Capistrano Valley High School Stadium Modernization
Summary
SCH Number
2025020786
Public Agency
Capistrano Unified School District
(CUSD)
Document Title
Capistrano Valley High School Stadium Modernization
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
2/24/2025
Document Description
The District proposes to construct three academic buildings; relocate six full-size storage containers and three half size storage containers; redevelop parking lot #1-C; replace the stadium bleachers, stadium lighting, PA system, fire hydrant, and scoreboard; the track will be resurfaced, damaged areas will be patched, repainted and stripped, and aluminum covers will be installed on the two long jump sandpits, and surrounding area; install new fencing, gates, a flagpole, parking signage, a bike rack, and ornamental landscaping (proposed project) (see Figure 6, Capistrano Valley
High School Site Plan). The proposed project is discussed in more detail below.
The proposed project will demolish the existing three academic buildings (a restroom, snack shop, and SDGE building), two basketball courts, parking lot #1-C, a shade structure, bleachers, flagpole, stadium light poles, stadium PA system poles, planters and planter wall, a wooden booth, fencing, gates, fire hydrant, 16 trees, and landscape areas; and relocate six full-sized and three half-sized storage containers.
The proposed project would construct three buildings (Building L, K and M). The existing restroom building and existing snack shop building will be replaced with Buildings L and K. Building L (2,160 square feet) will be on the home side (southern portion) of the field and will include men’s and women’s home restrooms, a storage room, a data room, an electrical room, and concessions. Building K (1,973 square feet) will be on the visitor side of the field with men’s and women’s visitors restrooms, a custodial room, and a health classroom with two restrooms. A gated breezeway will
separate Building L and Building K, which includes three two-doored gates that provides pedestrian access into the stadium and track and field and large stainless-steel lettering “Home of the Cougars” over the breezeway entrance.The new Building M (2,387 square feet) will include a physical education (PE) classroom, a health classroom, two storage rooms (one outdoor and indoor), two restrooms, and an electrical room. A gated breezeway will separate Building M and Building L, which includes a metal overhanging wall with large stainless steel lettering “Capistrano
Valley High School,” and four two-doored gates, one single-door gate, and a large roiling gate to provide pedestrians access to the stadium and track and field.
The north health classroom in Building K will accommodate a maximum student loading of 48 students; the PE classroom and south health classroom in Building M will accommodate a maximum student loading of 49 and 50 students, respectively. In total, the proposed project will increase the campus capacity by 147 students, which
represents an approximately 7 percent increase to enrollment capacity.
The proposed project will replace the existing bleachers with expanded ”home” and ”visitors” permanent bleachers. The new ”home” bleachers will be in the same location (on the southern portion of the stadium) as the existing bleachers and expand seating capacity from 1,312 seats to 2,000 seats. The home bleachers will also include a pressbox. The new “visitors” bleachers will be in the same location as the existing bleachers (on the northern portion of the stadium) and expand seating capacity from 574 seats to 750 seats. The proposed project will result in a total
increase of 864 spectator seats. The proposed project will not introduce any new events/games nor expand existing sporting teams on-campus.
The existing stadium lighting and PA system surrounding the bleachers will be replaced and with new stadium lighting poles and LED luminaires and a new PA system. The existing track will be resurfaced, damaged areas will be patched,
repainted and stripped. Aluminum covers will be installed at the two long jump sandpits along the northern portion of the field. The proposed project will repave the area around the track and field and proposed Buildings L, M, and K with new concrete, and asphalt. Several gates and fences will be replaced on the project site, and new gates and fences will be installed around the project site. The new scoreboard will be placed closer (northwest) to the track and field, and the new flagpole will be installed north of the new scoreboard. A new bike rack will be installed at the northwest corner of Building K, and a new fire hydrant will be replaced and installed in the same location. The northern portion of the two basketball courts that bound the project site will be repaired.
The existing parking lot #1-C will be repaved with new asphalt and the parking spaces will be reoriented (see, Figure 6). The new parking lot #1-C will include 21 parking stalls, four of which will be Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) parking stalls and associated parking signage. The new parking lot #1-C will be reduced from 27 parking stalls to 21 stalls, a net decrease of 6 parking stalls.
The proposed project will also relocate six full-size storage containers and three half-sized storage containers from the project site to the southeastern portion of campus. The proposed project will require removal of 16 ornamental trees on site that will be replaced with ornamental landscaping throughout the project site. The proposed project will protect the existing stadium monument in place.
The proposed project will benefit the existing student body, faculty, staff, and spectators with modern athletic and educational-related facilities on-campus.
Contact Information
Name
John Forney
Agency Name
Capistrano Unified School District
Job Title
Chief Facilities Officer
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency / Project Applicant
Phone
Email
Location
Coordinates
Cities
Mission Viejo
Counties
Orange
Regions
Countywide, Southern California, Unincorporated
Cross Streets
Via Escolar and Rancho Viejo Road
Zip
92692
Total Acres
6
Parcel #
74001303, 74001307, 74001327 and 74001325
State Highways
I-5 and SR-73
Other Location Info
26301 Via Escolar, Mission Viejo, 92692
Other Information
The Capistrano Valley High School (campus) at 26301 Via Escolar (Assessor Parcel Number [APN] 74001303,74001307, 74001327 and 74001325) is in the southern portion of the City of Mission Viejo (City) (see Figure 1,Regional Location) (Mission Viejo 2024). The City is surrounded by the City of Lake Forest and unincorporated Orange County area to the north; the City of Lake Forest and Laguna Hills to the west; the City of Laguna Niguel and San Juan Capistrano to the south; and the City of Rancho Santa Margarita, unincorporated community of Las Flores and
unincorporated Orange County to the east The campus is surrounded by commercial and residential uses to the north, commercial uses to the west, educational (Stoneybrooke Christian School), residential, and commercial uses to the
south, and residential uses to the east. Interstate 5 (I-5) is 0.13 miles east of the campus, and State Route 73 (SR-73) is 0.25 miles northwest of the campus (see Figure 1, Regional Location and Figure 2, Local Vicinity). The project site includes approximately 6 acres of the northwestern side of the approximately 42-acre campus (project site). See Figure 3, Aerial with View Locations.
