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File #: 25-0031    Version: 1
Type: Public Hearing Item Status: Agenda Ready
File created: 2/13/2025 In control: Visalia City Council
On agenda: 3/17/2025 Final action:
Title: Shirk-Riggin Industrial Project - The development of an industrial park with a total building footprint of approximately 3,720,149 square feet on 284 acres, and consisting of the following actions: * Certification of a Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) (State Clearinghouse #2022080658): A request to certify the Environmental Impact Report for the Shirk Riggin Industrial Project ("Project"). The City of Visalia is the lead agency in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). * Initiation of Proceedings for Annexation No. 2024-03: A request to annex three parcels totaling approximately 284 acres into the City limits of Visalia. Upon annexation the area will be zoned Industrial (I) and I-L (Light Industrial) consistent with the land use designations of the Visalia General Plan Land Use Map. * General Plan Amendment No. 2025-01: A request to decrease the Light Industrial land use designation and to increase the Industrial land use designation on the project si...
Attachments: 1. Attachment 1 - Resolution No. 2025-09 - Final EIR, 2. Attachment 2 - Resolution No. 2025-10 - Annexation 2024-03, 3. Attachment 3 - Ordinance 2025-02 for Development Agreement, 4. Attachment 4 - Resolution No. 2025-11 - GPA 2025-01, 5. Attachment 5 - Site Plan, 6. Attachment 6 - Phasing Map, 7. Attachment 7 - Tentative Parcel Map, 8. Attachment 8 - Operational Statement, 9. Attachment 9 - Conceptual Design Plans, 10. Attachment 10 - Planning Commission Staff Report, 11. Attachment 11A - Correspondence GSEJA, 12. Attachment 11B - Correspondence Carpenters Local 1109, 13. Attachment 11C - Correspondence LIUNA, 14. Attachment 11D - Correspondence GSEJA, 15. Attachment 12 - Draft EIR, 16. Attachment 13 - Final EIR, 17. Attachment 14 - General Plan Map, 18. Attachment 15 - Zoning Map, 19. Attachment 16 - Aerial Map, 20. Attachment 17 - Location Map

Agenda Item Wording:

title

Shirk-Riggin Industrial Project - The development of an industrial park with a total building footprint of approximately 3,720,149 square feet on 284 acres, and consisting of the following actions:

                     Certification of a Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) (State Clearinghouse #2022080658): A request to certify the Environmental Impact Report for the Shirk Riggin Industrial Project (“Project”).  The City of Visalia is the lead agency in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

                     Initiation of Proceedings for Annexation No. 2024-03: A request to annex three parcels totaling approximately 284 acres into the City limits of Visalia. Upon annexation the area will be zoned Industrial (I) and I-L (Light Industrial) consistent with the land use designations of the Visalia General Plan Land Use Map.

                     General Plan Amendment No. 2025-01: A request to decrease the Light Industrial land use designation and to increase the Industrial land use designation on the project site consisting of approximately 284 acres.

                     Introduction and First Reading of an Ordinance for adoption of a Development Agreement for the Shirk & Riggin Industrial Park: A request to authorize the City to sign and enter into a development agreement pursuant to Government Code Section 65864 et. seq., and Section 17.60 of the City of Visalia Zoning Ordinance.

Project Applicant: Seefried Industrial Properties, Inc.

Project Location: The proposed Project is located on approximately 284 acres, on the north side of Riggin Avenue between Shirk Street and Kelsey Street. (APN:077-840-004, 005, 006)

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Deadline for Action:  3/3/2025

 

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, Planning & Community Preservation Director, (559) 713-4025, paul.bernal@visalia.city <mailto:paul.bernal@visalia.city>

 

Department Recommendation:

The Planning Commission recommends that the City Council take the following actions, consistent with the staff recommendation made to Planning Commission on February 10, 2025:

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. (Resolution No. 2025-09 required.)

2.                     Initiate proceedings for Annexation No. 2024-03 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, and entering into a Pre-Annexation Agreement. (Resolution No. 2025-10 required.)

3.                     Approve General Plan Amendment No. 2025-01. (Resolution No. 2025-11 required.)

4.                     Conduct the first reading of an Ordinance for a Development Agreement to the Shirk & Riggin Industrial Park. (Ordinance No. 2025-02 required.)

