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HomeMy WebLinkAbout8.1 Attch 3 Response to Comments on Nec Dec January 21, 2010 City of Dublin 2009-2014 Housing Element Update Project Response to Comments on draft Negative Declaration Introduction The City of Dublin issued a Negative Declaration for this project on December 12, 2009 to ensure California Environmental Quality Act compliance. The proposed project includes the adoption of the 2009-2014 Housing Element of the Dublin General Plan. The Housing Element is an integral part of Dublin's General Plan that, identifies housing related conditions; provides an assessment of housing needs for the next five-year period of time; identifies housing resources, opportunities and constraints; and, establishes policies, programs and quantified housing objectives to achieve housing needs. The updated Housing Element encompasses the entire City of Dublin. The City of Dublin published and circulated an Initial Study and Negative Declaration on December 12, 2009 fora 30-day public review period that ended on January 11, 2010. Comments Received Two comment letters were received: No. State A enc Comments Date 1 State of California, Caltrans 1/11/10 2 Livermore-Amador Valley Transit Authority (WHEELS) 1/13/10 Copies of these letters are attached. Responses The following are responses to each of the comment letters. 1. State of California Department of Transportation Comment 1.1: The Department encourages the City to locate needed housing, jobs and neighborhood services near major mass transit nodes with connector streets configured to facilitate walking and biking. This will assist in promoting mass transit use and reducing regional vehicle miles traveled and traffic impacts on State highways. ATTACHMENT 3 City of Dublin Page 2 Response to Comments January 2010 Housing Element Update The City is asked to consider developing pedestrian, bicycling and transit performance measures as well as modeling pedestrian, bicycle and transit trips generated by the project so that impacts and mitigation measures can be quantified. Such measures could include travel demand management policies to encourage use of public transit facilities. The City is also being asked to analyze secondary impacts on pedestrians and bicyclists that might result from traffic impact mitigation measures. Pedestrian and bicycle mitigation measures should be identified, including safety measures. Response: This comment is acknowledged. The City has historically planned high density housing and jobs near major transit facilities. These efforts have included the Dublin Transit Center and the West Dublin BART Specific Plan, both adjacent to existing BART stations or BART stations under construction. The City of Dublin has also planned for high density housing and major employment nodes along Dublin Boulevard, Central Parkway and others which are accessible to BART by existing bus routes. The proposed Housing Element continues this trend of locating additional housing near regional and local transportation corridors. Regarding the comment that the City should develop and apply pedestrian, bicycling and transit performance service measures to assess projects, such a request is beyond the scope of the proposed Housing Element. In terms of any secondary impacts of the project on pedestrian and bicycle safety, no such impacts were identified in the Initial Study. Such impacts can be considered by the City when individual, site-specific housing projects that implement the updated Housing Element are reviewed by the City. 2. Livermore Amador-Vallev Transit District (WHEELS) Comment 1.1: The commenter notes that the draft Housing Element outlines many of the elements that LAVTA considers important in promoting atransit-friendly environment, including mixing of land uses, increasing development intensity and use of pedestrian-friendly site design practices. Response: This comment is acknowledged and no further response is required. Comment 1.2: The commenter requests that draft Housing Element Goal A.1 be changed to include atransit-specific support policy. Response: This comment regarding support of atransit-friendly goal is acknowledged. The City has historically planned high density housing and jobs near major transit facilities including the Dublin Transit Center planning area and the West Dublin BART Specific Plan area, both adjacent to existing BART stations or stations under construction. The City of Dublin has also planned for high density housing and major employment nodes along Dublin Boulevard, Central Parkway and others which are accessible to BART by existing bus routes. The proposed Housing Element continues this trend of locating additional housing near regional and local transportation Page 2 of 3 City of Dublin Page 3 Response to Comments January 2010 Housing Element Update corridors. Additionally, Policy A.5 includes promoting housing opportunities within mixed-use areas adjacent to public transportation. Comment 1.3: The commenter asks that the City consider reducing requirements that attempt to impose concurrency for vehicular capacity for redevelopment areas and instead focus on alternative transportation mitigation options and the potential for mixed use to achieve auto trip reductions. Response: This comment is acknowledged. No significant traffic or transportation impacts were identified in the Housing Element Update Negative Declaration. 'This suggestion for traffic analysis will be considered by the City when future site-specific housing developments are proposed that will implement the Housing Element. Comment 1.4: LAVTA supports efforts to redevelop and intensify land uses in the west Dublin area, particularly in the south area. LAVTA is continuing to make additional service upgrades along the Dublin Boulevard corridor in preparation for the deployment of the bus "Rapid" service in 2011. Response: This comment regarding land use densification near the West Dublin BART Station is acknowledged and no additional response is required. Page 3 of 3