8B Public - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Environmental Setting Environmental Impact Report 3-1 3 Environmental Setting This section provides a general overview of the environmental setting for the proposed project. More detailed descriptions of the environmental setting for each environmental issue area can be found in Section 4, Environmental Impact Analysis. 3.1 Regional Setting The project site is in the City of San Leandro, which is part of the greater San Francisco Bay Area in northern California. The San Francisco Bay Area is an urbanized region composed of numerous cities and counties that have a combined population of approximately 7.5 million people and encompass almost 7,000 square miles (California Department of Finance 2023). The climate varies within the San Francisco Bay Area, but the region is generally known to have a coastal Mediterranean climate with cool, wet winters and mild to hot, dry summers. Although air quality in the area has steadily improved in recent years, several counties in the San Francisco Bay Area Region remain nonattainment areas for ozone (urban smog). San Leandro is located along the eastern side of the bay and is approximately 17 miles inland of Pacific Ocean coastline. Incorporated in 1872, San Leandro was primarily an agricultural city until World War II, when the city experienced rapid population growth. The city’s population doubled between 1940 and 1950 and doubled again between 1950 and 1960. San Leandro shifted to manufacturing and commercial sectors, and by the late 1960s, the city was almost completely built out. Infill development has continued to expand San Leandro’s commercial and residential growth (City of San Leandro 2020). The city borders the San Francisco Bay to the west and extends approximately 4 miles inland. To the north of the city are the cities of Alameda and Oakland, and to the south are the cities of Hayward and Fremont. Major roadways in the city include San Leandro Boulevard, Marina Boulevard, and Washington Avenue. Freeways that pass through the City include Interstate 880 (I-880), Interstate 580 (I-580), and State Route 185 (SR 185). I-880 is approximately 0.3 mile east of the project site, and I-580 is approximately 2.7 miles east. Figure 2-1 in Section 2, Project Description, shows the location of the project site in the region. 3.2 Project Site Setting As shown in Figure 2-2 in Section 2, Project Description, the project site is bordered by industrial and commercial development to the north, including but not limited to, tool vendors, screen printing shops, machine shops, and sign shops. Carden Street separates the project site from land uses to the east, which are comprised of trucking businesses, a landscape company, metal supplier, and other commercial/industrial businesses. Industrial and commercial development also occurs to the south of the project site, as well as to the west. The freight and corporate aircraft runways at Oakland International Airport are approximately 4,050 feet northwest of the project site. There are inactive railroad tracks adjacent to the south and west of the site, and there is an active railroad corridor approximately 400 feet east of the project site. The San Francisco Bay shoreline is approximately 3,000 feet southwest of the project site. The site is approximately 2.5 miles east of the San Francisco Bay, 5.8 miles northwest of San Lorenzo Creek, and 2.5 miles west of San Leandro Creek.