NOTICE OF PREPARATION/NOTICE OF PUBLIC SCOPING MEETING

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1 Notice Of Preparation/Notice of Scoping Meeting for a Draft Environmental Impact Report for the Plaza at Santa Monica Project CITY OF SANTA MONICA CITY PLANNING DIVISION 1685 MAIN STREET, ROOM 212 SANTA MONICA, CA NOTICE OF PREPARATION/NOTICE OF PUBLIC SCOPING MEETING FOR A DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FOR THE PLAZA AT SANTA MONICA PROJECT DATE: January 16, 2017 TO: State Clearinghouse, Responsible Agencies, Trustee Agencies, Organizations and Interested Parties LEAD AGENCY: City of Santa Monica City Planning Division 1685 Main Street, Room 212 Santa Monica, California Contact: Rachel Kwok, Environmental Planner Phone: (310) The City of Santa Monica intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the proposed Plaza at Santa Monica Project (the proposed project). In accordance with Section of the State CEQA Guidelines, the City of Santa Monica has prepared this Notice of Preparation to provide the public, Responsible Agencies, and other interested parties with information describing the project and its potential environmental effects. The EIR will address the project s potentially significant effects in the following environmental issue areas: Aesthetics Land Use and Planning Air Quality Neighborhood Effects Cultural Resources Noise Construction Effects Population/Housing Geology/Soils Public Services Greenhouse Gas Emissions Transportation/Circulation Hazards and Hazardous Materials Utilities Mandatory Findings of Significance PROJECT APPLICANT: Metropolitan Pacific Real Estate PROJECT LOCATION AND EXISTING ONSITE USES: The project site is located in the heart of Downtown Santa Monica. It is bound by Arizona Ave. to the north, 4 th Street to the West, 5 th Street to the east and existing retail and office buildings to the south. The site comprises Assessor s Parcel Numbers , 901, 902, 903, 904, 905, 908, 909, 910 plus the area currently occupied by the northern half of 4 th Court. The 112,000 SF (approximately 2.57 acres) site contains a two-story bank building at the corner of 4 th and Arizona and another two-story bank building mid-block on 4 th Street. The two banks occupy approximately 16% of the site. The rest of the site consists of 87,000 SF of surface parking lots, and approximately 7,000 SF of existing 4 th Court alleyway. A seasonal public ice skating rink is located on a portion of the parking lots in the winter months. PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The Project will demolish all existing on-site uses and construct a new 357,000 SF mixed-use building ranging in height from 19 to 129 feet. The building comprises a series of interconnecting bars that step back from a large ground level public plaza at the corner of 4 th Street and

2 Notice Of Preparation/Notice of Scoping Meeting for a Draft Environmental Impact Report for the Plaza at Santa Monica Project Page 2 of 6 Arizona Avenue. Each bar will house a different mix of uses including retail, restaurants, cultural, affordable housing, workspace, and hotel. Based on the project site size of 112,000 sf, the project FAR will be The square footage for each specific use is provided in the table below: PROPOSED MIX OF USES Use Detail Max. Square Footage Public Open Space Grand Plaza, 5 th and Arizona Plaza, Pocket Parks, Second Level Park 52,500 sf Retail/Retail Neighborhood serving and regional retail/restaurant 42,200 sf Cultural Uses Bicycle Center A large area of the ground floor will be made available at below market rent for cultural uses. Bicycle center will include lockers and showers. 12,000 sf 1,700 sf Workspace Creative workspace 106,800 sf Affordable Housing Hotel 48 units (4 3-bedroom units, 8 2-bedroom units, 20 1-bedroom units, 16 studios) plus residential circulation and ground floor lobbies. 280 Rooms 40,300 sf 154,000 sf Total Commercial Uses (not including public open space) 357,000 sf 1 1. All square footages are calculated per City of Santa Monica zoning code. FAR calculation excludes loading area of approximately 3,700 sf, basement/subterranean sf, and outdoor dining areas. Primary vehicular access for the project will be provided via two 34 driveways, one on 4 th St. and one on 5 th St. that will feed directly into the subterranean parking garage. All parking associated with the project will be contained onsite in a 3-level subterranean parking garage that will provide a total of 820 vehicular parking spaces, not including motorcycle parking. Additionally, a new, 20, eastbound only alley connecting from 4 th to 5 th Streets at mid-block will provide loading and fire department access as well as access to the southern portion of 4 th Court. The northern half of 4 th Court that currently bisects the project site will be vacated. Specific sustainable features will include, photovoltaics, highly efficient HVAC systems that meet or exceed code requirements, LED lighting, water efficient fixtures and plumbing infrastructure, solar water heating, and a grey water system. At a minimum, the development will meet LEED Gold Level or equivalent. The project will comply with the green building requirements included in the Cal Green Building codes and the City s Green Building Standards. Additionally, the project will include a robust TDM plan that will incorporate trip reduction strategies. Per the City s Interim Zoning Ordinance (IZO) 2522, the project will be subject to a Development Agreement. REVIEW PERIOD: As specified by the State CEQA Guidelines, this Notice of Preparation will be circulated for a minimum 30-day review period. Please go to the City s webpage for the NOP and associated project info. The City of Santa Monica welcomes agency and public input during this period regarding the scope and content of environmental information related to your agency s responsibility

