Background:
The Mountain View Whisman School District (“District”) developed and approved the New Slater Campus Project located at 220 North Whisman Road, in the City of Mountain View to redevelop the former Kenneth N. Slater School into a new elementary school campus (“Original Project”).
On October 5, 2017, the District certified the Original Mitigated Negative Declaration (“MND”) for the Original Project. Both the Original MND and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (“MMRP”) included Mitigation Measure TRA-1 (“TRA-1”), which, in part, required the District to furnish a flashing beacon and crosswalk for the school’s driveway. With the incorporation of TRA-1, which was adopted by the District at the time of Original Project approval, the potential impact on traffic was determined to be less than significant.
The City of Mountain View (“City”) now desires to replace the flashing beacon and crosswalk mitigation with a four-way signal system and crosswalk at the intersection of North Whisman Road / Pacific Avenue / the School Driveway, installation of painted left-turn pockets, installation of new handicapped-accessible curb ramps, and modifications to the median strip associated with the turning pockets (collectively, the “Changed Project”).
Section 15164(b) of the “CEQA Guidelines” (Title 14, Cal. Code of Regs., § 15000 et seq.) authorizes a lead agency to prepare an addendum to an MND “if only minor technical changes or additions are necessary or none of the conditions described in section 15162 calling for preparation of a subsequent … negative declaration have occurred.” Section 15162 calls for a subsequent negative declaration where the proposed changes would create a new significant environmental impact not identified in a previous negative declaration.
The District engaged Grassetti Environmental Consulting (“Grassetti”) to conduct environmental review of the Changed Project under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”). Grassetti determined that the Changed Project would be a minor change that would not cause any new significant environmental impacts or substantially increase the severity of the significant impacts disclosed in the Original MND. Thus, the Changed Project would not cause any of the conditions in CEQA Guidelines section 15162, calling for the preparation of a subsequent environmental impact report or mitigated negative declaration, and the appropriate environmental document is an addendum. Accordingly, Grassetti prepared an MND Addendum and amended MMRP. The MND Addendum describes the changed components of the Changed Project in detail, analyzes impact changes, and demonstrates that the Changed Project will not create any new significant environmental impacts or substantially increase the severity of those significant environmental impacts previously disclosed in the Original MND.
Fiscal Implication:
None.
Recommended Action:
That the Board of Trustees adopt Resolution No. 01-032119 to find that the change to the New Slater Campus Project will not have a significant effect on the environment, approve the Project’s Mitigated Negative Declaration Addendum and Amended MMRP, approve the Changed Project, and direct staff to file a Notice of Determination with the County Clerk.