If approved by the City Council, staff will bring back the second reading of the Ordinance at a later City Council meeting and file the annexation application with LAFCO.

The entitlements are supported by both the Planning Commission and staff based on the project’s consistency with the Land Use Element of the General Plan. Specifically, Annexation No. 2024-03 will facilitate a new industrial park on a 284-acre site in a manner that is consistent with the General Plan land use designations that exist within the project site, and annexes property located within Urban Development Boundary Growth Tier I as allowed under General Plan Land Use Policy LU-P-20. The General Plan Amendment is also supported by the project’s consistency with the Land Use Element of the General Plan and Zoning Ordinance.

 

Background Discussion:

The applicants, Seefried Industrial Properties, Inc., have filed entitlement applications for the development of a 284-acre industrial park, containing primary industrial uses as well as commercial elements, on property located outside of City limits and within the Tier I urban development boundary. 

The property is planned to be developed with industrial buildings of varying sizes and functions.  According to the site plan, included as Attachment 5, a majority of the site will be developed with eight industrial buildings intended for warehouse, distribution, and light manufacturing use, with building sizes shown between 109,890 and 1,078,440 square feet. Other uses shown on the site plan are flex industrial space consisting of six identical buildings totaling 80,960 square feet, a self-storage facility totaling 133,000 square feet, and a commercial cluster consisting of a convenience store with drive-through lane, gas station, car wash, and restaurant pad with drive-through lane. Conceptual design renderings associated with the buildings are included as Attachment 9.

Entitlements for this project consist of an annexation, a general plan amendment, development agreement, commercial tentative parcel map, and conditional use permit.  Development is anticipated to occur over three phases as shown in the plan included as Attachment 6, developed over no less than four years. The project is estimated to generate 4,100 jobs at buildout (reference page 3.11-22 of Draft EIR), which would enhance economic opportunities within the City and facilitate a positive jobs/housing balance.  The project site is currently vacant.

The land use entitlement issues are addressed and incorporated into the project’s Environmental Impact Report (EIR), and the land use entitlements are being processed concurrently with the CEQA review process. No entitlement is required for the industrial buildings in accordance with the Industrial and Light Industrial zoning designations, which allow such uses as permitted by-right.

Annexation No. 2024-03 is a request to annex three parcels totaling approximately 284 acres located outside the city limits and within Tulare County (see Annexation Plat Map included in the Resolution). Upon annexation, the Zoning designations for the project area will consist of Industrial (I) and Light Industrial (I-L) zones, consistent with the underlying General Plan land use designation as proposed through the General Plan Amendment. The site also includes area designated as Conservation, though upon annexation, the property’s zoning will conform to the adjacent land use designations.

In conjunction with the annexation, the property will be subject to a Pre-Annexation Agreement and will be entered into a Development Agreement at the discretion of the applicant. The Development Agreement seeks to establish terms and understandings on subjects including but not limited to post-entitlement approvals, vested rights, commitments toward providing infrastructure, project phasing, and establishment of project fees.

General Plan Amendment No. 2025-01 is requested to change land use designations between the Industrial and Light Industrial land use designations. The objective of the General Plan Amendment is to align the property’s existing land use split between Industrial and Light Industrial with the tentative parcel map’s proposed property lines that separate the large-scale industrial uses from the small-scale industrial and commercial uses. This results in an overall reduction of 21.12 acres of Light Industrial designation and an equal increase in the Industrial designation. All acreage is located within the Tier I urban development boundary.

Current and proposed land use designations for parcels being annexed are summarized as follows:

Land Use Designation

Zoning Designation

Existing acres

Proposed acres

Industrial

I designation

225.79

246.91

Light Industrial

I-L designation

50.35

29.23

Conservation

N/A

8.44

8.44

 

Conditional Use Permit No. 2024-26 and Tentative Parcel Map No. 2024-08 are not subject to City Council review and approval, since the Planning Commission is the final authority on these entitlements**. However, in the context of this project, the entitlements are dependent upon City Council’s review and approval of the FEIR, Annexation, General Plan Amendment, and Development Agreement. The parcel map and the operational statement which accompanies the conditional use permit are included for reference as Attachments 7 and 8.

