[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 183 (Thursday, September 20, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47638-47639]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-20514]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-6126-N-01]


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Rose Hill Courts Redevelopment

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

ACTION: Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS).

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SUMMARY: The City of Los Angeles, through the Housing and Community 
Development Investment Department (HCID), is providing notice of its 
intent to prepare a combined Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in 
accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and 
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) in accordance with the California 
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (EIR/EIS) for the Rose Hill Courts 
Redevelopment Project located in Los Angeles, CA. The proposed action 
is subject to compliance with NEPA because the Housing Authority of the 
City of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) is proposing a HUD Section 18 
demolition/disposition and the developer is planning to use Project 
Based Section 8 vouchers. HACLA will consider a Disposition and 
Development Agreement. This Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS 
represents the beginning of the public scoping process. Following the 
scoping meeting referenced below, a Draft EIS will be prepared and 
ultimately circulated.

ADDRESSES: Comments relating to the scope of the EIR/EIS are requested 
and will be accepted by the contact persons listed below until October 
20, 2018. Any person or agency interested in receiving a notice and 
wishing to comment on the draft EIR/EIS should contact the persons 
listed below. Documents are available at the following website: http://hcidla.lacity.org/NEPA-review.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Robert Manford, Environmental 
Affairs Officer, Planning and Land Use, Finance & Development Division 
of the City of Los Angeles Housing, Community Investment Department, 
1200 West 7th Street, 8th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90017. Comments and 
questions can also be directed to [email protected], Fax: (213) 
808-8914, (NEPA) and Dhiraj Narayan, Development Officer, Development 
Services, HACLA, [email protected], telephone number 213-252-
6120, fax number 213-252-2739 (CEQA).
    Public Participation: The public will be invited to participate in 
the review of the Draft EIR/EIS. Release of the Draft EIR/EIS will be 
announced through public mailings as well as the local news media. All 
interested Federal, state, and local agencies, Indian tribes, groups, 
and the public are invited to comment on the scope of the EIR/EIS. If 
you are an agency with jurisdiction by law over natural or other public 
resources affected by the project, HCID needs to know what 
environmental information germane to your statutory responsibilities 
should be included in the EIR/EIS.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Project Name and Description

    HCID will consider a proposal to redevelop the project site 
including new construction of 191 new affordable housing units, 
developed in two phases. Proposed improvements include 176 parking 
spaces, a new property management and maintenance office, and new 
landscaping. The project site is 5.24-acres in size and is located at 
4446 Florizel Street in Los Angeles, California. The site slopes in a 
west to east direction by +/- 65 feet, and it is currently developed 
with a total of 15 buildings, comprised of 14 residential buildings 
with 100-multi-family units, and one administration building (i.e., 
offices and a common room with a kitchen, pantry, and two bathrooms).
    The project site is bounded by Florizel Street to the north; 
McKenzie Avenue to the east; Mercury Avenue to the south; and Boundary 
Avenue to the west. An onsite driveway, Victorine Street, runs in an 
east-west direction across the middle of the project bisecting the site 
into two parts: The northern part and the southern part.
    Land uses surrounding the project site include the Ernest E. Debs 
Regional Park to the west, along Mercury Avenue and Boundary Avenue; 
Rose Hill Park to the north; the Rose Hill Recreation Center to the 
southeast. Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church and Elementary School 
is located east of the project site, along Browne Avenue. Single-family 
and multi-family residential developments are located to the south and 
east.
    The project would require the following discretionary approvals: 
(1) Disposition and Development Agreement approval from HACLA; (2) 
Grading and Building Permits from the City of Los Angeles Department of 
Building and Safety; (3) Public Benefits Project and Alternative 
Compliance approval from the Los Angeles Department of City Planning; 
(4) National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Part 58 Compliance 
necessary for Demolition/Disposition and Rental Assistance 
Demonstration (RAD) Conversion of the existing Rose Hill Courts 
development to Section 8 Project Based Vouchers from the United States 
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); (5) Certification of 
the Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement; (6) 
Haul route approval from the Los Angeles Department of Building and 
Safety (if required); (7) Permit for removal of street trees from the 
Los Angeles Board of Public Works (if required); and (8) Other 
discretionary and ministerial permits and approvals that may be deemed 
necessary, including, but not limited to, temporary street closure 
permits, grading permits, excavation permits, foundation permits, 
building permits, and sign permits in order to execute and implement 
the Project.
    This is to be a combined environmental document, an EIR, prepared 
under the State of California CEQA (Public Resources Code 21000 et seq. 
and 14 California Code of Regulations 15000 et seq.), and an EIS, 
prepared under NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321) and implementing regulations of 
the Council on Environmental Quality (40 CFR parts 1500-1508) and HUD 
(24 CFR part 58).
    The Project involves funding from HUD that qualifies as an 
``undertaking'' subject to the Programmatic Agreement (PA) Among the 
City of Los Angeles, the California State Historic Preservation 
Officer, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation Regarding 
Historic Properties Affected by use of Community Development Block 
Grants; McKinney Act Homeless Programs including the Emergency Shelter 
Grants Program, Transitional Housing, Permanent Housing for the 
Homeless Handicapped, and Supplemental Assistance for Facilities to 
Assist the Homeless; Home Investment Partnership Funds, and the Shelter 
Plus Care Program for compliance with 36 CFR part 800, the regulations 
implementing Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. 
HCID will be initiating the Section 106 consultation process with the 
SHPO through the PA.
    The project proposes the demolition of all 15 buildings at Rose 
Hill Courts and subsequent construction of 191 affordable public 
housing units. Rose

