significant Effect. A categorical exemption shall not be used for an activity where there is a reasonable possibility that the activity will have a significant effect on the environment due to unusual circumstances. As mentioned, the project proposes a 30-unit residential building in an area zoned and designated for such development, through the use of an 80% density increase through the TOC Affordable Housing Incentive Program in exchange for affordable housing. All surrounding lots are developed with multi-family buildings. The project proposes a FAR of 2.29:1 which is within the maximum 2.75:1 FAR otherwise permitted by Subarea C of the SNAP in conjunction with an increase permitted per the TOC Affordable Housing Incentive Program in exchange for affordable housing. The proposed building will be five-stories in an area that is currently developed with buildings that range in height from one- to six-stories. In conjunction with the TOC Affordable Housing Incentive Program, the proposed building will not be unusual for the vicinity of the subject site and will be similar in scope to future residential buildings in the area that use the TOC Affordable Housing Incentive Program in exchange for affordable housing. Thus, there are no unusual circumstances which may lead to a significant effect on the environment. (c) Scenic Highways. A categorical exemption shall not be used for a project which may result in damage to scenic resources, including but not limited to, trees, historic buildings, rock outcroppings, or similar resources, within a highway officially designated as a state scenic highway. As it relates to development along a Scenic Highway, the only State Scenic Highway within the City of Los Angeles is the Topanga Canyon State Scenic Highway, State Route 27, which travels through a portion of Topanga State Park. State Route 27 is located approximately 17 miles to the west of the subject property. Therefore, the subject site will not create any impacts within a designated state scenic highway. (d) Hazardous Waste. A categorical exemption shall not be used for a project located on a site which is included on any list complied pursuant to Section 65962.5 of the Government Code. In regards to Hazardous Waste sites, according to Envirostor, the State of California’s database of Hazardous Waste Sites, neither the subject site, nor any site in the vicinity, is identified as a hazardous waste site. As such, the project would not be developed on a site identified as a hazardous site pursuant to Section 65962.5 of the Government Code. (e) Historic Resources. A categorical exemption shall not be used for a project which may cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a historical resource. The project site has not been identified as a historic resource by local or state agencies, and the project site has not been determined to be eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, California Register of Historical Resources, the Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments Register, and/or any local register; and was not found to be a potential historic resource based on the City’s HistoricPlacesLA website or SurveyLA, the citywide survey of Los Angeles. The Department of City Planning, Office of Historic Resources confirmed that the existing single-family dwelling is not considered historic for the purposes of CEQA per an email dated April 9, 2024. Based on this, the project will not result in a substantial adverse change to the significance of a historic resource and this exception does not apply.