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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09. SEPA2022-038_New Heritage - Comments City of Pasco 03032023 Signed � c;�� ���� ��ommunity Development Department PO Box 293,525 N 3�d Ave, Pasco,WA�9301 P:509.544.3441/F:509.545.349J March 3, 2023 Attention: Elizabeth Smith, Planner J-U-B Engineers, Inc. 3611 S. Sintel Canyon Way Kennewick, Washington 99337 Subject: Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed City of Pasco Comprehensive Plan Amendment—Jubilee Foundation/New Heritage; CPA2002-003 & SEPA2022-038 The City of Pasco appreciates the opportunity to review and provide comments on the revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement prepared for the Jubilee Foundation/New Heritage Comprehensive Plan Land Use Amendment (CPA2022-003). The intent of this memorandum is to provide you with questions and clarifications that the City requires to be addressed prior to the issuance of a Final Environmental Impact Statement. The following is a summary of several topics that the City does not believe are adequately addressed in the DEIS.This memorandum is provided to you as part of the City's ongoing obligation to assure that the EIS is sufficient to discuss and compare the environmental impacts of the proposal and alternatives, rather than simply a re-description of the proposal and its environmental setting. As the SEPA WACs make clear, "no matter who participates in the preparation of the EIS, it is the EIS of the lead agency." WAC 197-11-420(1). Based on our ongoing review of the scope of the proposal, environmental impacts associated with the proposal, the proposal's complexity, and the need for additional modifications to the DEIS, the City (Lead Agency) has determined that issuance of the FEIS will not occur within 60 days of the end of the public comment period. WAC 197-11-460(7). The memorandum has three primary sections that reference the revised DEIS, lead agency comments, and next steps. Comments on Revised Draft Environmental Im act Statement The City received a revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement on January 3, 2023. Section 1.4, page 2: • The section incorrectly references "Broadmoor Urban Growth Area." No FEIS for the Broadmoor Master Plan has been issued as of 02/01/2023. • This section states that the DEIS "will also include many. of the Broadmoor impact mitigation measures." Because no FEIS has yet been issued, it is not possible for this DEIS to usefully identify mitigation in reliance on Broadmoor mitigation. o Mitigation measures shall be clearly defined and relevant to the nature of the alternatives identified for the DEIS. Aside from the above comment, this DEIS fails to specify what mitigation measures from the Broadmoor environmental document would be applicable here. Section 3.3.1, page 11,Schools: • This section references a potential siting of a future Pasco School District elementary school. o Confirm coordination with the Pasco School District, and or, inclusion in the most recently adopted Capital Facilities Plan for the Pasco School District. o Explain how and when decisions of the Pasco School District will be coordinated and integrated into the proposal. What contingencies for environmental review may or will be affected based on decisions made by the Pasco School District? How will phasing of the proposal be altered, if at all? o Identify increased residential units and impacts associated, as stated, in the case that the Pasco School District does not elect to construct a school on the site. Section 3.4, page 14: • This section states that "If the Preferred Alternative is approved, all existing code requirements would have to be met and any approved mitigation measures identified under this EIS would have to be implemented. This can include the requirement for a concomitant agreement to assure future compliance." o The Pasco Municipal Code restricts the application of concomitant agreements zone changes only, does not apply to Comprehensive Plan Land Use Amendments. (PMC 25.210.100(1)). o The terms of any concomitant agreement could have independent environmental significance. Explain how the DEIS addresses the likely environmental significance of a concomitant agreement that does not yet exist. o What are the specific components or terms of a concomitant agreement that would be proposed to address impacts of the proposal? Which impacts of the proposal are proposed to be made a subject of a concomitant agreement? o Explain how the environmental assessment contained in the DEIS would be altered if the City and the proponent do not agree on a concomitant agreement. Section 4, page 16, Major Issues and Areas of Controversy • This section shall clearly indicate that the Lead Agency (City of Pasco) has raised concerns about the loss of industrial lands, the conversion of industrial lands, the impacts to current industrial users, and the incompatibility and potential consequences of the location of residents near and immediately within the proximity of industrial development. o What cumulative impacts should be anticipated as a result of introducing residential uses in close proximity to industrial lands? Will residential uses tend to promote conflict with existing industrial uses? Will the proposal tend to reduce the viability of ongoing and proposed use of industrial lands for industrial purposes? o What mitigation measures respond to the noted "concern" that "the proposed amendment, if approved, could lead to