 **                     It should be noted that a separate City Council agenda item has been prepared, included on the agenda for the March 17, 2025, meeting, to address the Appeal of the Planning Commission Action to approve Conditional Use Permit No. 2024-26 and Tentative Parcel Map No. 2024-08. As a result of receiving the appeal within the 10-day appeal period, these items are subject to City Council review and approval. These items were approved by the Planning Commission on February 10, 2025, and rely on the certification of the FEIR for their approval to be upheld.

 

General Plan Consistency:

Land Use Policies

The entire site has been designated for industrial land uses since the adoption of the Visalia General Plan in 2014.  Prior to 2014, the City’s General Plan identified the site as Heavy Industrial Reserve.

Being that the General Plan Land Use Diagram designates the project area as Light Industrial and Industrial, annexation of the area will thus result in the parcels being zoned Light Industrial (I-L) and Industrial (I).

All parcels are within the Tier I Urban Development Boundary. Annexation of these parcels is consistent with Land Use Policy LU-P-20, which states “allow annexation and development of residential, commercial, and industrial land to occur within the “Tier I” Urban Development Boundary (UDB) at any time, consistent with the City’s Land Use Diagram.”

The site can be serviced with all the requisite utility and infrastructure available to serve the site upon development. City Services, including Police and Fire protection, will be provided to the project site area upon annexation. Sanitary sewer service is available to all three parcels, as is water service through the California Water Service Company. Following annexation and development, the full complement of city services and programs will be provided, including but not limited to Solid Waste and maintenance of any future streets.

While the City finds the annexation of the parcels totaling 280 acres consistent with City policies, Tulare County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) will need to analyze that the annexation will not cause an impact towards exceeding a 20-year supply of industrial land within the existing City limits, as a guideline for determining conformance with State Government Code 56377.

The project is otherwise consistent with the General Plan.  Specifically, the project constitutes a master planned concept for an industrial park located within the Tier I Urban Development Boundary.  The project is consistent with General Plan Land Use Policy LU-P-99 calls for allowing warehousing and distribution and other industrial related uses with supporting commercial services within the Industrial land use designation.  Furthermore, the project upholds Land Use Policy LU-P-103 which calls for incorporating buffering land uses and is implemented through the planned development of smaller scale flex space, storage, and commercial.

Consistency of General Plan Amendment with City’s General Plan:

The proposed General Plan Amendment will result in an overall reduction of 21.12 acres of Light Industrial land use designation, wherein this area will be added to the Industrial land use designation.

The Light Industrial land use designation is called out on the General Plan on the west side of Shirk between Doe Avenue and Avenue 320 for the purpose of creating a transition between the Industrial land use designations further to the west and the residential land use designations directly east of Shirk Street.  At the project site, the depth of the Light Industrial designation is approximately 1,000 feet from Shirk Street after dedication is taken for the full right-of-way.

The General Plan Amendment will reduce the Light Industrial designation in order to create a separation between the large warehouse / distribution type buildings and the smaller industrial buildings.  The area of designation being changed from Light Industrial to Industrial is shown on the project as being planned for warehouse / distribution type buildings, which is a use allowed by right in the Light Industrial zone designation. 

Although the area of Light Industrial is being reduced, the site still provides Light Industrial in a manner that assigns with the original intent of this land use at this location.  A majority of the remaining Light Industrial designation calls for the use of small-scale flex industrial space, self-storage, and commercial uses in this space, to provide a transition to residential uses.  The inclusion of an arterial road right-of-way, landscape setbacks, and building placement continues to provide separation between the Industrial and Residential land use designations.

Active Agriculture Preserve and Land Conservation Contract:

The property currently contains Agriculture Preserve No. 293 and Land Conservation Contract No. 2735.  In accordance with the Williamson Act (California Government Code Section 51200), the contract must be cancelled or shall expire from its contract prior to development.

In 2022, the property owner applied to the County of Tulare to cancel the portion of the contract that covers the site.  Tentative cancellation was granted by the Board of Supervisors on November 29, 2022, in accordance with State law, wherein a full Certificate of Cancellation will be issued upon payment of a cancellation fee and applying for cancellation of the Agricultural Preserve.

