Laserfiche WebLink
b. Project Impacts and Mitigation Measures <br />Threshold: Would the Specific Plan have a substantial adverse effect on a scenic vista? <br />IMPACT AES-1 THE PROPOSED SPECIFIC PLAN WOULD FACILITATE INCREASES IN THE INTENSITY, SCALE <br />AND VISIBILITY OF DEVELOPMENT IN THE SPECIFIC PLAN AREA, AND WOULD INCLUDE CHANGES TO <br />CIRCULATION PATTERNS AND BLOCK SIZES. HOWEVER, PLAN IMPLEMENTATION WOULD NOT SIGNIFICANTLY <br />BLOCK OR OTHERWISE ADVERSELY AFFECT SCENIC VISTAS. THEREFORE, IMPACTS RELATED TO SCENIC VISTAS <br />WOULD BE LESS THAN SIGNIFICANT. <br />As discussed in the Setting section above under Views and Scenic Resources, the City’s 2035 General <br />Plan identifies the primary significant views within San Leandro as those looking west to the San <br />Francisco Bay from the shoreline and from the hills above the I-580 Freeway, and views looking east <br />to the hills near the I-580 Freeway and to the foothills from hills near the I-580 Freeway (City of San <br />Leandro 2016b). As shown in Figure 9, the 2035 General Plan does not identify significant views <br />within the vicinity of the Specific Plan Area. <br />Views available from public viewpoints (primarily public streets) within and surrounding the Specific <br />Plan Area are primarily of commercial and residential development. Private residences along East <br />14th Street, Hesperian Boulevard and Coelho Drive also have views of urban development within <br />the Specific Plan Area. No views of the San Francisco Bay or the shoreline are available from or <br />through the Specific Plan Area. There are some views of the hillsides to the east of the Specific Plan <br />area along street corridors oriented toward the east or northeast, such as from Fairmont Drive and <br />150th Avenue, among others, and from the BART station platform and trains. <br />Although the intensity, scale and visibility of development in the Specific Plan Area would increase <br />under the Specific Plan, views along street corridors toward the hills would not be significantly <br />blocked by new development, as the views would remain substantially available even as <br />development on adjacent properties intensifies. Views of the hillsides from the BART station may be <br />partially blocked, but some views would remain available above and between buildings, and <br />passengers would still have ample views of the hillsides as trains approach and leave the station. In <br />addition, the Specific Plan calls for creating smaller blocks through additional mid-block connections <br />and may increase opportunities for views to the east and northeast through and from the Specific <br />Plan Area. Finally, as noted above, the existing views from and through the Specific Plan Area are <br />not identified by the City as “significant views” in the 2035 General Plan. Impacts related to scenic <br />vistas would be less than significant. <br />Mitigation Measures <br />Mitigation measures are not required. <br />134