3 Notice Of Preparation/Notice of Scoping Meeting for a Draft Environmental Impact Report for the Plaza at Santa Monica Project Page 3 of 6 that must be included in the Draft EIR. Comments may be submitted, in writing, by 5:30 p.m. on February 16, 2017 and addressed to: Rachel Kwok, Environmental Planner City Planning Division 1685 Main Street, Room 212 Santa Monica, California Telephone: (310) rachel.kwok@smgov.net PUBLIC SCOPING MEETING: A public scoping meeting will be held to describe the proposed project, the environmental review process, and to receive public comments on the scope of the EIR. The meeting will be held at the following date and location: 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm Monday, January 30, 2017 Ken Edwards Center th St Santa Monica, CA The City will consider all comments, written and oral, in determining the final scope of the evaluation to be included in the EIR. ESPAÑOL: Este es una noticia para la preparación de un reporte sobre los posibles efectos ambientales en referencia a la construcción propuesta de un edificio de usos mixto, lo que puede ser de interés a usted. Para más información, llame a Carmen Gutiérrez, al número (310)

4 PROJECT LOCATION PROJECT LOCATION COLE AVENUE Source: Yahoo! Maps, January Scale (Feet) Figure 1 Regional and Project Location Map

5 ARIZONA AVENUE - 80'-0" WIDE A B C A ARIZONA AVENUE B C ICE SKATING RINK EL: 96.00' BIKE SHARE STATION (20 BIKES) MAIN PLAZA 1 Area: 17,807 ESCALATOR TO ELEVATED PLAZA AND PARKING ELEVATOR TO ELEVATED PLAZA AND PARKING Area: 9,544 sf SHORT TERM BIKE PARKING (TYP.) CORNER PLAZA 2 Area: 2,625 FOURTH STREET FIFTH STREET D E MARKET ARCADE Area: 9,209 sf CULTURAL PLAZA 3 ACCESS TO Area: 3,370 sf CULTURE & MARKET LOT COVERAGE CALCULATIONS LOT AREA: 112,000 SF LOT COVERAGE: 73,890 SF = 66% OFFICE FOURTH STREET 80'-0" WIDE F G H I J K EXIT L EL: 95.00' Area: 8,101 sf POCKET PARK 6 EL: 94.00' Area: 2,458 sf ACCESS TO OFFICE COURT 5 Area: 1,474 sf EL: 93.00' Area: 4,040 sf RAMP DOWN TO P1 LEVEL OFFICE TRASH ROOM PASSEO Area: 2,856 sf CULTURAL (Children's Museum) EL: 96.00' Area: 12,000 sf MEZZANINE ABOVE LOADING EL: 94.00' TRASH ROOM HOTEL SERVICES EL: 97.00' Area: 949 sf Area: 8,450 sf PLAZA 4 Area: 2,765 sf BIKE RESIDENTIAL CENTER / VALET HOTEL EL: 97.00' Area: 1,767 sf RAMP DOWN TO P1 LEVEL DROP-OFF VALET EXIT FIFTH STREET 80'-0" WIDE SITE PLAN DOHENY DRIVE SANTA MONICA BOULEVARD THE PLAZA AT SANTA MONICA TH STREET TH STREET SANTA MONICA, CA METROPOLITAN PACIFIC REAL ESTATE GROUP CLARETT WEST DEVELOPMENT DLJ REAL ESTATE CAPITAL PARTNERS CONTACT: JOHN WARFEL PH: (310) DESIGN TEAM OMA OLIN VTBS SITE PLAN & GROUND FLOOR LEVEL 1 SCALE: 1" = 20'-0" ONE WAY ONE WAY DRIVEWAY ONE WAY 0' 10' 20' 40' M ONE WAY ALLEY A B C REDUCED AREA PLAN - April 27, 2016 A101 N Source: VTBS, April Figure 2 Conceptual Site Plan

6 Aerial Project Rendering DOHENY DRIVE Source: VTBS, April Project Rendering Street Level at 4th Street and Arizona Avenue Figure 3 Project Renderings