The property owner may complete the cancellation process prior to the annexation into City limits, or may be required by the Local Agency Formation Commission to finalize the cancellation prior to the annexation being recorded and taking effect.  Staff is therefore recommending conditions of approval in the entitlements stating that no permits shall be issued for grading or development on the site until the site is completely removed from the Land Conservation Contract and Agricultural Preserve.

Traffic Impact Study:

A Traffic Impact Study (TIS) was prepared for the proposed project (ref.: Shirk Riggin Industrial Park, Kimley Horn, February 2024), attached as Appendix I 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 Long-Term operating scenarios at 5, 10, and 20 years beyond buildout, 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 3.14.7 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 Near-Term conditions, the following improvements are specified as mitigation measures, to be completed in association with various phases.  Certain improvements, while required to be constructed, would coincide with the City’s Transportation Impact Fee program wherein construction costs can be paid back over time.  A summary of mitigation measures are noted below:

                     Measures TRANS-3 and TRANS-4 require extending turn lanes or adding turning lanes to the intersections of Plaza Drive / Riggin Avenue and Shirk Street / Riggin Avenue.  These improvements will be tied to the completion of project phases 1 and 2. 

                     Measure TRANS-5 requires signalizing the Shirk Street and Ferguson Avenue intersection prior to the issuance of final occupancy of any portion of project area.  This would include pro rata cost sharing with the adjacent Carleton Acres Specific Plan project.

                     Measure TRANS-6 requires that prior to the final occupancy of any portion of Phase 3, a fair share contribution be made towards the signalization of Roeben Street / Ferguson Avenue.  This would include pro rata cost sharing with the adjacent Carleton Acres Specific Plan project.

                     Measure TRANS-7 requires restriping the Akers Street / Riggin Avenue intersection to incorporate additional turn lanes and through lanes.  This would include pro rata cost sharing with the adjacent Carleton Acres Specific Plan project.

                     Measure TRANS-8 requires restriping the Akers Street / Ferguson Avenue intersection to incorporate additional turn lanes and through lanes.  This would include pro rata cost sharing with the adjacent Carleton Acres Specific Plan project.

                     Measure TRANS-9 requires extending turn lanes in the southbound lanes of the Akers Street / Goshen Avenue intersection.  This would include pro rata cost sharing with the adjacent Carleton Acres Specific Plan project.

It should be noted that the City of Visalia is expected to break ground on a grant-funded Riggin Avenue widening project between Kelsey and Shirk Streets (1.0 miles), encompassing all of the project’s Riggin Avenue frontage.  Utility pole relocation is expected to occur in the first half of 2025, while the roadway widening will be completed by the end of 2025.

The proposed project is expected to increase VMT (Vehicle Miles Travelled) per employee within the Traffic Analysis Zone (TAZ) it is located by approximately 0.15 miles, or 1.54 percent of the total miles traveled. Therefore, the proposed project would result in a significant VMT impact, requiring additional Mitigation Measures in order to assist with reducing the project’s VMT impact.  These measures consist of dedicating land and constructing a bike path along the south side of Modoc Ditch, and installing secured bicycle storage lockers for future employees.

As a result, with implementation of all feasible mitigation measures, the project EIR concludes that full buildout of the Project will result in a less than significant impact with mitigation incorporated.

Annexation Information:

Detachment for Service Area No. 1:

The subject site is part of Tulare County Service Area No. 1. Services provided in Service Area No. 1 include domestic water and sewer. Detachment of the project area from Service Area No. 1 is required upon annexation as future development will receive domestic water and sanitary sewer services from the California Water Service Company and the City of Visalia, respectively.

Annexations submitted to LAFCO require that the City include a request to detach the annexed area from the County’s service area. Though detachments were previously an automatic process conducted as part of annexations, a 2009 law change now requires Cities to explicitly request detachment. The detachment is reflected in the draft Resolution (see Attachment 2).

Pre-Annexation Agreement:

The annexation will be subject to the terms of a Pre-Annexation Agreement which must be signed by the property owners requesting the annexation. The agreement is included within Attachment 2.

City Council District:

If the annexation area is approved, the parcel will be annexed into Voting District 3 per the Council Election Voting District Map. This is reflected in the draft Resolution (see Attachment 2).

