Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout7.2 SB 343 - Item 7.1 Comment Letters September 11, 2018 SB 343 Senate Bill 343 mandates supplemental materials that have been received by the Community Development Department that relate to an agenda item after the agenda packets have been distributed to the Planning Commission be available to the public. This document is also available in the Community Development Department and the City’s Website. The attached document was received in the Community Development Department after distribution of the September 11, 2018 Planning Commission meeting agenda packet. September 11, 2018 Item # 7.1 7.2 Packet Pg. 79 Communication: SB 343 - Item 7.1 Comment Letters (New Business) 1 Subject:FW: Draft Environmental Impact Report for IKEA From: Jeff Baker   Sent: Monday, September 10, 2018 9:55 AM  To: Amy Million <Amy.Million@dublin.ca.gov>  Subject: FW: Draft Environmental Impact Report for IKEA        Jeff Baker Assistant Community Development Director City of Dublin 100 Civic Plaza, Dublin, CA 94568 (925) 833-6610 | (925) 833-6628 FAX jeff.baker@dublin.ca.gov | www.dublin.ca.gov Mission Statement: The City of Dublin promotes and supports a high quality of life, ensures a safe and secure environment, and fosters new opportunities.     From: John Heyer [mailto:johnhheyer@gmail.com] Sent: Monday, September 10, 2018 12:43 AM To: Planning Commission Subject: Fwd: Draft Environmental Impact Report for IKEA Dear Planning Commission I am strongly opposed to the proposed IKEA project. I am out of the country and will not be able to attend your upcoming meeting on IKEA. I have attached a copy of a letter I have sent to the City Council, which expresses my concerns. I hope you will vote against the IKEA proposal. Thank you for your consideration of my opinions. Sent from my iPad   From: John Heyer <johnhheyer@gmail.com> Date: March 13, 2018 at 1:59:40 PM PDT To: amy.million@dublin.ca.gov Subject: Draft Environmental Impact Report for IKEA   Dear Ms. Million I believe that certain factors discussed in the EIR prove that the proposed IKEA would have severe negative impacts on the City of Dublin. These impacts cannot be mitigated. The EIR discusses significant and unavoidable traffic impacts on local roads and freeways that cannot feasibly be mitigated in some cases. The EIR projects 9,630 daily trips to IKEA on weekdays and 17,780 trips on Saturdays. No number is given for Sundays but that is also a busy shopping day. The report projects a total of 1,934 trips (in and out) in the peak Saturday hours (3.6-36 and 3.6-37). IKEA would be open from 10:00am to 9:00pm, eleven hours (2-11). If you 7.2 Packet Pg. 80 Communication: SB 343 - Item 7.1 Comment Letters (New Business) 2 divide 17,780 trips by 11 hours, the result is 1616 trips per hour, on average. This means there will be 2,000 (or slightly less in non-peak hours) extra cars in this small area, each hour, during the weekends. The EIR states that many of the patrons of the proposed IKEA would be drawn from Livermore, Tracy, Manteca, Modesto, possibly Stockton, and cities along the I-680 corridor (3.6-37). These patrons would be coming to Dublin specifically to shop at IKEA and would likely not come otherwise. These additional cars would have a significant adverse impact on Dublin traffic and inconvenience Dublin residents. The proposed IKEA would be on one long block. There is no entrance to that block on the sides facing Hacienda and I-580. The 2,000 cars per hour would all have to use driveways on Martinelli and Arnold. Martinelli is a very short street and cannot hold many cars. These roads are already busy servicing Persimmon Place and Hacienda Crossings. These streets are also used by cars going to BART and the water slide (when it is open). Dublin Blvd. will also have to accommodate the vehicles from the 2,000 new homes going in at Dublin Crossing (4-1) on the former Camp Parks property. Traffic on Dublin Blvd. is already often terrible because of spill over traffic from I-580. The additional traffic will be a nightmare. The consultant used traffic analysis from local transportation agencies to rate the peak-period traffic impact at segments of the road transportation system ie. highways, on and off ramps, city streets, and intersections controlled by stop lights that would be affected by the proposed IKEA. The reports identifies segments that would have Level of Service (LOS) F ratings indicating “extreme traffic delays”. Many of the most commonly used segments of the Dublin road system are near the proposed IKEA and would have LOS category E and F ratings, if an IKEA is built (3.6-101 and 3.6-102). The freeways would also be affected. Fifteen of nineteen segments of eastbound I-580 would be rated LOS F and several others LOS E at peak-hours (3.6-152 and 3.6- 153). The proposed IKEA would also cause parking nightmares. IKEA is planning 1,026 parking spaces for the store and 568 spaces for the retail/restaurant shops, for a total of 1,594 spaces (2-12). An average of 1,616 cars per hour will be trying to enter and leave IKEA’s parking spaces. Information provided on Google for the Emeryville store (which the EIR uses as a model for the Dublin location) indicates that customers typically spend 45 minutes to two hours in the store. If they visit the others shops and restaurants, their stays will be longer. The parking lot will soon be completely filled. By peak-hours there will be 1,000 cars an hour trying to enter the already full parking facilities. This will surely cause traffic gridlock. Since most of the potential customers will have come a long distance to shop at IKEA, they are not likely to give up. They will try to find a place to park in the already overcrowded Persimmon Place. Some will park at Hacienda Crossings and slow traffic on Hacienda as they used the crosswalks. Others will try to use the BART lot. I do not believe that a public facility should subsidize parking for IKEA. The EIR states that the project should “Improve the overall visual appearance of the area ...”. The IKEA would be a huge blue and yellow eyesore that does not fit in with other buildings in the community. The building is not even compatible with the additional shops and restaurants proposed. The IKEA structure certainly would not improve the appearance of the area which is a gateway to the city. These severe negative impacts cannot be mitigated and make the proposed IKEA inappropriate for Dublin. Thank you for your consideration of my concerns. John Heyer Sent from my iPad 7.2 Packet Pg. 81 Communication: SB 343 - Item 7.1 Comment Letters (New Business)