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HomeMy WebLinkAbout300 Airport Boulevard - Staff Report� � . BURLINGAME DATE: May 9, 2019 TO: Note to File FROM: SUBJECT: CITY OF BURLINGAME Community Development Department MEMORANDUM Kevin Gardiner, Community Development Director (Revised) Sanchez Channel Bridge Project BCDC Permit No. 1986.004.10(A) Background The City of Burlingame ("City") has contemplated expanding the existing vehicular bridge over Sanchez Channel to provide improved pedestrian and bicycle access since at least the 1980s. The Bay Conservation and Development Commission ("BCDC") issued a permit to the City in 1986 to expand the existing bridge across the Sanchez Channel, specifically to provide a 1,546 square foot, 8 foot wide by 110 foot long sidewalk supported by six pilings, and the City approved a Negative Declaration, File ND-397P, on January 23, 1987 for the project ("Bridge Project"). The permit was subsequently amended three times to address certain modifications.' In 2012, the City imposed the obligation to construct the Bridge Project on the developer of the nearby Burlingame Point project as a public benefit under a Development Agreement. Burlingame Point LLC ("Developer") is the current owner and developer of the Burlingame Point project, which is an office/life science campus that has been under construction since January 2017. The City certified an Environmental Impact Report ("EIR") and approved the Burlingame Point project on June 18, 2012. The City subsequently approved an Addendum to the EIR on August 22, 2016 in connection with minor changes to the Burlingame Point project. In the Addendum to the EIR, the Bridge Project is not explicitly discussed but was shown on the site plan attached as Figure 3 to the Addendum and evaluated as part of the Burlingame Point projecYs improvements to the Bay Trail. In connection with the Burlingame Point project's public access improvements, Section 4.1 of the Development Agreement for the Burlingame Point project requires the Developer to expand the existing bridge over Sanchez Channel in accordance with the BCDC permit or as otherwise contemplated in permits received by the City or Developer. Although the BCDC permit for the Bridge Project was issued to widen the existing bridge, upon further review by the City and Developer, the original concept of widening the existing vehicular bridge proved to be infeasible. With that understanding, Developer, in collaboration with the City, redesigned the pedestrian and bicycle bridge as an independent single-span bridge located adjacent to the existing vehicular bridge and within the City's existing right-of-way (the "Revised Bridge Project"). ' See BCDC Permit No. 1986.004.10(A). BCDC issued a time extension to commence construction u�ntil December 31, 2015 and an extension of completion time until December 31, 2018 in a letter from Steve Goldbeck, Chief Deputy Director, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, to Art Morimoto, City of Burlingame, dated October 16, 2013. Developer has requested another time extension and request for a minor amendment to the permit for the Bridge Project which is under review. (Revised) Sanchez Channel Bridge Project BCDC Permit No. 1986.004.10(A) Page 2 The purpose of this Note to File is to document for the record that the Revised Bridge Project is consistent with, and encompassed within, the Negative Declaration for the Bridge Project and the EIR and Addendum for the Burlingame Point project, and that no further environmen#al review of the Revised Bridge Project is necessary because it would not create any new impacts or substantially increase the severity of any previously identified impacts. In addition, even if the Revised Bridge Project was considered a new project, it would be categorically exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA"). II. Project Description for the Revised Bridge Project The Revised Bridge Project consists of an approximately 151' long by 10' wide prefabricated steel pedestrian bridge across Sanchez Channel that is designed to link the San Francisco Bay Trail in the Bayfront Specific Plan Area and Coyote Point Recreation Area. The Revised Bridge Project is located immediately east of the existing Airport Boulevard. bridge. The decking will consist of cast-in-place concrete. Utilities will be hung underneath (e.g. PG&E, Comcast cable, and sewer force main) the deck. No in-water pilings are proposed to support the bridge structure, and the abutments will be constructed landward of the existing shoreline protection structure along Sanchez Channel to preserve the shoreline and avoid in-water work. All construction work will be perFormed above Mean High Water. III. Review of Potential Environmental Impacts For the reasons listed