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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Report - November 4, 2009 J-01AGENDA ITEM :140 1 CITY OF LODI COUNCIL COMMUNICATION AGENDA TITLE: Receive A Report on Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Assessment for 46 Widening from Stockton to Southerly Limits of the White Slough Water Pollution Control Facility MEETING DATE: November4,2009 PREPARED BY: Community Development Director RECOMMENDED ACTION: Receive a report on Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Assessment for 1-6 Widening from Stockton to southerly limits of the White Slough Water Pollution Control Facility and take appropriate action. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: This item is being brought to the City Council as an informational item. The Council may want to discuss and provide direction for additional follow up action. The Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Assessment analyzes a proposed project that will build freeway and interchange improvements from 0.2 mile south of Charter Way/Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to 1.8 miles north of Eight Mile Road in northwest Stockton. The document was prepared by CalTrans. The stated purpose of the project is as follows: Reduce traffic congestion and delay on Interstate 5 Encourage High -Occupancy Vehicle use in the Interstate corridor within the project area Improve regional mobility Provide a balanced circulation system and reduce out -of -direction travel As stated in the document "The project is needed because northwest Stockton has been and is expected to continue experiencing substantial traffic growth, both locally from new area development and regionally from nearby communities such as Sacramento, Lodi, Lathrop, Manteca, and Tracy." The complete document is available on-line at: http://www.dot.ca.gov/distIO/environmental/proiects/i5nstkn/PDFfactsheet/20090917 Signed%20EIR EA 1-51nterchanges.pdf The portion of the project which staff is focused on with this review is the new interchange designated as North Gateway Boulevard. This interchange would occur approximately 1.8 miles north of Eight Mile Road (Exhibit "A) .The proposed interchange is within the current Stockton General Plan which abuts the City of Lodi's White Slough property (Exhibit "B"). The document states that the new interchange "would improve local access to Interstate 5, reduce demands at existing interchanges, and connect a planned regional arterial with Interstate 5." The City of Stockton is proposing a new east -west expressway along Stockton's northerly boundary. J:\CommunityDevelopment\CouncilCommunications\2009\11-04 report on 15wideningProject.doc APPROVED: Blair Kinh, City Manager To a certain extent, this document simply implements Stockton's approved General Plan which designates this area north of Eight Mile Road for a variety of urban land uses many of which have already been approved. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS: The document outlines a variety of potential environmental impacts. Staff believes there are two topic areas that deserve additional discussion within the report. Section 2.1.2 Growth The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires that an analysis of a project's potential to induce growth be incorporated in an EIR. The discussion outlined in the document states that "The proposed project would not directly affect growth within the Stockton region or San Joaquin County, but accessibility in the project area would change. Specific to the proposed interchange north of eight Mile Road, we disagree with the statement. Further, the document states "Both the 2035 Stockton General Plan and the 2010 San Joaquin General Plan do not project any potential growth as a result of the proposed project; only transportation circulation would improve in the region. The addition of North Gateway Boulevard and Otto Drive interchanges would handle increased traffic volumes from ongoing population and housing growth in this region of Stockton. We believe there is a direct connection between the need for this project and the growth anticipated through the Stockton General Plan. Without one, the other would/could not occur. Section 2.1.3 Farmlands/Timberlands Construction of the project would convert approximately 58 acres of agricultural soils to urban (highway) uses. Most of that impact occurs within the existing right-of-wayof Interstate 5 south of Eight Mile Road. According to the California Department of Conservation, approximately five acres of Prime and Unique Farmland is impacted by the project slated north of Eight Mile Road. The document states that the amount of agricultural land to be converted is "negligible" compared to the total amount of farmland in San Joaquin County or in California. While staff agrees that the amount of acreage is not substantial when compared to the entire County or State, we do believe that the resulting loss is a significant impact under CEQA that should be mitigated. An additional concern related to this discussion is the missing Farmland Conversion Impact Rating form. The discussion within this section refers to Appendix H, which is not included. Further, the document indicates that Appendix G contains this information; however, it is not included. The final area of staffs review is the schedule and estimated costs of the project. The entire project is broken down into five phases. All phases are scheduled to be completed by 2015 with an estimated cost of over $589,000,000. The fifth phase is the North Gateway Interchange including auxiliary lanes to Eight Mile Road. This phase alone is estimated at $63,000,000. The funding sources identified for the entire project are a combination of San Joaquin Measure K Renewal Funds, City of Stockton Public Facility Fee funds and State Transportation improvement Program (STIP) funds. FISCAL IMPACT: N/A onradt Banm Community Development Director KB/kjc Attachments: Legend Q 1.3 Mile Radius Proposed off -ramp Location Exact distanceto Eight Mile Road 1.2628025038 mile i C I t y Limits r� �� ti fff 1 _ tfrlear r„'tnrngo .. csidenn'n Cnmmcrclnl ��� ` J1• .sod—d. 4 .• RL'�I�1L•I Ii1J . � .,-'.L�aterelOffive r - • - 1� x IZ"•:Ir y H��rrai Rericf.;ntiyl -