Environmental Assessment No. P23-00961

2024091183

City of Fresno

NOE - Notice of Exemption

9/30/2024

9/30/2024

Erik Young

City of Fresno

Supervising Planner

Lead/Public Agency

2600 Fresno Street
Fresno, CA 93721

(559) 621-8009

erik.young@fresno.gov

36°42'0.7"N 119°46'51.9"W

South Cherry and East Annadale Avenues

93706

2.32

328-300-21

CA State Routes 41 and 99

Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe

West Fresno, Ivy, W.E.B. DuBois, Gaston, King, Computech, Edison

Fresno Colony No. 24, North Central No. 26

14S

20E

22

Diablo

2761 South Cherry Avenue

Categorical Exemption

CEQA Section 15332/Class 32

a) The project is consistent with the applicable general plan designation and all applicable general plan policies as well as with applicable zoning designation and regulations. According to the Fresno General Plan, the Project site has a planned land use designation of Heavy Industrial. The Heavy Industrial land use designation “accommodates the broadest range of industrial uses including manufacturing, assembly, wholesaling, distribution, and storage activities that are essential to the development of a balanced economic base. Small-scale commercial services and ancillary office uses are also permitted.” The proposed use, mobile office trailers and truck parking for trucking companies, is consistent with this land use designation. Objectives Objective LU-7-c: Efficiency of Industrial Uses. Promote industrial land use clusters to maximize the operational efficiency of similar activities. The Project site is located in an area primarily surrounded by existing industrial uses, including manufacturing, trucking, and contractor services. Objective LU-7-d. Industrial Waste. Establish appropriate development standards and review procedures in the Development Code for industrial waste recycling operations and waste transfer stations. While this policy is not project-specific, the proposed Project is subject to compliance with the Development Code for industrial waste recycling operations and waste transfer stations. Objective LU-7-e. Shared Parking for Industrial Uses. Promote use of shared surface parking and other arrangements necessary to meet industrial needs with updated parking regulations. The Project proposes 10 automobile parking spaces for the proposed office spaces and bicycle parking within the buildings. As such, the Project meets the requirements of the Fresno Municipal Code (FMC) regulations, which requires 9.6 parking spaces for the project (720 square feet * 4 offices / 300 square feet). The proposed parking spaces will be shared among the four (4) different trucking companies that would be occupying the four (4) mobile office trailers. Therefore, the Project is consistent with the applicable general plan designation and all applicable general plan policies. The Project site is within the IH – Heavy Industrial Zone District. According to Section 15-1301 of the FMC, the IH – Heavy Industrial Zone District is intended to accommodate the broadest range of industrial uses, including manufacturing, assembly, wholesaling, distribution, and storage activities. Small-scale commercial services and ancillary office uses are also permitted. According to use regulations for employment districts, freight/truck terminals and warehouses are permitted in the IH Zone District. Future development would be subject to review and approval by the City during the entitlement review process and shall meet all applicable zoning regulations including but not limited to density, intensity, and massing development standards (FMC Section 15-1303), site design development standards (FMC Section 15-1304), and façade design development standards (FMC Section 15-1305). Since the Project does not propose deviation from zoning requirements, through compliance, it can be determined that the Project is consistent with the zoning designation and associated regulations. b) The proposed development occurs within city limits on a project site of no more than five acres substantially surrounded by urban uses. The Project site consists of one (1) parcel that is approximately 2.32 acres in size. The site is located within Fresno city limits, on the northeast corner of South Cherry Avenue and East Annadale Avenue at 2751 South Cherry Avenue, Fresno, CA 93706. The site is designated by the Fresno General Plan for industrial use. Surrounding existing uses and structures include industrial (north, south, west), commercial (west), and a ponding basin (east). Existing uses within the broader Project vicinity (i.e., 0.25-mile radius) comprise a mix of industrial, commercial, and open space uses. Thus, the Project occurs within city limits on a site with an area of work that is no more than five (5) acres and is substantially surrounded by urban uses. Adjacent to the north are developed properties with single family residences. Adjacent to the west are existing commercial uses (Arsenio’s Mexican Restaurant, laundromat, and cellular phone store). Adjacent to the east are single family residences. And, adjacent to the south are existing commercial uses (Chinese restaurant and 7-Eleven Store). Thus, the subject property is substantially surrounded by urban uses. c) The project has no value as habitat for endangered, rare or threatened species. The Project site is currently vacant with off-site public improvements along South Cherry Avenue and East Annadale Avenue, including curb, gutter, sidewalk, and streetlights. The site has been highly disturbed as it is frequently disked and graded. According to California Natural Diversity Database (CNDDB), special-status species that have occurred within five (5) miles of the Project site include Swainson's hawk (occurrence date: 1956, 2016), Crotch bumble bee (occurrence date:1899), California jewelflower, California tiger salamander (occurrence date:1936). Table 2 of the associated Categorical Exemption provides an analysis of essential habitats and the potential for the existence of the special-status species to exist on the Project site. There are no existing natural elements on site such