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http://laschools.org/project-status/projects/attachments/55.98032/102776/ValleyNewHighNo1.pdf
The file is so large it is unusable to most internet users. I have converted to the standard internet format and loaded it here for the community to read. LAUSD still refuses to make this report available in a usable form.
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Purpose and Use of the EIR.
1.2 Scope of the EIR
1.3 EIR Organization
1.4 Availability of the Draft EIR.
1.5 EIR Preparation
This section provides an overview of the proposed project and its objectives, and summarizes the potential impacts anticipated as a result of project implementation. Table ES-1 identifies these impacts and lists the mitigation measures recommended to reduce significant adverse impacts. The alternatives considered in the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) are also briefly described.
For a full description of the proposed project, its impacts, and alternatives, the reader is referred to Sections 2, 3, and 4 of the EIR.
PROJECT OVERVIEW Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) proposes to construct a new high school (grades 9 through 12) in the City of Los Angeles, within the Valley Planning Area. The district is faced with a critical need to provide new school facilities to accommodate students in overcrowded schools and to relieve extensive student commuting. As of June 2000, two Valley Area high schools--Monroe and San Fernando--had a combined shortage of 5,921 seats (LAUSD Master Plan Priority List, 2000). The proposed high school will help alleviate the shortage of seats and relieve overcrowding at Monroe High School and place a new high school near the greatest student population in need.
This school is proposed as an academy high school, which will share the use of California State University Northridge (CSUN) science and language laboratories and athletic facilities (LAUSD, 2001a). The school will prepare students for a career in education. The LAUSD would obtain from CSUN the approximately 5.3-acre Zelzah Court site in exchange for the 8.3-acre [10.3-acre including streets] LAUSD-owned former Prairie Street Elementary school site located adjacent to the University core campus (LAUSD, 2001a, b). When the former Prairie Street Elementary school was closed in 1982 its student enrollment had dropped to less than half its capacity. This school will not be used as an elementary school since current LAUSD projections do not indicate a demand for elementary seats in this area of the Valley. Expected enrollment for this school if reopened would be at less than half the school's capacity, and elementary schools in the project area are currently operating under capacity.
The proposed school site consists of one parcel located on the CSUN campus, west of the intersection of Zelzah Avenue and Halsted Street. The proposed school will contain 38 classrooms and the main school building will be four stories in height. A subterranean parking garage, fitness center with showers and lockers, gymnasium and support facilities, basketball courts, and food service building will be constructed in addition to the classrooms and main school building. The proposed new high school will be designed for a maximum onsite enrollment of 888 students. It is estimated that 74 faculty members and staff will work at the new school.
The front of the school would be oriented toward Zelzah Avenue with a student drop-off/ pick-up throughway circling the perimeter of the school site. This perimeter access road would include an entrance at the south end and an exit at the north end. The only students anticipated to be bused to the new school are Special Education students. Other students will either walk to school, be dropped off by parents or guardians, drive to school, or take public transportation.
Parking for the school will be provided in a subterranean parking garage located beneath the classroom, fitness, and food services buildings. The LAUSD currently plans to provide 228 onsite parking spaces at the new school. The majority of these spaces will be located in the subterranean parking garage, with a minimum number of 15 visitor parking spaces to be located at the front entrance of the school site.
The new school would operate on a Concept 6 multi-track schedule. Under this year-round schedule, the student body is divided into three groups, two of which are at school at any given time while one group is on vacation.
Project Features. The LAUSD has incorporated measures into the project that will reduce environmental impacts with the project. These measures are incorporated in the project description and will be implemented in addition to the mitigation measures identified in the EIR. These measures are summarized below and presented in Section 2 of the EIR.
Air Quality. Measures have been adopted by the LAUSD to address PM10 , NOx, and reactive organic compounds emissions. These measures address South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) Rule 403, require vehicle maintenance during construction and operation of the school, and promote ride-sharing for both teachers and students.
Cultural Resources. A measure has been identified to address cultural resources if identified during construction of the school.
