1174 North Berendo Street - ENV-2024-3994-CE

1174 North Berendo Street - ENV-2024-3994-CE

The proposed project is for the for the demolition of demolition of a single-family dwelling and detached garage, and the construction, use and maintenance of a three (3)-story duplex with one (1} attached accessory dwelling unit {under separate review) and a three (3)-story duplex for a total of five (5)-units Both duplexes measure 29 feet and 8.25 inches in overall height. The proposed project includes a total of about 779 square feet of usable, common open space, and five (5) bicycle parking spaces. Under Assembly Bill (AB) 2097, there are no minimum required automobile parking spaces; however, the proposed project includes five (5) automobile spaces on-site (four (4) residential parking spaces and one (1) guest parking space). The number of units and size is not unusual for the vicinity of the subject site and is similar in scope in scope to other existing single-family and multi-family dwellings in the area. According to a Tree Report, prepared by Certified Arborist Ken Kelly (WE-11984A) and a Tree Disclosure Statement, prepared by the owner, there are no existing protected trees or shrubs. The proposed project includes zero (0) grading. Thus, there are no unusual circumstances which may lead to a significant effect on the environment. 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 subject site is located within the Hollywood Community Plan area, the Vermont/Western Station Neighborhood Area Plan (SNAP) Specific Plan Subarea A (Neighborhood Conservation), and the Urban Agriculture Incentive Zone. The subject 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 1174 North Berendo Street within the Hollywood Community Plan and Vermont/Western Station Neighborhood Area Plan (SNAP) Specific Plan, Subarea A (Neighborhood Conservation). 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 the demolition of a single-family dwelling and detached garage, and the construction, use and maintenance of a three (3)-story duplex with one (1) attached accessory dwelling unit (under separate review) and a three (3)-story duplex for a total of five (5)~units 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 (3)-stories in an area that is currently developed with buildings that range in height from one (1 )- to three (3)-stories. 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. Thus, there are no unusual circumstances which may lead to a significant effect on the environment. ENV-2024-3994-CE Page 2 of 3 (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 16 miles to the west of the subject property. Therefore, the subject 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 residential building and detached garage structure are not considered historic for the purposes of CEQA per an email dated April 18, 2023.

Los Angeles

Los Angeles

Citywide

Los Angeles