other industrially zoned properties requesting changes to residential uses"? o How has the likelihood and significance of this consequence been studied? Section 6.2, page 25, Air Quality • The DEIS does not identify the potential impacts or mitigation measures associated with locating residential households within proximity to current or future industrial uses and users. • The Washington Environmental Health Disparities Map indicates the proposal site experiences higher risks of environmental exposures from diesel exhaust, ozone concentration, PM2.5 concentration, proximity to�heavy traffic roadways, and toxic releases from facilities. • What are the qualifications of the DEIS authors to provide an informed discussion of impacts and mitigation measures for air quality and other environmental health concerns? • What studies or other analyses have been conducted or reviewed to inform the DEIS on this subject? • How do Washington Department of Ecology (WDOE) air quality standards and the WDOE fugitive dust policy correspond to the types and extent of air quality impacts that should be anticipated? Do these sources provide recommendations for mitigation relating to human health for any expected environmental exposures? Section 6.4. page 41-43, Land Use, Potential Impacts • The DEIS does not address the land use compatibility issues created by increasing residential households within proximity to current or future industrial uses and users. • The DEIS does not address the implementation of future rezones associated with the proposal, and whether those rezones would be in conformance with the Pasco Municipal Code or Pasco Comprehensive Plan. • See above comments regarding cumulative impacts and environmental health impacts. Section 6.4, page 44, No-Action Alternative � The DEIS mentions that without mitigation, the No-Action Alternative "adversely impact nearby residential land uses and the natural environment through increased noise, odor, reduction in air quality and runoff" but does not address or identify the potential for similar adverse impacts of increasing residential households within proximity to current or future ir�dustrial uses and users for the Preferred and Medium Density Alternatives. Section 6.4.3, page 44, Land Use Mitigation Measures • The Pasco Municipal Code restricts the application of concomitant agreements zone changes only, does not apply to Comprehensive Plan Land Use Amendments. (PMC 25.210.100(1)). • The DEIS does not provide specific mitigation measures related to the land use compatibility of increasing residential households within proximity to current or future industrial uses or users. • The DEIS not address the loss of industrial lands in the Pasco Urban Growth Area, or provide mitigation measures for the loss of industrial lands. • See above comment regarding cumulative impacts. Section 6.5, page 49-50, Employment • The DEIS references developed and vacant industrial land estimates identified in the 2018 Pasco Comprehensive Plan, however the DEIS does not identify updates to these estimates that include vested permits associated with industrial development. • See above comment regarding cumulative impacts. Section 6.5.2, page 50, Potential Impacts • The DEIS does not identify the potential impacts related to the increase of population and housing within proximity to current or future industrial uses or users. Section 6.5.2, page 51, Employment • This section mentions future employment would be provided by various retail and office land uses, including a future elementary school. o Confirm coordination with the Pasco School District, and or, inclusion in the most recently adopted Capital Facilities Plan for the Pasco School District. o Identify increased residential units and impacts associated, as stated, in the case that the Pasco School District does not elect to construct a school on the site. Section 6.5.3, page 52, Mitigation Measures • The DEIS does not identify specific detailed mitigation measures that include defined performance standards. • The DEIS states only that various mitigation measures "could be used." This is ambiguous about exactly what mitigation measures will be implemented, how they will be implemented, and how their success will be evaluated. • No provision is made for adaptive mitigation in the event mitigation measures are unsuccessful. How may the results of mitigation form a basis to reevaluate successive phases of the proposal? • No criteria have been identified to gauge the correlation between anticipated mitigation and the likely impacts of the proposal. Is there a range of acceptable outcomes for mitigation and, if so, how has that been determined? • General references to the Goals and Policies of the Pasco Comprehensive Plan is not an acceptable substitute for analysis and development of specific mitigation measures that are reasonable and capable of being implemented. WAC 197-11-440(6)(c)(iii). • The discussion of mitigation measures should clearly summarize and identify significant adverse impacts that cannot or will not be mitigated. WAC 197-11-440(6)(c)(v). Section 6.8, page 60, Environmental Health • This section mentions that areas to the west and southwest are �acant. o While vacant at the time of the issuance of the DEIS (09/26/2022), the DEIS does not accurately depict development conditions adjacent to the proposal site. Notices were distributed for State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) on July 20, 2021 (Ryan Companies); September 1, 2021 (Local