4545 West Prospect Avenue (ENV-2024-958-CE)

2024070735

City of Los Angeles

NOE - Notice of Exemption

7/18/2024

7/18/2024

Nashya Sandono-Jensen

City of Los Angeles, City Planning Department

Planning Assistant

Lead/Public Agency

200 N Spring Street Room 621
Los Angeles, CA 90012

(213) 978-1363

nashya.sadono-jensen@lacity.org

Matt Kim

City of Los Angeles, City Planning Department

Commun Associates

Project Applicant

PO Box 71111
Los Angeles, CA 90071

(213) 271-4633

communworks@gmail.com

34°6'8.3"N 118°17'20.8"W

Prospect Ave & Rodney Dr

90027

5590025010

4545 Prospect Ave., Los Angeles

Categorical Exemption

Section 15303 / Class 3

(Class 3) Construction and location of limited numbers of new, small facilities or structures; installation of small new equipment and facilities in small structures, and the conversion of existing small structures from one use to another where only minor modifications are made in the exterior of the structure. The proposed project involves the construction, use, and maintenance of an Accessory Living Quarters with a garage. CEQA Section 15300.2: Exceptions to the Use of Categorical Exemptions The City has considered whether the proposed project is subject any of the six (6) exceptions that would prohibit the use of a categorical exemption as set forth in State CEQA Guidelines Section 15300.2. There are six (6) Exceptions which must be considered in order to find a project exempt under CEQA: (a) Location; (b) Cumulative Impacts; (c) Significant Effect; (d) Scenic Highways; (e) Hazardous Waste Sites; and (f) Historical Resources. (a) Location. Classes 3, 4, 5, 6, and 11 are qualified by consideration of where the project is to be located – a project that is ordinarily insignificant in its impact on the environment may in a particularly sensitive environment be significant. Therefore, these classes are considered to apply in all instances, except where the project may impact on an environmental resource of hazardous or critical concern where designated, precisely mapped, and officially adopted pursuant to law by federal, state, or local agencies. The project site is located within the Hollywood Community Plan area, the Vermont/Western Station Neighborhood Area Plan (SNAP) Specific Plan, the Urban Agriculture Incentive Zone, and a Special Grading Area (BOE Basic Grid Map A-133752). The project site is not located on or near an environmental resource that is precisely mapped, and officially adopted pursuant to federal, state, or local law. Specific Regulatory Compliance Measures (RCMs) in the City of Los Angeles regulate the grading and construction of projects and will reduce any potential impacts to less than significant. In addition, roof and site drainage as well as sewer availability must comply with Bureau of Engineering and Bureau of Sanitation standards; and hydrants, Fire Department Access, and Fire Safety must be reviewed and approved by the Los Angeles Fire Department before permits can be issued. Thus, in conjunction with Regulatory Compliance Measures and compliance with other applicable regulations, the location of the project will not result in a significant impact based on its location. (b) 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 4545 West Prospect Avenue within the Hollywood Community Plan and Vermont/Western Station Neighborhood Area Plan (SNAP) Specific Plan. There is not a succession of known projects 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. 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. With no projects of the same type in the same place, the proposed project does not have the potential to cumulatively contribute to air quality, construction traffic, and noise levels. (c) 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 duplex in an area zoned and designated for such development. All surrounding lots are developed with single- and multi-family buildings. The proposed building will be three- stories in an area that is currently developed with buildings that range in height from one- to three-stories. The proposed building will not be unusual for the vicinity of the project site and will be similar in scope to future residential buildings in the area. Thus, there are no unusual circumstances which may lead to a significant effect on the environment. (d) 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 19.6 miles to the west of the project site. Therefore, the project site will not create any impacts within a designated state scenic highway. (e) 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. (f) 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. 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. 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 June 3, 2024.