[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 120 (Wednesday, June 23, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33492-33493]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-15991]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-4491-N-02]


Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIR/EIS); City of Monterey Park, CA; Section 108 Loan Guarantee/
Economic Development Initiative Grant (EDI)

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and 
Development, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Housing and Urban Development gives this 
notice to the public that the City of Monterey Park, California intends 
to prepare an Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIR/EIS) for the Monterey Park Towne Plaza Project, which, 
among other components includes the development of a 515,382-square 
foot retail center including a home improvement store with a garden 
center, three restaurants, and various retail uses, in the City of 
Monterey Park, California.
    This notice is in accordance with regulations of the Council on 
Environmental Quality as described in 40 CFR parts 1500-1508. Federal 
agencies having jurisdiction by law, special expertise, or other 
special interest should report their interests and indicate their 
readiness to aid in the EIR/EIS efforts as a ``Cooperating Agency.'' 
Particularly solicited is information on reports or other environmental 
studies planned or completed in the project area, major issues and 
dates which the EIR/EIS should consider and recommended mitigation 
measures and alternatives associated with the proposed project.
    A Draft EIR/EIS will be completed for the proposed action described 
herein. Comments relating to the Draft EIR/EIS are requested and will 
be accepted by the contact person listed below. When the Draft EIR/EIS 
is completed, a notice will be sent to individuals and groups known to 
be interested in the Draft EIR/EIS and particularly on the 
environmental impact issues identified therein. Any person or agency 
interested in receiving a notice and making comment on the Draft EIR/
EIS should contact the person listed below.

ADDRESSES: All interested agencies, groups and persons are invited to 
submit written comments on the within-named project and the Draft EIR/
EIS to: Ray Hamada, City of Monterey Park, Community Development 
Department, 320 West Newmark Avenue, Monterey Park, California, 91754 
(626) 307-1463. Comments pertaining to the proposed project should be 
received by the person and office named above, within 15 days of the 
publication of this notice in order for all comments to be considered 
in the preparation of the Draft EIR/EIS.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The City of Monterey Park, acting on behalf 
of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, will prepare 
an EIR/EIS to analyze potential impacts of developing a triangular-
shaped, 47.1-acre piece of property, located in the southeast portion 
of the City of Monterey Park immediately north of the Pomona Freeway 
(State Route 60) and west of Paramount Boulevard. The proposed project 
would consist of a 515,382-square foot retail center including a home 
improvement store with a garden center, three restaurants, and various 
other retail uses. The project site includes a net 0.1-acre land 
dedication to Caltrans that results from an approximately 1-acre land 
trade. The proposed project would also include roughly 4.4-acres of 
Southern California Edison property to the northwest and east of the 
site to be used for surface parking and an access road. The new access 
road would require realignment of the intersection of Paramount 
Boulevard/Neil Armstrong Street. An existing berm located along the 
southern boundary of the site would also be leveled.
    Approximately 10 acres of the western portion of the site contain a 
historic landfill (``North Parcel Landfill''), that received municipal 
solid waste between 1948 and 1975. Due to the past landfill operations, 
the project site is currently designated as a Superfund site. A 
leachate treatment plant (LTP) is also located on the site and 
currently processes collected groundwater (leachmate) from a landfill 
located just south of the Pomona Freeway (``South Parcel Landfill''), 
which stopped accepting waste in 1984. The LTP will continue to operate 
on-site in this capacity following the closure of the South Parcel 
Landfill in the year 2000. The North Parcel Landfill is currently being 
remediated based upon guidance from the U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency.
    Other businesses that currently occupy the site include Ecology 
Auto Wrecking, Aman Brothers Pavement Crushing, Manhole Adjustment, 
Inc., and Recycled Wood Products. The project applicant has negotiated 
lease termination agreements with each of the site tenants. Other than 
the LTP, all of the tenants will vacate the project site prior to 
development of the site.

[[Page 33493]]

    It is anticipated that the City of Monterey Park will be awarded a 
Section 108 Loan Guarantee and an accompanying Economic Development 
Initiative (EDI) grant from the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development which will help with the costs associated with land 
acquisition, site cleanup and required access. The section 108 Loan 
Guarantee request by the City of Monterey Park is $6.5 million and the 
EDI request is $540,000.

Need for the EIS

    It has been determined that the project may constitute an action 
significantly affecting the quality of the human environment and an 
Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement will be 
prepared by the City of Monterey Park in accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (Pub.L. 91-190) on such project.
    Responses to this notice will be used to:
    1. Determine significant environmental issues;
    2. Identify data which the EIS/EIR should address; and
    3. Identify agencies and other parties which will participate in 
the EIS process and the basis for their involvement.
    This notice is in accordance with the regulations of the Council on 
Environmental Quality under its rule (40 CFR parts 1500-1508).
    The Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact 
Statement will be published and distributed about August 30, 1999 and a 
copy will be on file at the City of Monterey Park, Community 
Development Department, 320 West Newmark Avenue, Monterey Park, 
California, 91754 and available for public inspection, or copies may be 
attained at the same address, upon request to Mr. Ray Hamada, Planning 
Manager (626) 307-1463.

Scoping

    This notice is part of the process used for scoping the EIR/EIS. 
Responses will help determine the significant environmental issues, 
identify data which the EIR/EIS should address, and help identify 
cooperating agencies.
    The Draft EIR/EIS will be published upon completion and will be on 
file, and available for public inspection, at the address listed above. 
Copies may also be obtained upon request at the same address.
    This Notice shall be in effect for one year. If one year after the 
publication of the Notice in the Federal Register a Draft EIS has not 
been filed on the project, then the Notice for that project shall be 
canceled. If the Draft EIS is expected more than one year after the 
publication of this Notice, a new and updated Notice shall be 
published.

    Dated: June 17, 1999.
Richard H. Broun,
Director, Office of Community Viability.
[FR Doc. 99-15991 Filed 6-22-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-29-P