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CC - 2005-43 - Development Agreement 04-01 - General Plan Amendment 03-02 Certifying a Revised EIRRESOLUTION NO. 2005-43 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD DECERTIFYING THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FOR DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT 04-01, GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT 03-02, CERTIFYING A REVISED COMPLETE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FOR THE SAME, AND DENYING THE APPEAL RELATING TO CERTIFICATION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FOR TENTATIVE PARCEL MAP 26827 AND CONDITIONAL USE PERMITS 02-882 FOR A MINI-MALL, 02-883 FOR A GASOLINE STATION AND 03-939 FOR ALCOHOL SALES AT THE MAJOR TENANT FOR THE ROSEMEAD COMMERCIAL RETAIL CENTER The City Council of the City of.Rosemead does hereby resolve as follows: SECTION 1. Background. A. Development Resource Consultants filed applications for development of a 22. acre site bounded by Delta Street to the west, Rush Street to the north, Walnut Grove Avenue to the east, and the Panda Restaurant Group corporate building which is located immediately south of and adjacent to the southern border of the project site. Development Resources Consultant sought approval of a 253,267 square foot retail/commercial center which would include a 230,367 square foot general merchandise/grocery sales store (Wal-Mart), a gas.station with eight fueling pumps, and approximately another 22,000 square feet of restaurant and retail uses (the "Proposed Project'). B. The Proposed Project required approval by the Planning Commission of a tentative parcel map to divide the parcel into 6 lots and conditional use permits to establish a gas station, allow the sale of alcoholic beverages, and establish a "mink mall" as defined by Chapter 17.04 of the Rosemead Municipal Code. The Project also required approval by the City Council of a General Plan amendment to the Land Use Element, changing the designation of the site from "Office/Light Industrial" to "Commercial" and making corresponding textual changes. The Developer also requested approval of a 10 year Development Agreement between the City of Rosemead and Wal-Mart Real Estate Business Trust which would have given Wal-Mart a vested right to develop and construct the project in accordance with the entitlements received from the City pursuant to its discretionary approvals as well as all existing land use regulations and development standards in existence at the time the Development Agreement is approved. C. The City of Rosemead conducted an extensive environmental review for this Project which included an Environmental Impact Report ("EIR") prepared by the independent firm of Applied Planning, Inc., with technical reports concerning traffic and Page 1 circulation impacts; air quality, noise, and geotechnical effects; and an economic/market impact analysis, as well as a review of the Project site's previous environmental documentation. The following is a summary of the City's environmental review for this Project: A Scoping Meeting was held on November 19, 2003, to solicit input from the public on the content of the Draft Environmental Impact Report ("DEIR"). This meeting was held at the Doubletree Hotel in Rosemead, and was attended by approximately 300 people. A Notice of Preparation (NOP) and Initial Study identifying the scope of environmental issues were distributed to numerous state, federal, and local agencies and organizations on December 12, 2003. A total of 12 comment letters were received from state, regional and local agencies and an additional 29 letters were received from individuals. Copies of those comment letters, along with copies of numerous signatures on "Petition Protesting Wal-Mart" forms, are included in Appendix A of the DEIR (under separate cover). Relevant comments received in response to the NOP/Initial Study were incorporated into the DEIR. The DEIR was distributed for public review on May 17, 2004, for a 45-day review period with the comment period expiring on July 2, 2004; the Final Environmental Impact Report ("FEIR") includes response to comments received through July 20, 2004, well past the public review period. A Notice of Completion (NOC) was sent with the DEIR to the State Clearinghouse on May 17, 2004. A Notice of Availability of the DEIR for public review was mailed to interested parties on May 13, 2004. The Notice of Availability was transmitted to the Los Angeles County Clerk's office for posting on May 17, 2004 and published in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune on May 12, 2004. Comment letters on the DEIR were received at the close of the public comment period. The letters and responses to these comments are included in the FEIR. Responses to comments were distributed in accordance with CEQA 10 days prior to the August 16, 2004 Planning Commission hearing. The Planning Commission held a duly noticed and advertised public hearing on August 16, 2004 to consider the FEIR, the parcel