Agenda Item Wording:
title
Public hearing and consideration of the following actions related to the East Side Regional Park Project:
1. Certification of the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) prepared for the East Side Regional Park Project . (Resolution No. 2023-54 required)
2. Initiation of Proceedings for Annexation No. 2021-02: A request to annex approximately 128 acres, located within the City of Visalia Urban Development Boundary Tier III, into the Visalia city limits. The annexation request includes authorizing the detachment from County Service Area No. 1 in accordance with State and County requirements. (Resolution No. 2023-55 required)
3. General Plan Amendment No. 2021-16: A request to redesignate approximately 41 acres from Residential Low, Medium, and High Densities to Parks/Recreation to facilitate the East Side Regional Park. (Resolution No. 2023-56 required)
Project Applicant: City of Visalia
Project Location: The proposed Project is located on approximately 286 acres, between Mineral King Avenue and Houston Avenue, east of the Road 148alignment. (APN: 103-110-024, 025, 026, 027, 028, 029, 032, 033; 103-500-001, 002, 003; 103-510-002, 003, 004, 005, 007, 008, 009)
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Deadline for Action: 11/20/2023
Submitting Department: Community Development
Contact Name and Phone Number:
Brandon Smith, Principal Planner, (559) 713-4636, brandon.smith@visalia.city <mailto:brandon.smith@visalia.city>;
Paul Bernal, Community Development Director, (559) 713-4025, paul.bernal@visalia.city
Department Recommendation:
The Planning Commission recommends that the City Council initiate annexation proceedings for the project by taking the following actions, consistent with the staff recommendation made to Planning Commission on October 23, 2023:
1. Certify the project’s Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR), which includes the adoption of the project’s findings of fact, statement of overriding considerations, and a mitigation and monitoring reporting program.
2. Initiate proceedings for Annexation No. 2021-02 with the Tulare County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), including authorizing the detachment of the property from County Service Area No. 1 in accordance with State and County requirements.
3. Approve General Plan Amendment No. 2021-16.
Completion of the EIR will increase the City’s opportunities for the acquirement of grant funding for either the park or recharge elements of the project. In the time that the Draft EIR has been finalized between 2015 and 2020, the City has been successful in acquiring grant funds for the design and construction of Basins G and D, requiring staff to prepare separate and individual environmental reviews (i.e., Mitigated Negative Declarations) for these projects. During that same process, notice of environmental determinations were also filed for Basins E and F due to their proximity and again for grant funding purposes.
Because the preparation of the EIR had been delayed for various reasons since 2015, it’s possible that there may be desire among City staff and the public to revisit certain park design elements and/or programming. However, it is the staff’s recommendation that the EIR process be allowed to move forward towards completion through certification. Any future changes in the park design element could be addressed afterwards as an addendum so long that proposed modifications have no significant impacts beyond those disclosed in the current document.
If approved by the City Council, staff will immediately proceed with filing the annexation application with LAFCO.
The project entitlements are supported by both Planning Commission and staff based on the project’s consistency with the Land Use Element of the General Plan. Specifically, Annexation No. 2021-02 will facilitate a new large city park and sites for groundwater basins on an overall 268-acre site. Furthermore, staff recommends approval of the General Plan Amendment, based on the project’s consistency with the General Plan.
Background Discussion:
The City of Visalia is the applicant and lead agency on the preparation of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the East Side Regional Park (ESRP) and Groundwater Recharge Project. The project has been proactively planned by the City to help develop solutions to the region’s receding groundwater table, and property acquisition by the City of Visalia has been occurring since 2001. The development of eastside groundwater recharge facilities is part of the City’s implementation program to manage recharge water that will be received under the Water Exchange Agreement with Tulare Irrigation District along with other surface water deliveries received via the Kaweah River and/or the Central Valley Project Friant-Kern Canal.
The Project area consists of approximately 286 acres, including 40 acres of planned street & infrastructure improvements. The ESRP also includes a total of seven groundwater recharge basins (referred to as Basins A through G) of which four are currently identified and in different project phases within the City’s current CIP. The project will include Road 148 as a new arterial roadway, and improvements to Houston Avenue, Road 152, and Mineral King Avenue. The project has allocated approximately 148 acres for park uses. The dedicated groundwater recharge elements (basins) will encompass approximately 100 acres and are planned to receive allotted water deliveries to help replenish the area’s groundwater. Construction of park proper, groundwater recharge facilities, the future Road 148 and its interchange with State Route 198 will be within the footprint area.