Geology and Soils. The LAUSD has incorporated the recommendations of the Report of Comprehensive Geotechnical Investigation prepared for the site in the structural design of the school. Noise. Measures have been incorporated into the project that require the LAUSD to provide notice of construction activities, monitor construction noise, and maintain construction vehicles to reduce noise impacts to the project area. LAUSD architectural guidelines require that the design of the proposed school incorporate acoustical measures to ensure that attenuation in the classrooms meets threshold standards.
Transportation. A measure has been incorporated to request Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) to monitor parking conditions in residential areas.
PROJECT OBJECTIVES To address the lack of capacity at existing schools in the local area, the project is proposed to accomplish the following objectives, as stated in the LAUSD's School Facilities Master Plan (LAUSD, 1998):
Providing a K-12 neighborhood school seat for every student in LAUSD Reducing class sizes at all grade levels
AREAS OF CONTROVERSY Section 15123 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines requires that an EIR identify areas of controversy known to the Lead Agency, including issues raised by other agencies and the public. Some issues of concern were expressed at the public scoping meeting for the Initial Study and through responses to the Notice of Preparation. The following issues of concern were expressed:
Some property owners in the area indicated that there is a need to address traffic issues. Concerns were raised about the volume of traffic associated with a new high school. Some property owners voiced the opinion that the increase in traffic would create limited access, safety issues, and parking issues. Concerns have been expressed regarding hydrology and water quality. Members of the community indicated the need to identify methods of distributing water to the new school.
Residents indicated the need to address aesthetic issues by illustrating building elevations and a clear site plan. Concerns have been expressed regarding the seismic activity of the project area. Local residents indicated the need to identify better alternatives. Additional concerns were raised regarding exchange of the district owned Prairie Elementary school site for the CSUN owned Zelzah Court site. Members of the community indicated the need to address reasons for exchanging the district owned site for a smaller site owned by CSUN.
ISSUES TO BE RESOLVED Most issues related to the proposed high school can be resolved through site planning and project design. Specific issues to be addressed during the detailed project design phase include: quantity and configuration of on-site parking and building heights and architectural design. The shared use agreement with CSUN that outlines the use of the science and language laboratories and the athletic facilities will need to be in place in order for this project to proceed.
ALTERNATIVES TO THE PROJECT Alternatives usually take the form of no project, reduced project size, different project design, or suitable alternative project sites. The range of alternatives discussed in an EIR is governed by a "rule of reason" that requires the identification of only those alternatives necessary to permit a reasoned choice between the alternatives and proposed project. The range of alternatives associated with the proposed project include:
No Project Alternative – Under the No Project/ No Build Alternative, the proposed Valley New High School No. 1 would not be constructed and the proposed project site would remain vacant. The No Project/ Reasonably Foreseeable Onsite Development Alternative considers another likely public use that CSUN could develop on the Zelzah Court site.
Alternative Site Use – This alternative would consider the site for another land use, such as a non-CSUN related use.
Alternative Site – This report considered two alternative sites: former Prairie Street Elementary School site and Lassen/ Zelzah site. Both of these alternatives are located on properties fronting Zelzah Avenue between Lassen Avenue and Nordhoff Street. The Prairie School was closed in 1981 due to the decreased demand for elementary school facilities in the area. This site is owned by LAUSD and is used to store operations and maintenance vehicles. In addition, LAUSD has leased approximately 3-acres of the lot to CSUN for university parking.
The Lassen/ Zelzah site was previously the site of the University Tower Apartments from 1969 to 1994. The 8-story apartment structure suffered significant damage in the 1994 Northridge Earthquake and was therefore demolished. This site is currently owned by CSUN and is vacant with the potential for development by the university (Wylie, 2001a).
Reduced Project Alternative -The Reduced Project Alternative would consist of the development of a high school that is reduced in size, but located at the same location as the proposed project.
Alternate Site Design – This alternative considers other designs or project layouts for the proposed project at the same location.