as vegetative cover, native trees and plant species, or water features. A technical memorandum prepared by Argonaut Ecological Consulting, Inc., dated October 19, 2023, found no evidence to suggest that the site supports ground burrowing mammal populations. The memo also demonstrates that an existing fenced ponding basin, approximately 350 feet east of the site, is not associated with any natural drainage or pond, thus would not serve aquatic habitat nor mammals. In addition, the site is within an established urban neighborhood and is surrounded by existing industrial and commercial uses. Consequently, the site and surrounding area are highly disturbed and lack cover, vegetation, and water features that would otherwise provide habitat for special status species. Thus, the Project site has no value as a habitat for endangered, rare, or threatened species and no impact would occur as a result of the Project. d) Approval of the project would not result in any significant effects relating to traffic, noise, air quality, or water quality. The proposed project was routed to the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, the City of Fresno Public Utilities Department - Water Division, Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District, the City of Fresno Public Works Department - Traffic Division, and no significant effects were identified relating to traffic, noise, air quality, or water quality, as provided in detail below. Traffic Senate Bill (SB) 743 requires that relevant CEQA analysis of transportation impacts be conducted using a metric known as vehicle miles traveled (VMT) instead of Level of Service (LOS). VMT measures how much actual auto travel (additional miles driven) a proposed project would create on California roads. If the project adds excessive automotive travel onto our roads, the project may cause a significant transportation impact. The State CEQA Guidelines were amended to implement SB 743, by adding Section 15064.3. Among its provisions, Section 15064.3 confirms that, except with respect to transportation projects, a project’s effect on automobile delay shall not constitute a significant environmental impact. Therefore, LOS measures of impacts on traffic facilities is no longer a relevant CEQA criteria for transportation impacts. CEQA Guidelines Section 15064.3(b)(4) states that “[a] lead agency has discretion to evaluate a project’s VMT, including whether to express the change in absolute terms, per capita, per household or in any other measure. A lead agency may use models to estimate a project’s VMT and may revise those estimates to reflect professional judgement based on substantial evidence. Any assumptions used to estimate VMT and any revision to model outputs should be documented and explained in the environmental document prepared for the project. The standard of adequacy in Section 15151 shall apply to the analysis described in this section.” On June 25, 2020, the City of Fresno adopted CEQA Guidelines for VMT Thresholds, pursuant to SB 743 to be effective as of July 1, 2020. The thresholds described therein are referred to herein as the City of Fresno VMT Thresholds. The City of Fresno VMT Thresholds document was prepared and adopted consistent with the requirements of CEQA Guidelines Sections 15064.3 and 15064.7. The December 2018 Technical Advisory on Evaluating Transportation Impacts in CEQA (Technical Advisory) published by the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR), was utilized as a reference and guidance document in the preparation of the City of Fresno VMT Thresholds. The City of Fresno VMT Thresholds adopted a screening standard and criteria that can be used to screen out qualified projects that meet the adopted criteria from needing to prepare a detailed VMT analysis. The City of Fresno VMT Thresholds Section 3.0 regarding Project Screening discusses a variety of projects that may be screened out of a VMT analysis including specific development and transportation projects. For development projects, conditions may exist that would presume that a development project has a less than significant impact, including: • The project is within 0.5 mile (mi) of a Transit Priority Area or a High-Quality Transit Area unless the project is inconsistent with the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP)/SCS, has a floor area ratio (FAR) less than 0.75, provides an excessive amount of parking, or reduces the number of affordable residential units. • The project involves local-serving retail space of less than 50,000 square feet. • The project has a high level of affordable housing units. • The project generates a low volume of daily traffic. The City will allow screening out projects if the project would generate less than 500 ADT. • The development of institutional/government and public service uses that support community health, safety, and welfare. The proposed Project is eligible to screen out because the Project generates less than 500 average daily trips (ADT). This trip generation analysis uses trip generation rates from ITE 11th edition, Land Use Code 110 – General Light Industrial. A General Light Industrial facility is a free-standing facility devoted to a single use with emphasis on activities other than manufacturing and typically has minimal office space. Since the Project proposes a trucking facility with office space, this land use type is appropriate to estimate the Project’s trip generation. Land Use Code 110 has an average 4.87 ADT generation rate per 1,000 square-foot ground floor area (GFA). As such, the Project is anticipated to generate approximately 14 ADT (720 sf. * 4 buildings / 1,000 *4.87 = 14.0256 ADT). Since the Project would generate less than 500 ADT, the Project will result in a less than significant VMT impact and is consistent with CEQA Guidelines Section 15064.3(b). Noise The Project site is an infill site located within an urban neighborhood surrounded by existing urban uses including industrial, commercial, and open space/ponding basin uses. As such, there are existing ambient noise levels that are typical of these