Professional services for the preparation of design work began in 2014. On September 15, 2014, the City Council authorized Provost & Pritchard to enter into an agreement to prepare an EIR in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The agreement included the sub-consulting services of the HLA Group for the park master planning process. In early and mid-2015, master plan alternatives were developed through community input from four community workshops, the Park Planning Task Force, meetings with multiple City Committees and the Parks and Recreation Commission, and City staff.
In addition to the groundwater recharge project, on August 17, 2015, the City Council voted to adopt Concept B1 as the ESRP Site Master Plan (see Attachment 4). The park’s comprehensive plan as proposed includes 139 acres of active recreational park space. Some of the park’s major programmed uses include, but not limited to, separate lighted adult softball and youth baseball fields, soccer courts, tennis courts, pickleball courts, 3-acre dog park, multi-use trails, event and open space turf areas, parking areas, amphitheater, and community center building. City staff has since carried Concept B1 as the basis of the EIR and design of all Groundwater Recharge facilities to date.
The concept plan was reviewed by the Site Plan Review Committee (Item No. 2015-115) on July 22, 2015. The Community Development Planning Division commented that the project further required additional land use entitlement, specifically Annexation for the project area north of Mill Creek, and a General Plan Amendment to re-designate approximately 42 acres on the north side adjacent to Houston Avenue from Low, Medium and High Density Residential to Park. No Change of Zone is required for the property since the portion inside the City limits is suitably zoned QP (Quasi-Public) and the remaining portion will be annexed as QP in accordance with the General Plan Amendment. The General Plan Amendment will result in the loss of approximately 30 acres of Medium and High Density Residential land use designated property.
The land use entitlement issues are addressed and incorporated into the project’s EIR, and the land use entitlements are being processed concurrently with the CEQA review process. No Conditional Use Permit is required for the park facilities in accordance with the Quasi-Public zoning designation, which allows such recreational uses as permitted uses.
Annexation No. 2021-02 is a request to annex parcels totaling approximately 128 acres located outside the city limits and within Tulare County (see Attachment 7). Upon annexation, the Zoning designations for the project area will consist of Quasi-Public (QP zoning), consistent with the underlying General Plan land use designation as proposed through the General Plan Amendment. Current land use designations for parcels being annexed are summarized as follows:
|
Land Use Designation |
Existing ac. |
Growth Tier |
|
Parks / Recreation |
84.5 |
Tier I |
|
Conservation (Mill Creek) |
1.5 |
Tier I |
|
Low Density Residential |
12.3 |
Tier III |
|
Medium Density Residential |
24.5 |
Tier III |
|
High Density Residential |
5.3 |
Tier III |
General Plan Amendment No. 2021-16 is requested to change land use designations upon parcels totaling approximately 42 acres, located in Growth Tier III that are under ownership of the City of Visalia. The General Plan Amendment will further transfer the 42 acres from Growth Tier III to Growth Tier I, being that the property is associated with the project area of the East Side Regional Park.
The properties currently designated as Parks/Recreation and Conservation are located within Growth Tier I, while the properties designated as Low, Medium, and High Density Residential area all located within Growth Tier III. This is due to the fact that the City in 2012 had already identified the 86 acres of Park/Recreation area, situated outside of the city limits in the Tier I Growth Area, for the Regional Park. However, between 2012 and 2014, while the City was undergoing its General Plan Update to designate land uses within later growth boundaries, the City was still acquiring properties located in the designated Growth Tier III that would become part of the master plan area that would be designed by the HLA Group.
A portion of the project site is within the City’s Urban Development Boundary (UDB) Tier III; however it is exempt from the City’s Agricultural Preservation Ordinance since the use constitutes a public facility.
Annexation Consistency with General Plan:
The project entails initiating annexation of 128 acres out of the project’s overall 286-acre project site into the Visalia City limits. In addition to the project site, the final annexation area will include acreage from the portion of Houston Avenue adjoining the project site. The site will be pre-zoned to Quasi-Public, consistent with the subject site’s corresponding Parks / Recreation land use designation proposed through the General Plan Amendment. The annexation can be supported on the basis that the proposal is consistent with Land Use Policy LU-P-21, which allows for the annexation and development of residential land to occur within the Tier II Urban Development Boundary consistent with the City’s Land Use Diagram.