Alternatives Eliminated From Analysis. The EIR considered all of the alternatives described above and determined that the No Project Alternative (No-Build Scenario), No Project/ Reasonable Foreseeable On-Site Development, and Alternative Site were potential alternatives for this project. Reducing the size of the proposed school (Reduced Project Alternative), an Alternative Site Use, and an Alternative Site Design would be contrary to the goals and objectives of the LAUSD to address lack of capacity at existing schools. Therefore, these alternatives were eliminated from further analysis.
Environmentally Superior Alternative. The evaluation determined that in terms of physical effects on the environment, the environmentally superior alternative is the Lassen/ Zelzah site, which provides the same or fewer impacts to the environment than the proposed project. Although the Lassen/ Zelzah site is the environmentally superior alternative, this site does not meet the LAUSD's objectives of building an academy high school. The Lassen/ Zelzah site is located about one mile north of the CSUN main campus and would not readily provide high school students access to the university educational and laboratory programs as provided for in the Joint Participation Agreement between LAUSD and CSUN. The shared use of the university's academic facilities is a key benefit of the academy high school concept. Without these shared facilities, the school would not meet LAUSD's objective of building a high school in the project area that specializes in preparing students for careers in education. In addition, locating the school at the Lassen/ Zelzah site would be at a much higher cost to LAUSD. Acquisition of this site would require LAUSD to purchase all or a portion of the property. CSUN also has not expressed an interest in selling the site and has the discretion to develop the site with university facilities in the future.
Summary of Alternatives Analysis. Zelzah Court is the preferred site for this project because it's location affords access to CSUN academic facilities, which meets the academy high school concept, and with the shared use of CSUN's collegiate athletic fields the size of the school approximates 15 acres. As noted previously four alternative sites and uses were considered and compared to the proposed site. The reasons for not selecting these other alternatives are summarized below.
No Project/ No Build. This alternative is not feasible because it would not meet the project objectives to allow students to attend a school in their neighborhood; it would not provide needed enrollment growth or relieve overcrowding in other schools. No Project/ Reasonably Forseeable Alternative. This alternative, similar to No Project/ No Build would not meet the project objectives noted above.
Former Prairie Elementary School. At approximately 8 acres this site would not provide sufficient space for academic, administrative, and athletic facilities, which would have to be supplemented offsite. In addition, the site would have to be demolished in order to accommodate a high school and this demolition would cause impacts not identified with the proposed project.
Lassen/ Zelzah. This alternative site does provide the opportunity for more acreage to construct the school, but it location is too far from the core campus to benefit from the CSUN educational and science laboratories.
Not having ready access to the CSUN resources defeats the purpose of the academy high school and therefore this alternative does not meet the project objective of establishing an academy high school.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS An Initial Study/ Notice of Preparation (IS/ NOP) was completed for this project. The IS/ NOP was distributed to public agencies for a 30-day public review period, beginning on March 10, 2001 and ending on April 9, 2001. A public scoping meeting was held on March 20, 2001 to solicit public comments on the project.
Section 3 of the EIR considered the environmental impacts associated with 8 issue areas. The results of this evaluation are presented on Table ES-1. The impact analysis identified potentially significant impacts with regard to hazards/ hazardous materials, hydrology/ water quality, public services/ utilities and transportation. Mitigation measures were identified and adopted by the LAUSD to reduce most of these impacts to a less than significant level. For the hazards/ hazardous materials impacts, the LAUSD will remove soils contaminated with pesticides during construction of the project. This removal action will be completed with the oversight of the California Department of Toxic Substances Control. With the implementation of this removal action, impacts to hazards/ hazardous materials would be less than significant.
For the transportation/ traffic impacts, the LAUSD will implement an Automated Traffic Surveillance and Control (ATSAC) system at five of six impacted intersections. The implementation of this system at these intersections will reduce impacts to a less than significant level. At the intersection of Zelzah Avenue and Nordhoff Street there are no measures available to reduce impacts. Therefore, the project will have a significant unavoidable impact at this one intersection.