15328-15410 Sherman Way, 15345-15411 Gault Street / ZA-2023-8380-CU2/

2025030203

City of Los Angeles

NOE - Notice of Exemption

3/6/2025

3/6/2025

Joanna Marroquin

City of Los Angeles / Department of City Planning

Planning Assistant

Lead/Public Agency

200 N Spring st
Los Angeles, CA 90012

(213) 978-1463

joanna.marroquin@lacity.org

Jamie Poster

Craig Lawson and Co, LLC

Representative

Project Applicant / Parties Undertaking Project

3221 Hutchison Avenue Suite D
Los Angeles, CA 90034

(310) 838-2400

jamie@craiglawson.com

34°11'58.5"N 118°28'4"W

15345 Gault St, Van Nuys, CA 91406 and sepulveda blvd

91406

Categorical Exemption

Section 15332 Class 32

A project qualifies for a Class 32 Categorical Exemption if it is developed on an infill site and meets the following criteria: (a) The project is consistent with the applicable general plan designation and all applicable general plan policies as well as with the applicable zoning designation and regulations; (b) The proposed development occurs within city limits on a project site of no more than five acres substantially surrounded by urban uses; (c) The project site has no value as habitat for endangered, rare or threatened species; (d) Approval of the project would not result in any significant effects relating to traffic, noise, air quality, or water quality; and (e) The site can be adequately served by all required utilities and public services. The project is for the change in use and expansion of an existing 130,352 square foot, four-story, 58 feet six inches tall commercial building into a 148,342 square foot self-storage facility. The expansion will be limited to the infill of an existing interior courtyard for a total of 17,990 square feet. The project will provide tenant improvement to include 4,720 square feet on the ground floor for retail and/or restaurant use fronting Sherman Way_ The project will provide a total of 886 vehicle parking spaces, eight long-term and six short-term bicycle parking stalls. As a new selfstorage facility, and a project which is characterized as in-fill development, the project qualifies for the Class 32 Categorical Exemption(s). The site is zoned C2-1VL, QP-1VL and [Q]P-1VL and has a General Plan Land Use Designation of General Commercial. As shown in the case file, the project is consistent with the applicable Van Nuys - North Sherman Oaks Community Plan designation and policies and all applicable zoning designations and regulations. The subject site is wholly within the City of Los Angeles, on a site that is approximately 148,35.1 square feet [3.40] acres. As the site is within city limits on a project site of less than five acres and is surrounded by urban uses, the project qualifies as an infill site. Lots adjacent to the subject site are developed with the following urban uses: commercial uses, retail uses, restaurant uses and residential uses. The properties to the north across from Sherman Way are developed with a street divider on Sherman Way, Gas Station, two multi-tenant plazas and two-three story multi-family dwellings. The properties to the east are developed with a fast food corner restaurant (McDonald's) with a Drive-thru Car Wash, a multi-tenant plaza, a vacant lot and an abandoned building. The properties to the south across from Gault Street are developed with two-three story multi-family dwellings, one single-family dwellings and two-story condominiums. The properties to the west are developed with three-story multi-family dwellings. The site is previously disturbed and surrounded by development and therefore is not, and has no value as, a habitat for endangered, rare or threatened species. There are zero protected trees on the site. The project proposes 16 trees to be removed from the subject site and will be replaced with a minimum five [24]-inch box trees. The project will be subject to Regulatory Compliance Measures (RCMs), which require compliance with the City of Los Angeles Noise Ordinance, pollutant discharge, dewatering, stormwater mitigations, and Best Management Practices for stormwater runoff. These RCMs will ensure the project will not have significant impacts on noise and water. The project site will be adequately served by all public utilities and services given that the construction of the change in use and expansion of an existing commercial building into a self-storage facility will be on a site which has been previously developed and is consistent with the General Plan. Based on the above, the applicant has provided a Noise Report and an Air Quality Report prepared by CAJA Environmental Services, dated December 2023. Therefore, the project meets all of the Criteria for the Class 32. Exceptions Narrative for Class 32 (and other. if applicable) Categorical Exemption The City has further considered whether the proposed project is subject to any of the six exceptions set forth in State CEQA Guidelines Section 15300.2 that would prohibit the use of any categorical exemption. Planning staff has determined that none of the exceptions apply to the proposed project, as described below. (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 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. As the proposed Project is not defined as a Class 3, 4, 5, 6 or 11 project, this exception is non-applicable. The Project site in an urbanized area in the City of Los Angeles. The project site is not located in a particularly sensitive environment and is not located on a site containing wetlands, endangered species, or wildlife habitats; therefore, this exception is not applicable. (b) Cumulative Impact. 