types of developments including traffic. Development of the site for an industrial use would not generate a new, noise generating source that would not otherwise occur in the Project vicinity (i.e., 0.25-mile radius). In addition, there are no sensitive land uses (i.e., residential, schools, churches, nursing homes, hospitals, and open space/recreation areas) within the vicinity of the Project. The nearest sensitive land uses are single-family residences approximately 0.3 miles northwest of the site and West Fresno Middle School approximately 0.7 miles southwest of the site. While the Project would require construction, construction-related noise impacts would be temporary, short-term, and subject to compliance with FMC Section 10-109, which limits construction hours. Operational uses would not create significant noise impacts since no amplifying system is proposed. While noise would mainly be generated by traffic, traffic generation would be limited, as analyzed above. For these reasons, the Project would not result in any significant effects relating to noise. Air Quality The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD) recommends a three-tiered approach to analysis based on project size to allow project screening for significant impacts. The first tier is the Small Project Analysis Level (SPAL), the second tier is a Cursory Analysis Level (CAL) for projects exceeding the SPAL criteria, and the third tier is a Full Analysis Level (FAL), which is the level of analysis that is usually required for an EIR. The SPAL was established by the SJVAPCD on November 13, 2020, and the threshold for the SPAL was performed based on CalEEMod version 2016.3.2. The Project would not have any significant effects relating to air quality pursuant to the SJVAPCD SPAL based on pre-quantified emissions and determined values related to project type, size, and number of vehicle trips. According to the SPAL, projects that fit specified descriptions are deemed to have a less than significant impact on air quality and as such are excluded from quantifying criteria pollutant emissions for CEQA purposes. Based on the Project description, the applicable land use types for the proposed Project include the General Light Industry land use type. Altogether, the proposed Project generates under the 550 ADT and 70 HHDT threshold and thus the Project would have a less than significant impact on air quality and is excluded from quantifying criteria pollutant emissions for CEQA purposes. Water Quality The Project site is an infill site with existing industrial and commercial development surrounding its north, south, and west. Development of the Project would require connections to existing utilities including water and stormwater systems. Because the site is greater than one (1) acre in size, the Applicant is required to prepare a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) in compliance with the NPDES stormwater program, as shown in the Project Description. The SWPPP estimates the sediment risk associated with construction activities and includes BMPs to control erosion. BMPs specific to erosion control cover erosion, sediment, tracking, and waste management controls. Implementation of the SWPPP minimizes the potential for the Project to result in substantial soil erosion or loss of topsoil and impacts would be less than significant. The City of Fresno is under the jurisdiction of the California Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) Central Valley NPDES Permit and Waste Discharge Requirements General Permit for Discharges from Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4), Order Number R5-2016-0040-014, NPDES Number CA S0085324 (“MS4 Permit”). The MS4 Permit requires compliance with stormwater quality controls as identified in the Fresno Clovis Storm Water Quality Management Construction and Post-Construction Guidelines. Compliance would reduce the potential for discharge of pollutants in violation of water quality standards or waste discharge requirements and impacts would be less than significant. Stormwater infiltration has the potential to affect groundwater quality whereby rainfall and stormwater runoff flow into and through the subsurface soil. A majority of the Project site would be of impervious surface. Runoff from the site would be collected and diverted to the storm drainage system through existing drainage services. Further, runoff resulting from the Project would be managed by the FMFCD in compliance with the Storm Drainage and Flood Control Master Plan in addition to approved grading and drainage plans. Therefore, potential for stormwater infiltration reaching subsurface soils and impacting groundwater quality is limited and impacts would be less than significant. The SWPPP and MS4 Permit are standardized (non-project specific) and pre-existing project features, these features are taken into account prior to making a significance determination. Overall, compliance with SWPPP, MS4 Permit, FMFCD regulations, and approved grading and drainage plans would minimize the potential for the Project to violate any water or waste discharge requirements or otherwise substantially degrade surface or ground water quality and impacts would be less than significant. e) The site can be adequately served by all required utilities and public services. The project has been routed to various utilities and public service providers which have provided project conditions for development of the project. The site has been reviewed and conditioned by the Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District, Fresno County Environmental Health Division, City of Fresno Public Works Department, City of Fresno Public Utilities Department, Washington Union School District, City of Fresno Police Department, and the City of Fresno Fire Department. In addition, given the surrounding properties and neighborhood have been substantially developed and utilities and public services already exist in the area. The site can be adequately served by all required utilities, including sewer, water, and solid waste, as well as public services.