The General Plan Amendment will further amend the City’s Growth Tier boundaries so that the entirety of the project site will be within the Tier I Urban Development Boundary.
The site can be serviced with all the requisite utility and infrastructure available to serve the site upon development.
Project Consistency with City’s General Plan:
The General Plan’s Parks, Schools, Community Facilities, and Utilities Element contains multiple policies in support of the establishment of a new large city park situated on the City’s eastern edge. Policy PSCU-P-4 specifically directs the City to create such a park:
PSCU-P-4: Create one large new park at the City’s eastern edge to enhance the City’s eastern gateway along Highway 198, ensure separation between communities, and provide ample recreation space for the larger area.
The Element further classifies a “Large City Park” as “a park generally larger than 40 acres in size intended to serve the recreational needs of all city residents and to create opportunities for contact with the natural environment. These parks may include a concentration of sports fields, golf courses, and areas for picnicking and passive enjoyment of open space”. The proposed park has allocated approximately 148 acres for recreational uses and 100 acres for dedicated groundwater recharge elements (basins).
The proposed park will function jointly as a City park together with open space areas that function as groundwater recharge basins. The entire park is designed to include multi-use trails with fitness equipment that circle around the groundwater recharge facilities, which supports the Element’s Objective PSCU-O-6 that speaks of maximizing opportunities for joint use of public land and facilities that involve stormwater ponding basins and other areas under public jurisdiction suitable for recreation.
Consistency with State Law: Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (Government Code Sec. 66300):
The Housing Crisis Act of 2019 mandates that jurisdictions shall not adopt an entitlement that changes general plan land use designations of parcels to a less intensive use with regards to the site’s residential development capacity, below what was in in effect on January 1, 2018 (Government Code Section 66300(b)(1)).
However, it should be acknowledged that the City’s selected concept for this park and the Notice of Preparation of a Draft Environmental Impact Report for the development of this park were completed in 2014 / 2015, which is before the threshold date of January 1, 2018. Therefore, the City finds that there is reasonable argument that this statute pertaining to the Housing Crisis Act of 2019 should not apply. Because the City Council had reviewed and started the process to have approximately 42 acres of Low, Medium, and High Density Residential land designations changed with the concept plan and this EIR, before January 1, 2018, the Housing Crisis Act of 2019 does not apply.
Consistency with State Law: No Net Loss Law (Government Code Sec. 65863):
The purpose of the No Net Loss Law is to ensure that a jurisdiction continues to maintain adequate sites to accommodate its remaining unmet regional housing needs allocation (RHNA) by each income category at all times throughout the entire Housing Element planning period. Similar to the Housing Crisis Act of 2019 explained above, a jurisdiction cannot take action to reduce a parcel’s residential density without finding that the jurisdiction has other remaining sites that can accommodate its remaining unmet RHNA.
For this project which will change approximately 42 acres of Low, Medium, and High Density Residential land designations to Parks / Recreation designation, the parcels are currently located outside of the City limits and located within Growth Tier III which is outside of the current growth boundary. As such, none of the affected parcels have been assigned units affiliated with the jurisdiction’s RHNA or site inventory. Therefore, the City has no obligation under state law to replace the land use designation. The Growth Tier III area contains several hundred acres of Medium and High Density Residential land designations and well in excess of 1,000 acres of Low Density Residential land designation. The City anticipates meeting the threshold for moving into the Growth Tier III boundary in no less than approximately 8 years based on historic growth trends.
Traffic Impact Study:
A Traffic Impact Study (TIS) was prepared for the proposed project (ref.: City of Visalia East Side Regional Park & Groundwater Recharge Project EIR Traffic Impact Study Report, VRPA Technologies, March 2019), attached as Appendix M of the EIR. The purpose of the study is to analyze traffic conditions related to buildout of the project and its projected level of service (LOS) at multiple traffic scenarios, including Existing conditions, Near-Term opening year projection, and at the Cumulative Year 2040 scenario, and the corresponding environmental impact as required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
The TIS concluded that various intersection improvements are needed at the different buildout scenarios and timeframes. Intersection improvements are summarized in Section 3.16.5 in the EIR.
Mitigation measures have been included in the Environmental Impact Report to address the roadway deficiencies described above, addressing various intersections.