map and conditional use permits and recommendation on the General Plan Amendment and Development Agreement to the City Council along with Page 2 10 0 the staff recommendations on these items, at which time oral and written testimony was considered. Notice of this Planning Commission hearing was provided through publication on August 2, 2004. D. At the close of the public hearing on August 16, 2004, the Planning Commission took the following actions: Adoption of Resolution No. 04-22, certifying the Environmental Impact Report for Tentative Parcel Map 26827 and Conditional Use Permits 02- 882 (mini-mall), 02-883 (gasoline station) and 03-939 (alcohol sales) anc recommending that the City Council certify the EIR for the Development Agreement and General Plan Amendment; and 2. Adoption of Resolution No 04-23,- approving tentative parcel map 26827 for the Project Design Alternative for a four lot division and conditional use permits 02-882 (mini-mall), 03-939 (alcohol sales), denying conditional use permit 02-883 (gasoline station), adopting and approving findings, mitigation measures, a statement of overriding considerations and a mitigation monitoring.program for the approved actions and recommending that the City Council approve the General Plan Amendment and Development Agreement subject to the same environmental findings. E. On August 17, 2004, Councilmember Imperial filed an appeal of the Planning Commission's actions in order that the City Council could decide all matters pertaining to the applications so that there would be uniformity of approvals, disapprovals and/or conditions. F. On August 24, 2004, the City Council continued its regular meeting to September 7, 2004 in order to hear testimony on this matter. G. On August 25, 2005, a public hearing notice was published in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. H. On September 7, 2004 the City Council held a duly noticed public hearing on the Project at which time it considered all evidence presented, both oral and written, after which the City Council took the following actions: Approved Resolution No. 2004-36 certifying the Environmental Impact Report for the Project; 2. Approved Resolution No. 2004-37 approving the General Plan Amendment changing the Land Use Designation of the property from Office/Light Industrial to Commercial; Page 3 3. Approved Resolution No. 2004-38 denying the appeals and upholding the decision of the Planning Commission relating to approving the tentative parcel map for a four-lot division, approving conditional use permits for a mini-mall on one of the parcels and alcohol sales at the major tenant (Wal-Mart), and denying a conditional use permit for a gasoline station; . 4. Approved Resolution No. 2004-39, adopting and approving findings, mitigation measures, a statement of overriding considerations and a mitigation monitoring program for the project; and 5. Introduced Ordinance No. 836 approving a Development Agreement with Wal-Mart Real Estate Business Trust for the development of the property, which was adopted on September 14, 2004. This Ordinance was later rescinded by the City Council on December 14, 2004 as a consequence of a referendum petition. 1. The Rosemead Community Development Commission joined in the certification of the EIR and the approval of the project pursuant to Resolution No. 2004-16. J. On or about October 7, 2004, Save Our Community ("SOC") filed a petition for a writ of mandate and complaint for declaratory relief with the Superior Court for the County of Los Angeles based, in part, on the following alleged violations of CEQA: Failure to provide adequate identification and analysis of significant impacts related to: inconsistencies between the Project, the General Plan, and zoning; traffic and circulation; air quality; water quality; seismic activity; noise; light and glare; blight; growth-inducing impacts; cumulative impacts; and failure to analyze a twenty-four hour operation; Failure to provide adequate identification and analysis of a reasonable range of alternatives; 3. Failure to make findings regarding the project's significant impacts; and 4. Failure to adequately respond to public comment. K. After reviewing the pleadings submitted by the parties, and after conducting a trial on the petition and complaint filed by SOC, Judge Yaffe of the Superior Court issued a minute order on April 6, 2005, as modified by the minute order of June 30, 2005, finding that the only deficiencies of the EIR related to a discussion of alternative sites and an analysis of a 24-hour operation; all other challenges to the EIR were found to be without merit. L. In accordance with the minute orders, on August 18, 2005, Judge Yaffe issued a writ of mandate that directed the City to void its certification of the EIR for the Project Page 4 and certify a new EIR that adequately addressed alternative sites for the Project and dealt with the hours of operation. The land use approvals were not voided. M. In response to the writ of mandate, the City prepared and circulated a revision to the E