4A Public Hearing 2015 0720 - Laserfiche WebLink

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File Number: 15-441 Role of the City Council The City prepared an EIR for Project applications that include a General Plan amendment and rezoning, as further described in the staff report for the next agenda item. The City Council is responsible for approval, conditional approval, or denial of the General Plan and zoning applications as submitted or in modified form, and with consideration of recommendations made by the Planning Commission. Prior to acting on the applications, the City Council must consider certification of the EIR. On June 18, 2015, the Planning Commission recommended certification of the EIR. Certification of an EIR is a finding that the EIR was completed in compliance with CEQA, was considered prior to taking action on the project, and reflects the City's independent judgment and analysis (CEQA Guidelines section 15090). Proiect Description The Project site is 52 acres in land area and 23 acres of water area owned by the City of San Leandro. The Project is a public/private partnership between the City of San Leandro and Cal Coast Companies LLC. The Project includes a variety of components described in detail in Chapter 3, Project Description, of the Draft EIR. The conceptual site plan is shown on Figure 3-3 of the Draft EIR. The salient components include a new 150,000 square foot office campus, a new 200 -room hotel, a new conference center, 354 new housing units, 3 new restaurants, and a new parking structure. A variety of public amenities would be installed, including a new approximately 2,500 -square -foot community library/community meeting space, an aquatic center/dock, bocce ball courts, outdoor recreational areas, picnic areas, a perched beach, pedestrian piers, two miles of public promenade, a natural shoreline element along the interior of the harbor basin, a pedestrian/bicycle bridge, a boardwalk/lookout pier, several small finger piers, and refurbishment of existing public restrooms on site. Although direction from the San Leandro City Council to staff is to maintain the existing San Leandro Marina for as long as financially feasible, for the purpose of the environmental analysis, the Draft EIR assumes that the harbor masters office, fuel pump/dock, and the 462 existing boat slips in the harbor basin would eventually be removed by the City at such time as safe and navigable boating operations cease to exist. With removal of the boat slips, the harbor would only be open to non -motorized watercraft; the Project includes the construction of a small boat launch, a kayak storage building, and an aeration fountain in the harbor basin to aid in water circulation. Proiect Objectives Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15124(b), an EIR must identify the objectives sought by the Project. Identifying project objectives also serves as a basis for analyzing alternatives to the proposed Project, as described below under the Alternatives heading. Accordingly, the Project's objectives are listed below, and also included in Chapter 3 of the Draft EIR. • Build an economically viable and vibrant mixed-use development which provides needed amenities and services to the residents of the City of San Leandro and creates a regional recreational and commercial destination, including: o A banquet/conference facility for residents and others to hold large parties such as weddings, graduation parties, quinceneras, and other events in San Leandro. The banquet/conference center is also needed to support tournaments at the Tony Lema/Monarch Bay Golf Course; City of San Leandro Page 2 Printed on 7114/2015