 

Public Hearing & Review held by Planning Commission:

The Planning Commission conducted a public hearing on February 10, 2025, to consider the project and  the requests for Conditional Use Permit No. 2024-26 and Tentative Parcel Map No. 2024-08 on the project site. The affiliated staff report is provided as Attachment 10.

During the public hearing, comments were provided by a representative of the project applicant. No people or surrounding property owners spoke during the public hearing.

In addition, the Commissioners were briefed on letters of correspondence submitted after distribution of the Planning Commission staff report together with staff’s determination that the letters did not require any further actions regarding the recommendation of certification toward the EIR (refer to Correspondence section below).

Planning Commissioners made a motion for each individual entitlement, and each item passed on a 5-0 vote, resulting in approval of Conditional Use Permit No. 2024-26 and Tentative Parcel Map No. 2024-08 as proposed, and resulting in recommendations that the City Council certify the EIR, approve the Development Agreement and General Plan Amendment, and initiate the Annexation request.

As noted elsewhere in this staff report, an appeal for the approval of Conditional Use Permit No. 2024-26 and Tentative Parcel Map No. 2024-08 was received by the City and is being considered as a separate agenda item.

Correspondence Received After Posting of Final EIR:

The Planning Division received four letters of correspondence following the notification of the first public hearing on this project (i.e., Planning Commission hearing).  Three letters (Letters ‘A’, ‘B’, and ‘C’) were following the posting of the Planning Commission staff report on February 8th and prior to the Planning Commission public hearing on the evening of February 10th. A fourth letter (Letter ‘D’) was received on February 27th. All items of correspondence are included as Attachment 11.

All three letters came from parties that had previously submitted comments during the Draft EIR’s public review period in May 2024.

                     Letters ‘A’ and ‘D’, from Golden State Environmental Justice Alliance, represented by the firm Blum Collins Ho, restates the original Draft EIR comment that the EIR is flawed despite the response to comments in the Final EIR. The two letters provide the CalEnviroScreen data pertinent to the site to support the present air quality conditions on the site, and use the data to point out that the project site is located within a disadvantaged community.

                     Letter ‘B’, from Mitchell M. Tsai Law Firm, representing Carpenters Local 1109, reiterates comments included in their original comment letter to the Draft EIR, and replies to the Final EIR’s response to comments on five aspects of the original comment letter’s claim that the EIR is inadequate under CEQA.

                     Letter ‘C’, from Lozeau Drury LLP, representing Eddie Torres, Francisco Nunez, and Laborers International Union of North America, Local 294 (collectively “LIUNA”), states appreciation to the Final EIR’s response to comments and does not have any further comments or objections to the project’s EIR.

Upon review of these letters, staff continues to recommend that the Final EIR, together with the Draft EIR, be utilized for the entire project on the basis that the EIR as a whole, sufficiently analyzes environmental impacts related to the project.  Further, the letters do not present items that are deemed as significant new information or significant environmental issues that require additional analysis, revisions to, or recirculation of the EIR prior to certification, in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).  Further, since the correspondence was released after the preparation of the Draft and Final EIR, the City is not under the obligation to respond to the correspondence in the context of the EIR and CEQA.

 

Fiscal Impact:

No impact on the City. Future development of the property will require the developer to pay development impact fees.

 

Prior Council Action: None.

 

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. 2025-09, certifying the Final Environmental Impact Report prepared for the Shirk and Riggin Industrial Park (State Clearinghouse Number 2022080658); and

I move to approve Resolution No. 2025-10, to initiate proceedings for Annexation No. 2024-03, including authorization of the detachment of property from County Service Area No. 1 and for the City Manager to enter into a Pre-Annexation Agreement between the City of Visalia and the property owners; and

I move to approve Resolution No. 2025-11, to approve General Plan Amendment No. 2025-01; and

I move to conduct the First reading of the approval of Ordinance No. 2025-02 for the Development Agreement pertaining to the Shirk and Riggin Industrial Park.

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Environmental Assessment Status / CEQA Review:

A Draft and Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) (State Clearinghouse Number 2022080658), incorporated herein by reference, has been prepared in association with the Shirk and Riggin Industrial Park project, in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

It should be noted that this project would not be subject to Assembly Bill 98 pertaining to logistic uses, passed by California Legislature on September 30, 2024, since this project was initiated and had its Draft Environmental Impact Report circulated for review prior to the effective date of the bill, and is therefore considered to be currently in a local entitlement process per the law.