Bounti); and August 16, 2022 (Pasco Road 40, LLC). These applications should be accurately represented and evaluated in the DEIS. � See above comments regarding cumulative impacts and environmental health impacts. • The City is concerned that the potential release of hazardous pollutants into the air, water, or soil can have adverse effects on the health of people living nearby, which effects can be especially harmful to vulnerable populations such as children, pregnant women, elderly individuals, and those with pre-existing health conditions. How have environmental health considerations been tailored to the expected use of the proposal by persons who may be particularly vulnerable to environmental health risks? In addition, low-income communities and communities of color are often disproportionately located near industrial facilities, leading to a greater burden of exposure to environmental health risks. • How does the DEIS address environmental justice values and considerations that may be presented in the immediate and long-term duration of the proposal? Section 6.8.2, page 61, Potential Impacts and Mitigation • The DEIS does not identify the potential impacts or mitigation measures associated with the locating residential households within proximity to current or future industrial uses and users. • The Washington Environmental Health Disparities Map indicates the proposal site experiences higher risks of environmental exposures from diesel exhaust, ozone concentration, PM2.5 concentration, proximity to heavy traffic roadways, and toxic releases from facilities. • References to the Goals and Policies of the Pasco Comprehensive Plan do not adequately satisfy the requirements of WAC 197-11-440(6). • Impacts from existing and vested industrial use and user related projects are not clearly identified. • See above comments regarding cumulative impacts and environmental health impacts. Section 6.9.2, Potential Impacts, Transportation • The DEIS does not identify impacts of increased residential households transportation demands, particularly the movement of local residential trips in conjunction with the increased industrial and freight-based uses and users in the immediate proximity. • The DEIS does not clearly identify the impacts associated with the potential conflict of trips from residents, local parks, trails, bicycle routes, in proximity to industrial trips nearby. • The DEIS not identify any potential impacts to the existing railroad spur, or from the existing railroad spur to the increased trips and residential households proposed. Section 6.9.3, pages 72-73,Transportation Mitigation • References to the Goals and Policies of the Pasco Comprehensive Plan do not adequately satisfy the requirements of WAC 197-11-440(6). • The DEIS does not identify mitigation associated with the potential increase of conflicts between residential neighborhood trips with industrial based trips, including freight. • The DEIS does not identify mitigation associated with increased residential households within close proximity to industrially based trips, including freight. • The DEIS mentions that the "Development should be consistent with the goals and policies of the Comprehensive Plan", however, the DEIS does not identify what specific developments would satisfy the goals and policies of the Comprehensive Plan. • The DEIS does not include or reference results, recommendations, or strategies of the adopted Transportation System Master Plan. Additional Lead A�ency Comments The purpose of these comments is to express to the applicant the concerns raised by the Lead Agency. While the DEIS identifies partial impacts and potential mitigations, the DEIS does not adequately address the probable environmental significance of the proposal. An overarching concern of the City is that the DEIS does not provide adequate discussion or analysis of the large-scale change of the City's existing planning and zoning designations for industrial use to a new residential-intensive use. This change is likely to have significant adverse environmental impacts arising from incompatibility between current industrial users with the introduction of residential dwellings, or the impacts to future residents from vested and future industrial uses and users. The DEIS does not include any information that would identify any potential or propose any necessary mitigations that may be required of future industrial development in the appro�ed industrial land uses in the immediate vicinity to offset impacts to upwards of 1,028 — 1,354 housing units, or approximately 3,258—4,292 new residents. The Lead Agency also rQcommends that the DEIS include a matrix table summary of potential impacts, which should identify the following: • Affected Environment • Extent of Impact • Description of Impact • Mitigation • Magnitude of Impact • Significant Unavoidable Adverse Impacts Next Steps City staff appreciates the time allotted to review and collaborate on the proposal. Prior to the issuance of the FEIS, comments, concerns, and recommendations raised in this memorandum should be addressed and incorporated into the environmental document. The City will continue to work closely with your team to help refine the FEIS so that it provides an adequate and impartial discussion of probable significant adverse environmental impacts of the proposal. If you have any questions, please contact our office. Sincerely, � Rick White, Director City of Pasco, Community and Economic Development whiter n �asco-wa. ov � (509) 545-3441