3633-3645 Cahuenga Boulevard / ZA-2024-3826-ZV

2025040474

City of Los Angeles

NOE - Notice of Exemption

4/8/2025

4/8/2025

Sasha Kassab

City of Los Angeles / Department of City Planning

Planning Assistant

Lead/Public Agency

200 N Spring st
Los Angeles, CA 90012

(213) 756-1724

sasha.kassab@lacity.org

John Ramirez

MLJ Reasources

Representative

Project Applicant / Parties Undertaking Project

po box 1234
garden grove, CA 92842

(562) 818-6719

john@mljresources.com

34°8'5"N 118°21'36.9"W

3633 Cahuenga Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90068 and regal place

90068

Categorical Exemption

Section 15303 / Class 3

Class 3 consists of construction and location of limited number 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 numbers of structures described in this section are the maximum allowable on any legal parcel The Planning Department determined that the City of Los Angeles Guidelines for the implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act of 1970 and the State CEQA Guidelines designate the subject project as Categorically Exempt under Article 19, Section 15303, Class 3. The project is for the change of use from veterinary clinic to veterinary hospital with 24 hours of operation. As a change of use, the project qualifies for the Class 3 Categorical Exemption. The site is zoned C2-1 VL and has a General Plan Land Use Designation of General Commercial. As shown in the case file, the project is consistent with the applicable Sherman Oaks-Studio CityToluca Lake-Cahuenga Pass 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 0.4 acres. Lots adjacent to the subject site are developed with the following urban uses: General Commercial, Low Medium Residential, and Public Facilities- Freeway. 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. 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 transportation study, prepared by Albert lsagulian, dated December 3, 2024, concluded the project will result in no additional vehicle trips. Therefore, the project will not have any significant impacts to traffic or transportation. 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. The project site will be adequately served by all public utilities and services given that the change of use will be on a site which has been previously developed and is consistent with the General Plan. There are six (6) Exceptions which the City is required to consider before finding a project exempt under Class 15303: (a) Location; (b) Cumulative Impacts; (c) Significant Effect; (d) Scenic Highways; (e) Hazardous Waste Sites; and (f) Historical Resources. While the subject site is located within an Urban Agriculture Incentive Zone, Special Grading Area (BOE Basic Grid Map A-13372), Hollywood Fault Zone, and a Liquefaction area, specific Regulatory Compliance Measures (RCMs) in the City of Los Angeles regulate the grading and construction of projects in these particular types of "sensitive" locations and will reduce any potential impacts to less than significant. These RCMs have been historically proven to work to the satisfaction of the City Engineer to reduce any impacts from the specific environment the project is located. Thus, the location of the project will not result in a significant impact based on its location. There is not a succession of known projects of the same type and in the same place as the subject project. The project proposes a change of use to veterinary hospital in an area which is not zoned for such development, which is why the applicant is requesting a Zone Variance. All adjacent lots are developed with one-story retail, one-story restaurants, a surface parking lot, oneto two-story single-family homes, and a freeway, and the subject site is of a similar size and slope to nearby properties. The project proposes no change in floor area ratio, height, or any interior alterations. A one-story veterinary hospital is not unusual for the vicinity of the subject site, and is similar in scope to other existing General Commercial uses in the area. Thus, there are no unusual circumstances which may lead to a significant effect on the environment. Additionally, 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 Topanga Canyon State Scenic Highway is approximately 15 miles west of the subject site. Therefore, the subject site will not create any impacts within a designated as a state scenic highway. Furthermore, according to Envirostor, the State of California's database of Hazardous Waste Sites the subject site is not identified as a hazardous waste site. There is a contaminated site within 1000 feet of the project site but the contaminated site will not significantly impact the project site. The contaminated site is across a freeway, and the contamination does not affect drinking water. 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. Finally, the City does not choose to treat the site as a historic resource.