For the Existing Plus Project and Near-Term conditions, Measures TR-1 and TR-2 require widening approaches or adding turning lanes to the intersections of Lovers Lane / Mineral King Avenue and State Route 198 Westbound Ramps / Mineral King Avenue. It should be noted that Caltrans is expected to break ground on a reconfiguration of the State Route 198 Westbound Ramps at Lovers Lane in the summer of 2024.
For the Cumulative Year 2040 conditions, Measures TR-3 through TR-32 require widening approaches or adding turn lanes to intersections, widening roadway segments, and lengthening turn lanes (queuing).
In addition to the Mitigation Measures, the Project would also be required to contribute its calculated “fair-share” towards the costs of improvements that are identified for the various Cumulative Year 2040 scenarios, as summarized in Tables 4-21 through 4-24 of the TIS.
At full buildout of the Project, all study intersections are expected to operate with minimal delay (at or above LOS D) during peak hours, both with and without project traffic, or can be mitigated to operate at an acceptable LOS, excepting for the following intersections:
• State Route 198 Westbound Ramps / Mineral King Avenue, near Lovers Lane (see Measure TR-2 and TR-7)
• State Route 198 Eastbound Ramps / Lovers Lane (see Measures TR-4 and TR-6)
• Road 152 / Mineral King Avenue (see Measure TR-7)
• State Route 198 Westbound Ramps / Mineral King Avenue, near Road 156 (see Measure TR-11)
As a result, even with implementation of all feasible mitigation measures, the project EIR concludes that full buildout of the Project will result in significant and unavoidable impacts.
A Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) analysis was also conducted (attached as Appendix N of the EIR) using the Tulare County Association of Governments (TCAG) Model by comparing the project’s expected VMT with the project and without the project. A comparison of the two model runs indicated that the model run with the project resulted in 184 fewer daily vehicle miles traveled than the model run without the project. Therefore, the project’s impacts to VMT are concluded to be less than significant under CEQA.
Planning Commission Public Hearing & Review:
The Planning Commission conducted a public hearing on October 23, 2023, to consider the project and entitlements. The affiliated staff report is provided as Attachment 8.
During the public hearing, comments were provided by one neighbor expressing concerns about traffic generated along Road 152 (on the east side of the regional park) and noise generated from the amphitheater.
Planning Commissioners made a motion for each individual entitlement, and each item passed on a 3-0 vote (Beatie and Tavarez absent), resulting in recommendations that the City Council certify the Environmental Impact Report, approve the General Plan Amendment, and initiate the Annexation request.
Fiscal Impact:
None at this time.
Prior Council Action:
On March 6, 2023, the City Council conducted a work session item to receive a project update on the status of the East Side Regional Park’s (ESRP) Environmental Impact Review process and related Groundwater Recharge Capital Improvement Projects (CIP). The project update and presentation were informational only and no action was taken.
Alternatives:
The City Council may, in lieu of the recommended motion specified above, consider any of the following alternatives:
1. After opening and closing the public hearing, if the City Council seeks additional information, continue the agenda item to a City Council meeting on a specified date; or
2. Refer the matter back to the Planning Commission; or,
3. Deny the entitlements.
Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):
recommendation
I move to approve Resolution No. 2023-54, certifying the Final Environmental Impact Report prepared for the East Side Regional Park Project (State Clearinghouse Number 2014121076); and
I move to approve Resolution No. 2023-55, to initiate proceedings for Annexation No. 2021-02, including authorization of the detachment of property from County Service Area No. 1; and
I move to approve Resolution No. 2023-56, to approve General Plan Amendment No. 2021-16.
end
Environmental Assessment Status / CEQA Review:
A Draft and Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) (State Clearinghouse Number 2014121076), incorporated herein by reference, has been prepared in association with the East Side Regional Park & Groundwater Recharge project, in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The City Council is asked to review the overall content of the Final EIR, the responses to the comments received to date, and consider any further testimony received during the public hearing. At the conclusion of the public hearing, the City Council will decide whether to certify the Final EIR and entitlements.