[[Page 47639]]

Hill Courts was constructed in 1942 by HACLA as a low-income public 
housing project. Rose Hill Courts was determined eligible for listing 
in the National Register of Historic Places. The Rose Hill Courts 
complex is located at 4446 Florizel Street, on a 5.24-acre site. The 
site is located within the Northeast Los Angeles Community Plan, in the 
Rose Hills neighborhood area of the City of Los Angeles.

Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    The EIR/EIS will discuss the alternatives that were considered for 
analysis, identify those that were eliminated from further 
consideration because they do not meet the stated purpose and need, and 
identify those that will be analyzed further. It is expected that 
project alternatives will continue to be developed and refined during 
the public scoping process, with input from the public, agencies, and 
other stakeholders. The EIR/EIS alternatives analysis will consist of a 
comparison of the impacts under each alternative pursuant to 24 CFR 
part 58, in addition to how well each alternative achieves the 
project's purpose and need. This process, which will be described in 
detail in the EIR/EIS, will lead to the designation of a Preferred 
Alternative.
    At this time, it is anticipated that the following alternatives 
will be analyzed: (1) No Project/No Action Alternative; (2) Non-
Historically Compliant Rehabilitation Alternative; and (3) Historic 
Rehabilitation.
    1. No Project/No Action Alternative. This alternative would be the 
continuation of uses on the site; therefore, existing buildings and 
tenants would remain at the project site and no buildings or uses would 
be constructed or demolished.
    2. Non-Historically Compliant Rehabilitation Alternative. This 
alternative would redevelop the existing units at Rose Hill Courts but 
not in a way that would preserve their historic integrity. However, the 
Non-Historically Compliant Rehabilitation Alternative would retain the 
existing 100 units on the project site and would not allow for the 
opportunity to increase the number of affordable housing units on the 
project site.
    3. Historic Rehabilitation. This alternative would redevelop the 
existing units at Rose Hill Courts in a way that would preserve the 
historic integrity of the buildings. This alternative would restore the 
characteristics of the Garden Style design utilized in the Rose Hill 
Courts development, including but not limited to low-slung buildings, 
large open spaces, and recreational amenities.

Probable Environmental Effects

    The following subject areas will be analyzed in the combined EIR/
EIS for probable environmental effects: Aesthetics, Air Quality, 
Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Geology and Soils, Greenhouse 
Gas Emissions, Hazards and Hazardous Materials, Land Use and Planning, 
Noise, Population and Housing, Public Services, Recreation, 
Transportation/Traffic, and Tribal Cultural Resources.

Scoping Meeting

    A public scoping meeting will be held from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. 
on October 4, 2018, at the Rose Hill Courts Community Center at 4446 
Florizel Street, Los Angeles, California. The scoping process also 
includes the initiation of the NHPA Section 106 consultation process. 
We invite comments from all interested parties about the potential 
impacts this project may have on historic properties, cultural 
resources, or biological and natural resources as well as the impacts 
these resources may have on the project. We invite all interested 
parties to participate in the scoping meeting.

Lead Agencies

    HCID is the responsible entity (RE) and lead agency for this 
project in accordance with 24 CFR part 58, ``Environmental Review 
Procedures for Entities Assuming HUD Environmental Responsibilities.'' 
As a RE, the HCID assumes the responsibility for environmental review, 
decision-making, and action that would otherwise apply to HUD under 
NEPA. Section 26 of the United States Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 1437x) 
allows units of general local government to assume NEPA 
responsibilities in projects involving Section 18 demolition/
disposition and Section 8 Project-Based Vouchers. The project may use 
CDBG and HOME funds. If so, Section 104(g) of the Housing and Community 
Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5304(g)) and Section 288 of the HOME 
Investment Partnerships Act (42 U.S.C. 12838) allow CDBG recipients and 
HOME jurisdictions, respectively, to assume NEPA responsibilities for 
CDBG and HOME projects.
    In addition, the HACLA is the CEQA lead agency and is responsible 
for preparing an EIR. Questions may be directed to the individuals 
named in this notice under the heading FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

    Dated: September 14, 2018.
Neal J. Rackleff,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-20514 Filed 9-17-18; 4:15 pm]
 BILLING CODE 4210-67-P