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 for the change in use and expansion of an existing 130,352 square foot, fourstory, 58 feet six inches tall commercial building into a 148,342 square foot self-storage facility. The expansion will be limited to the infill of an existing interior courtyard for a total of 17,990 square feet. The project will provide tenant improvement to include 4,720 square feet on the ground floor for retail and/or restaurant use fronting Sherman Way. The project wiU provide a total of 886 vehicle parking spaces, eight long-term and six short-term bicycle parking stalls. A successive project of the same type and nature would reflect a development that is consistent with the underlying land use designation and the Los Angeles Municipal Code, and thus would be subject to the same regulations and requirements, including qevelopment standards and environmental impacts. The impacts of each subsequent project will be mitigated if necessary, and thus will not result in a cumulative impact. The project would not result in a cumulatively considerable contribution to any impact. The threshold of significance for a cumulatively considerable contribution to a traffic impact is the same as the threshold of significance for a project impact. Therefore, since the project would not exceed that threshold, it would have neither a project-specific significant impact, nor the potential to result in a cumulatively considerable contribution to a significant traffic impact. The same is true for air quality thresholds of significance; the project does not have the potential to result in a project-specific significant air quality impact, and therefore, does not have the potential to result in a cumulatively considerable contribution to a significant air quality impact.Regulatory Compliance Measures (RCMs) in the City of Los Angeles regulate impacts related to Air Quality, Construction NoiseNibrations, Operational NoiseNibrations, and Transportation/traffic. Numerous Los Angeles Municipal Code Sections provide requirements for construction activities and ensure impacts from construction related noise, traffic, and parking are less than significant. The Noise Regulation Ordinance, No. 144,331, provides regulatory compliance measures related to construction noise and maximum noise levels for all activities. LAMC Section 62 provides specific regulatory compliance measures related to construction traffic and parking. LAMC Section 41 requires construction site postings listing representative contact information and permitted construction/demolition hours as established by the Department of Building and Safety. Additionally, there is insufficient evidence to conclude that significant impacts will occur based on past project approvals or in progress entitlement applications and that the proposed project will have adverse impacts on the cumulative impacts of construction noise and transportation/traffic in this area. Further, there is insufficient evidence to conclude that the proposed project will be under construction at the same time as projects within the vicinity. Thus, this exception does not apply. (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. This exception does not apply to the proposed project. The project site is an irregular shape, comprised of six lots totaling approximately 148,351 square feet (3.40 acres) located at 15328, 15330, 15334, 15336, 15340, 15345, 15346, 15348, 15349, 15350 Sherman Way and 15345 - 15411 Gault Street in the Van Nuys - North Sherman Oaks Community Plan an urbanized area within the City of Los Angeles. The project consists of commercial uses and operations that are compatible with the surrounding urban development and consistent with the underlying zone. The project site is in a long-established neighborhood and is surrounded by a variety of other commercial and residential multi-family buildings. The site does not demonstrate any unusual circumstances, and the project will not generate significant impacts regarding traffic, air quality, water quality, or noise. There are no unusual circumstances that indicate this project would reasonably result in 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. This does not apply to improvements which are required as mitigation by an adopted negative declaration or certified EIR. This exception does not apply to the proposed project. According to the California Scenic Highway Mapping System, 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. The project site is approximately 11 miles away. Therefore, the subject site will not create any impacts within a designated as a state scenic highway. (e) Hazardous Waste Sites. A categorical exemption shall not be used for a project located on a site which is included on any list compiled pursuant to Section 65962.5 of the Government Code. This exception does not apply to the proposed project. The project site is not listed as a hazardous waste site on EnviroStor, California's data management system for tracking hazardous waste sites. There are also no listed active or pending sites adjacent to or within the immediate vicinity of the project site. The subject property is currently developed with a fourplex apartment building; hazardous waste and materials would not be expected to pose a significant constraint on sites long developed with such uses. Additionally, the project site is not located within a Hazardous Waste/Border Zone Properties area as designated by the City of Los Angeles. The surrounding neighborhood is primarily neighborhood commercial and residential, and oils, elevators, in-ground hydrologic systems, monitoring or water supply wells, or above- or below-ground storage tanks, or potentially fluid-filled electrical equipment would not be expected on or immediately adjacent to the project site. No industrial wastewater is generated on the project site and sanitary wastewater is discharged to the City Bureau of Sanitation. Therefore, this exception for a Class 32 Categorical Exemption does not apply to this project. (f) Historical 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. In addition to State and Federal databases of historic resources, SurveyLA and Historic Places LA hold databases of historic resources in the City of Los Angeles. According to these databases, there are no structures of historic significance on the property. There are also no historic resources identified by any database on or immediately adjacent to the subject property. Additionally, the project sites are not located in a designated Historic Preservation Overlay Zone. As a result, the subject properties are unlikely to possess any significant value towards a potential historic district. For these reasons, construction of the proposed projects would not constitute a substantial adverse change in the significance of a historic resource as defined by CEQA, and this exception does not apply to the proposed projects.