Significant and Unavoidable Impacts
The EIR has determined that all project impacts were either less than significant or could be mitigated to a less than significant level with the exception of the following impacts that are considered significant and unavoidable:
• Agriculture & Forestry Resources - Loss of farmland
• Transportation - Unacceptable Level Of Service at various intersections and road segments in the near term and long term, inconsistent with General Plan Policy T-P-9
Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines sections 15043, 15091 and 15092, the City, as the Lead Agency, may still approve a project for which the EIR identifies significant and unavoidable environmental impacts resulting from the project. This requires the adoption of a Statement of Overriding Considerations for each environmental impact that falls into the category of significant and unavoidable.
The decision to adopt a Statement of Overriding Considerations must be supported by factual documentation that supports the decision that:
1. There is no feasible way to lessen or avoid the significant impact; and,
2. Specifically identified expected benefits from the project outweigh the policy of reducing or avoiding significant environmental impacts of the project.
The findings and recommended conclusions for each of the six environmental analysis areas noted above are contained in the resolution recommending certification of the EIR.
Mitigation Measures
The EIR further disclosed mitigation measures that are incorporated into the project to reduce or avoid significant effects on the environment. The measures address the following resources:
• Thirteen (13) mitigation measures pertaining to Biological Resources for impacts of the project to special-status wildlife species possible to occur on-site (i.e., Swainson’s hawk, white-tailed kite, tricolored blackbird, northern harrier, burrowing owl, loggerhead shrike, palled bat, western mastiff bat, and American badger).
• Four (4) mitigation measures pertaining to Cultural Resources to reduce the impacts of the project on the potential of exposing historical or archaeological materials during construction.
• Four (4) mitigation measures pertaining to Noise to address the impacts of playing fields and amphitheater noise upon noise-sensitive land uses, construction of block walls adjacent to residential uses, and construction noise measures.
• Thirty-two (32) mitigation measures pertaining to Transportation, wherein two measures are for intersection improvements at the Lovers Lane / Mineral King Avenue section and the SR 198 westbound ramps / Mineral King Avenue prior to the operation of Phase 2, and thirty measures are for constructing recommended on-site and site-adjacent improvements prior to the operation of Phase 3 for Cumulative Year 2040 Impacts.
Project Alternatives
CEQA Guidelines Section 15126.6 requires the consideration of a range of reasonable alternatives to the proposed Project that could feasibly attain most of the objectives of the proposed Project. This Draft EIR analyzed the following alternatives:
• Alternate #1: Under this Alternative, the site would be developed in a manner largely similar to the Project, except that that the location of park facilities within the Project site would be changed. This was considered as Concept A1 in the initial planning process.
• Alternative #2: Under this Alternative, the site would be developed like the Project Concept except that sports lighting would be removed and park hours would be limited to mostly daylight hours.
• No Project Alternative: Under this Alternative, the Project would not be constructed, and the site would remain in agricultural production.
Public Review and Recommendation
Circulation of the Draft EIR followed a Notice of Availability period wherein the Draft EIR was duly noticed and conducted for the project for a 45-day public review and comment period from February 2 to March 20, 2023. The City of Visalia is the lead agency for the preparation of the EIR. Three comment letters were received during this public review period, from California Department of Fish & Wildlife, San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, and California Department of Transportation. City staff and the consultant have prepared responses to the comments received (refer to the Final EIR, dated October 2023). The Draft Program EIR, including the technical appendices, all the comments received and the responses to these comments, constitute the Final EIR.
Attachments:
Attachment 1: Resolution No. 2023-54 - Certification of Final EIR
Attachment 2: Resolution No. 2023-55 - Annexation No. 2021-02
Attachment 3: Resolution No. 2023-56 - General Plan Amendment No. 2021-16
Attachment 4: Master Plan Concept
Attachment 5: Project Planning Area Map
Attachment 6: Recharge Basins Location Map
Attachment 7: Annexation Area
Attachment 8: Planning Commission Staff Report
Attachment 9: Final Environmental Impact Report (for EIR Appendices, refer to website links below.) The Final EIR is also found at <https://www.visalia.city/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?BlobID=54441>
Attachment 10: General Plan Land Use Map
Attachment 11: Zoning Map
Attachment 12: Aerial Map
Attachment 13: Location Map
Attachment 14: City PowerPoint Presentation
Attachment 15: Consultant PowerPoint Presentation on EIR
Available online via City of Visalia Website:
• EIR Appendices A - D: <https://www.visalia.city/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?BlobID=52874>
• EIR Appendices E - R: <https://www.visalia.city/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?BlobID=52875>