below, the City determines that the Revised Bridge Project would have no new impacts or more severe impacts than previously discussed and analyzed in the Negative Declaration for the Bridge Project or the certified EIR and Addendum for the Burlingame Point project. A. Negative Declaration for the Bridge Project The Negative Declaration for the Bridge Project analyzed a different design than the Revised Bridge Project (i.e., the widening of the existing bridge supported by six pilings as opposed to a standalone bridge). The Revised Bridge Project is substantially similar to the Bridge Project as it is (i) located in essentially the same location as the Bridge Project (i.e., the Revised Bridge Project is immediately adjacent to the existing bridge and entirely within the City's right-of-way), and (ii) would serve the same function (i.e., provide enhanced pedestrian and bicycle access across Sanchez Channel). Unlike the Bridge Project, however, the Revised Bridge Project consists of a standalone bridge that will not require in-water support piles. Further, measures will be in place to prevent concrete from spilling into Sanchez Channel during construction. Impacts from the Revised Bridge Project would therefore be considered to be less than those associated with the original Bridge Project as analyzed in the Negative Declaration. The Revised Bridge Project has also been reviewed by other agencies with jurisdiction over Sanchez Channel, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Coast Guard. In a letter dated January 10, 2019 from Rick M. Bottoms, Chief, Regulatory Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to Mark Kalnins, WRA, Inc., regarding File Number 2017-00016(S), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers confirmed that Department of . � . � (Revised) Sanchez Channel Bridge Project BCDC Permit No. 1986.004.10(A) Page 3 the Army authorization was not required under Section 9 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 and a permit was not required under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, because the Revised Bridge Project would not discharge fill below the high tide line. In a letter dated February 6, 2019 from C.T. Hausner, Chief, Bridge Section, Eleventh Coast Guard District, U.S. Coast Guard, to Kevin Gardiner, City of Burlingame, regarding the Revised Bridge Project, the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed that no individual Coast Guard permit is required.2 Thus, the Revised Bridge Project is substantially similar to the Bridge Project and, because it is a standalone bridge without in-water support piles, would have less of an impact on the environment than outlined in the Negative Declaration for the Bridge Project. B. Environmental Impact Report and Addendum for the Burlingame Point Project The EIR and Addendum for the Burlingame Point project analyzed the entire project (i.e., an office/life science campus consisting of 767,000 square feet of floor area on an 18.13 acre site), including improvements to the Bay Trail. The Revised Bridge Project is a component of the Bay Trail improvements that are part of the Burlingame Point project since the Bridge Project was designed to enhance public access across Sanchez Channel by connecting the Bay Trail on either side of Sanchez Channel. No potential environmental impacts were previously identified, and as described above, the Revised Bridge Project would have less of an impact on the environment than the Bridge Project. Accordingly, under the EIR and Addendum for the Burlingame Point project, the Revised Bridge Project would have no new impacts and would not substantially increase the severity of any previously identified impacts relative to the analysis included in the City's prior environmental review. IV. Conclusion The Revised Bridge Project was analyzed for consistency with the Negative Declaration for the Bridge Project and the EIR for the Burlingame Point project. The City finds that there have been no substantial changes in the Bridge Project or its circumstances that would require further CEQA analysis since adoption of the Negative Declaration for the Bridge Project and certification of the EIR and Addendum for the Burlingame Point project. In addition, there is no substantial new information that could not have been known since the Negative Declaration was adopted and the EIR certified. The City's Community Development Department has therefore determined that pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15162, there are no grounds for the City to undertake further environmental review of the Revised Bridge Project, and that neither an Addendum to the EIR or a Subsequent EIR would be applicable to the proposed Revised Bridge Project. 2 Project reference number is (COMDTINST M16590.5C).