| 6. Impacts on Public Services and Utilities |
A complete project description is essential for defining impacts and possible mitigation. Projects impacts such as Land Use compatibility, geology, fiscal, infrastructure, traffic, water & air, visual, biological, construction, etc. cannot be fully assessed with the project definitions and plans currently provided. Refer to Section 1. Project Description.
This section will provide some overall areas of concern to be addressed in the EIR, which we hope will have more concrete details to work with. In particular, the size of the houses and the service levels needed to maintain them would be necessary to produce a proper assessment.
Overall, the EIR should study and assess:
| 6.1 Sewer/Wastewater treatment |
The EIR should assess the projected impact of the additional houses on sewer treatment, within the expected life span of new treatment plant. This assessment should take into account the other large projects in the area, as well as assess cumulative impact of project's potential precedent setting use of low density lands for higher density development. The EIR should also assess the possible precedent setting effect of increasing the LCP buildout sewer capacity numbers to accommodate higher-density development on low-density lands.
As an alternative or mitigation, the EIR should study the possibility of the project using conserving strategies, such as a local, low impact pre-treatment and gray-water (reclaimed) redistribution system for non-potable use (see 6.3 Water Supply).
| 6.2 Roads |
The EIR needs to clarify the issue of road construction and maintenance within the project. Will they be private or publicly owned roads? Privately or publicly maintained?
Outside the immediate project boundary, the EIR should assess the load of 70 - 105 extra cars on Santiago St., Coronado Blvd., and other surrounding streets and roads, as well the extra load on Highway 1 traffic.
As in studying the other Public Service and Utility impacts, the EIR should take into account the other large projects in the area, as well as assess cumulative impact of project's potential precedent setting use of low density lands for higher density development.
| 6.3 Water Supply |
The EIR should assess the projected impact of the additional houses on existing and planned water supplies, both within the Coastside County Water District (CCWD) and from private sources. This study should detail where the expected water will be coming from, where the supplier will be getting it from and how it will affect public supplies both in quality and in cost.
The EIR should research whether the LCP designation of 315 gallons per unit will be adequate for this project as designed, taking into account all home usage, maintenance, lawns & landscaping, etc.
The EIR should also take into account the currently proposed CCWD transmission pipeline reconstruction and upgrade project, both in water supply issues and in construction aspects, as the pipeline runs directly through this property.
This assessment should take into account the other large projects in the area, specifically in the area of water usage, as these will result in many hundreds of new water connections needing to come on-line within the next few years. Actual ability of CCWD to supply water for all planned and projected hookups will need to be verified, as well as assess accumulative effect on service levels to existing consumers.
The EIR should assess cumulative impact of project's potential precedent setting use of low density lands for higher density development.
The EIR should also assess the possible precedent setting effect of increasing the LCP buildout water capacity numbers to accommodate higher-density development on low-density lands.
As an alternative or mitigation, the EIR should study the possibility of the project using conserving strategies, such as a super-conserving appliances, community based usage, incentives for conservation and gray-water (reclaimed) redistribution system for non-potable use (see 6.1 Sewer/Wastewater treatment).
| 6.4 Solid Waste |
The EIR should assess the projected impact of the additional houses on existing and planned solid waste handling facilities. The study should detail where the extra waste will be going and what provider will supplying the services.
This assessment should take into account the other large projects in the area, specifically in the area of solid waste disposal, as these will accumulatively result in the generation of much more waste to be handled and disposed of in the near future. The EIR should assess the actual ability of local services to handle this material, as well as assess accumulative effect on service levels to existing consumers.
The EIR should assess cumulative impact of project's potential precedent setting use of low density lands for higher density development., in terms of the extra loads of solid waste that might be issued by exceeding buildout levels.
As an alternative or mitigation, the EIR should study the possibility of the project using conserving strategies, such as alternative waste management systems (community compost, recycling) and incentives for low waste-production behavior.
| 6.5 Police and Fire Protection/Safety |
The EIR should assess the projected impact of the additional houses on existing and planned Police, Fire, Emergency and medical facilities, including projection of service needs for expected residents.
This assessment should take into account the other large projects in the area, specifically in the area of protection and safety services, as these will accumulatively result in the generation of a much higher need for these services in the near future. The EIR should assess the actual ability of local districts, institutions and services to provide for these expanded needs, as well as assess accumulative effect on service levels to existing consumers.
Particular attention should be paid to the proposed layout of the project, to ensure that it would allow safe access in, through and out, and allow the passage and access of emergency vehicles, both within the project's new street and along the emergency access easement in the property (Refer to Section 3.3. Prescriptive Easements)
The EIR should assess cumulative impact of project's potential precedent setting use of low density lands for higher density development., in terms of the extra load on such services that might result by exceeding buildout levels.
As an alternative or mitigation, the EIR should study the possibility for private payment of services by residents of the project.
6.5.1. Emergency Response Times
One of the many results of continuous building on the Coastside is that traffic load currently exceed road capacity, both during commute hours and on the weekends (refer to Appendix C: Countywide Transportation Plan Congestion Management Report). There is an over 30 minute response for EMS vehicles to fully-equipped hospitals from the MidCoast, and this response time, as well as response time by police and fire units, will increase as more housing is developed. The EIR needs to assess the impact of additional housing over the next 1 to 10 years on Emergency Service response times. Refer to Sections 7. Traffic / Circulation System Impacts and 15.5. Emergency Medical Response.
6.5.2. Tsunami Assessment
(From Barbara VanderWerf)Tsunami assessment studies need to be made along the entire El Granada waterfront. The April 1, 1946 tsunami devastated Princeton and part of El Granada. While 159 people lost their lives in Hilo, Hawaii, hardly any people were living in Princeton or El Granada at the time. Other registered tsunamis at El Granada Beach include the May 22, 1960 Chilean tsunami and the March 27, 1964 Alaskan tsunami.
In the mid-1980s, the MidCoast had a tsunami alert. Access to and from the coast was blocked and Miramar residents were evacuated to higher ground.
| 6.6 Schools |
The EIR should assess the projected impact of the additional houses on existing and planned educational facilities, including projection of service needs for expected residents (i.e., number of school-age children, projected load on different levels, etc.).
The neighboring El Granada School and other schools in the Cabrillo Unified School District (CUSD) are already operating at 100% or close to it capacity. New development like this project, as well as other unanticipated load factors (more developable lots in the MidCoast than originally projected) are not accounted for in the current enrollment projections.
Public concerns are that this project would need to give some serious direct support to the school system to help mitigate the cumulative impact this project could have on the school district. Specifically, attention should be given to the alternative of the owners selling/donating/swapping this land with the Cabrillo Unified School District, as detailed in Section 2.1.(B), Alternate Site Alternatives.
This assessment should take into account the other large projects in the area, specifically in the area of schools and educational facilities, as these will accumulatively result in the generation of a much higher need for these services in the near future. The EIR should assess the actual ability of local districts, institutions and services to provide for these expanded needs, as well as assess accumulative effect on service levels to existing consumers.
The EIR should assess cumulative impact of project's potential precedent setting use of low density lands for higher density development., in terms of the extra load on such services that might result by exceeding buildout levels.
As an alternative or mitigation, the EIR should study the possibility for private payment of services by residents of the project, and should assess the plans and possibilities of the project developers in regards to monetary or value contribution to the local school districts.