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 - Conversion of prime farmland (project level)

                     Agriculture & Forestry Resources - Conversion of prime farmland (cumulative level)

                     Air Quality - Implementation of the applicable Air Quality Plan (project level)

                     Air Quality - Cumulatively considerable net increase of nitrogen oxide (NOX) during construction, and reactive organic gas (ROG), NOX, and particulate matter 10 micrometers or less in diameter (PM10) during operation (project level)

                     Air Quality - Exceeding certain identified construction and operational significance thresholds (cumulative level)

                     Noise - Mobile source operational noise (project level)

                     Noise - Exceeding certain identified operational significance threshold (cumulative level)

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 seven 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:

                     Seven (7) mitigation measures pertaining to Air Quality for impacts of the project having a considerable net increase of a criterial pollutant for which the project region is nonattainment.

                     Seven (7) 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, burrowing owl, San Joaquin Kit Fox).

                     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.

                     Three (3) mitigation measures pertaining to Geology and Soils to address potential impacts related to grading, the potential for on-site erosion due to project construction and operation, and the potential of exposing a fossil during construction.

                     Two (2) mitigation measures pertaining to Greenhouse Gas Emissions to address the potential for the project to conflict with an agency plan adopted for the purpose of reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases.

                     One (1) mitigation measure pertaining to Hazardous Materials to address the potential presence o abandoned or unrecorded wells.

                     Two (2) mitigation measures pertaining to Noise to address the impacts of drive-through lane and car wash noise upon noise-sensitive land uses, and the potential of any other specific uses that could result in a noise-related conflict.

                     Eleven (11) mitigation measures pertaining to Transportation for addressing impacts to Vehicle Miles Travelled, Level Of Service, and construction traffic.

                     One (1) mitigation measure pertaining to Utilities and Service Systems for addressing the potential to attain solid waste reduction goals.

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:

                     Reduced Footprint Alternative: Under this Alternative, the site would be developed in a manner largely similar to the Project, except that the project would have a reduced overall footprint of development consisting of 142 acres of developable land and 142 acres preserved in agriculture use.

                     Alternative Location: Under this Alternative, the site would be developed like the Project Concept at a different location, on 290 acres west of Plaza Drive and Riggin Avenue.

                     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 April 11 to May 28, 2024. The City of Visalia is the lead agency for the preparation of the EIR. Seven comment letters were received during this public review period. City staff and the preparer of the EIR have prepared responses to the comments received (refer to the Final EIR, dated January 2025). The Draft Program EIR, including the technical appendices, all the comments received and the responses to these comments, constitute the Final EIR. 

The certification of the EIR for this project rests with the final approving body, which is the City Council.

Attachments:

1.                     Resolution No. 2025-09 - Certification of Final EIR.

                     Exhibit “A” - CEQA Findings of Fact and Statement of Overriding Considerations.

                     Attachment A of Exhibit “A”- Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program.

2.                     Resolution No. 2025-10 - Initiating proceedings for Annexation No. 2024-03 and Detachment from County Service Area No. 1.

                     Attachment “A” - Annexation Area.

                     Attachment “B” - Pre-Annexation Agreement.

3.                     Ordinance No. 2025-02 - Adopting a Development Agreement for Shirk-Riggin Industrial Park.

4.                     Resolution No. 2025-11 - Adopting General Plan Amendment No. 2025-01.

5.                     Site Plan.

6.                     Phasing Map.

7.                     Tentative Parcel Map.

8.                     Operational Statement.

9.                     Conceptual Design Plans.

10.                     Planning Commission Staff Report dated February 10, 2025.

11.                     Correspondence received.

12.                     Draft Environmental Impact Report.

                     The Draft EIR with Appendices can also be accessed online at <https://www.visalia.city/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?BlobID=55426>

13.                     Final Environmental Impact Report.

                     The Final EIR can also be accessed online at <https://www.visalia.city/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?BlobID=57144>

14.                     through 17. General Plan Land Use, Zoning, Aerial, and Location Maps.