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Title 14 Sections 15301, 15302, 15303, 15311 and 15314.
Reasons for Exemption
The proposed project is exempt from further environmental review under the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (Public Resources Code §§ 21000 et seq.) because it is consistent with Class 1, Existing Facilities, Class 2, Replacement or Reconstruction, Class 3, New Construction or Conversion of Small Structures, Class 11, Accessory Structures, and Class 14, Minor Additions to Schools, as explained below.
CLASS 1, EXISTING FACILITIES
Class 1, Existing Facilities, consists of the operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of existing or former use. The key consideration is whether the project involves negligible or no expansion of use. (CEQA Guidelines § 15301)
The proposed parking lot, track, walkway, and basketball court improvements; ornamental fencing/gate replacement, and relocation of storage containers, are exempt from CEQA under Class 1, Existing Facilities (Section 15301). The
parking lot restriping and reconfiguration, walkway, and basketball court improvements, and fencing/gate replacement are exterior alterations of existing school facilities on campus to improve the safety and access of campus. The proposed project includes patching, repainted and restriping the track includes the repair of existing facilities. Additionally, the installation of aluminum covers on the two long jump sandpits along the northern portion of the field is considered a minor alteration to facilities. Since the campus improvements are located in the same site
and do not involve the expansion of use, the proposed project is exempt from CEQA under Section 15301.
CLASS 2, REPLACEMENT OR RECONSTRUCTION
Class 2, Replacement or Reconstruction, consists of replacement or reconstruction of existing structures and facilities where the new structure will be located on the same site as the structure replaced and will have substantially the same purpose and capacity as the structure replaced. (CEQA Guidelines § 15302)
The proposed replacement of the bleachers, scoreboard, flagpole, fire hydrant, stadium lighting, PA systems, fencing, and gates are exempt from CEQA under Class 2, replacement or reconstruction (Section 15302). The existing bleachers, scoreboard, flagpole, fire hydrant, stadium lighting, PA system, fencing, and gates are located on the perimeter of the track and field and will be replaced with new
quipment/infrastructure in the same locations that will continue to serve the same purpose. The existing restroom and snack shop buildings will be replaced with Building K and L. Therefore, the project is exempt from CEQA under Section 15302.
CLASS 3, NEW CONSTRUCTION OR CONVERSION OF SMALL STRUCTURES
Class 3, New Construction or Conversion of Small Structures, consists of 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. (CEQA Guidelines § 15303)
The proposed construction bleachers, fencing and gates, bike racks, scoreboard, stadium lighting, landscaping, and PA system are exempt from CEQA under Class 3, New Construction or Conversion of Small Structures (Section 15303).
The proposed bleachers, fencing and gates, scoreboard, stadium lighting, landscaping, and PA system are small accessory structures and located within the school campus. The new bike racks are small new equipment and
accessory structures. The aforementioned improvements will be located on campus to serve students and not increase student capacity; the project is exempt from CEQA under Section 15303.
CLASS 11, ACCESSORY STRUCTURES
Class 11, Accessory Structures, consists of construction, or placement of minor structures accessory to (appurtenant to) existing commercial, industrial, or institutional facilities, including but not limited to: (a) On-premise signs; (b) Small parking lots; (c) Placement of seasonal or temporary use items such as lifeguard towers, mobile food units, portable restrooms, or similar items in generally the same locations from time to time in publicly owned parks, stadiums, or other facilities designed for public use. (CEQA Guidelines § 15311)The proposed project will include the construction of a parking lot, parking signage, scoreboard, flagpole, stadium lighting, PA system, fencing, gates, and landscaping are exempt from CEQA under Class 11, Accessory Structures (Section 15311). The proposed project will reconstruct parking lot #1-C, and parking signage which are exempt under 15311(a), and (b). The installation of the scoreboard, flagpole, stadium lighting, PA system, fencing and gates, and
landscaping are minor accessory structures to the Capistrano Valley HS campus to improve the associated stadium facilities. The aforementioned structures will be located in the stadium area to serve students, spectators and the school community and will not increase student capacity. The project is exempt from CEQA under Section 15311.
CLASS 14, MINOR ADDITONS TO SCHOOLS
Class 14, Minor additions to schools, consist of minor additions to existing schools within existing school grounds where the addition does not increase original student capacity by more than 25% or ten classrooms, whichever is less. The addition of portable classrooms is included in this exemption (CEQA Guidelines § 15314)
The three academic-related buildings (Buildings L, M, and K) are exempt from CEQA under Class 14, Minor Additions to Schools (Section 15314). The new buildings will be located within the Capistrano Valley HS campus. Buildings L, M, and K includes the construction of two health classrooms and a physical education classroom, which will result in a net increase of 3 classrooms. The proposed project will increase the campus enrollment capacity by 147 students, which represents an approximately 7 percent increase to enrollment capacity. Since the new buildings will not increase classrooms by ten nor increase student enrollment capacity by more than 25 percent, the project is exempt from CEQA under Section 15314.
County Clerk
Orange
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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