I R on the alternative site analysis. The issue of the 24-hour operation was mooted by the applicant's decision to limit the hours of operation and provide a covenant to the City for recordation to this effect. The public review period ran from September 26, 2005 through November 10, 2005; late comments were also responded to. N. On December 13, 2005, the City Council held a duly noticed public hearing on the Complete EIR for the Project at which time it considered all evidence presented, both oral and written. SECTION 2. Final EIR Decertification. The City Council hereby decertifies the August 2004 Final EIR for the Project which was approved by Resolution No. 2004-36. SECTION 3. Complete Final EIR Certification. A. The complete Revised Final EIR for the Project consists of the following volumes: the Draft EIR (dated May 2004); the Technical Appendices (dated May 2004); the Final EIR (dated August 2004); the Alternative Site Analysis (dated September 2005); and the Revised Final EIR (dated December 2005). Hereafter any reference to "Complete Final EIR" means all of these documents. B: Based on the evidence and oral and written testimony presented during the public comment period and at the public hearings, and based on all the information contained in the Planning Department and City Clerk's files on the Rosemead Commercial Retail Center Project, and including but not limited to the Staff Reports that were prepared for the Project for the Planning Commission and City Council and consideration of the Complete Final Environmental Impact Report consisting of the documents listed in Section 3A above, the City Council of the City of Rosemead, California does hereby certify in accordance with CEQA and the CEQA Guidelines that: The Complete Final EIR was prepared in compliance with Public Resources Code section 21000 et seq. and the State CEQA Guidelines, section 15000 et seq.; 2. The Complete Final EIR was presented to the City Council of the City of Rosemead and the City Council reviewed and considered the information contained in the EIR, along with all of the public comments made at the hearing; Page 5 3. The Complete Final EIR, which was prepared by the independent consultant firm of Applied Planning, Inc. and subject to review, comment and revision by City staff, reflects the independent judgment and analysis of the City Council; and 4. The Complete Final EIR adequately describes the Rosemead Commercial Retail Center Project as proposed, its environmental impacts, reasonable alternatives, and appropriate mitigation measures. 5. This Certification applies. to the entire Project and constitutes a denial of the appeal filed by Councilmember Imperial of the Planning Commission's certification of the EIR for Parcel Map 26827 and Conditional Use Permits 02-882 (mini-mall), 02-883 (gasoline station) and 03-939 (alcohol sales at major tenant). SECTION 4. Applicability of Revised Conditions of Approval Because of the restriction on hours in the covenant provided by Wal-Mart to be recorded by the City, as discussed in Section 1.M above, the provisions of that covenant will control, and, by operation of law, will supercede or eliminate any inconsistent conditions of approval. SECTION 5. Location of Record. Documents and other material constituting the record of the proceedings upon which the City's decision and its findings are based are located at the City of Rosemead Planning Department, located at 8838 East Valley Boulevard,, Rosemead, California 91770, in the custody of Brad Johnson, Director of Planning. SECTION 6. Effective Date. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon its adoption. motion by Council Member. C Jc,_rY_ , seconded by Council Member 1~ (or' , the foregoing resolution was passed and adopted this " day of December 2005, by the City Council of the City of Rosemead, California by the following vote: AYES: NAYES:_ ABSTAIN: ABSENT: Page 6 ATTEST: NINA CASTRUITA CITY CLERK Page 7 0 STATE OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES CITY OF ROSEMEAD SS. 0 I, Nina Castruita, City Clerk of the City of Rosemead, do hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution No. 2005-43 being: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD DECERTIFYING THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FOR DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT 04-01, GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT 03- 02, CERTIFYING A REVISED COMPLETE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FOR THE SAME, AND DENYING THE APPEAL RELATING TO CERTIFICATION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FOR TENTATIVE PARCEL MAP 26827 AND CONDITIONAL USE PERMITS 02-882 FOR A MINI-MALL, 02-883 FOR A GASOLINE STATION AND 03-939 FOR ALCOHOL SALES AT THE MAJOR TENANT FOR THE ROSEMEAD COMMERCIAL RETAIL CENTER. was duly and regularly approved and adopted by the Rosemead City Council on the 13th of December 2005, by the following vote to wit: YES: CLARK, IMPERIAL, TAYLOR NO: NUNEZ, TRAN ABSENT: NONE ABSTAIN: NONE Nina' astruita City Clerk