[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 63 (Monday, April 5, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17621-17624]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-06929]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-6255-N-01]


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for the One San Pedro Specific Plan Project in Los 
Angeles City, California

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

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

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The City of Los Angeles, through the City of Los Angeles's 
Housing and Community Investment Department (HCID) is providing Notice 
of Intent (NOI) to prepare a combined Environmental Impact Report (EIR) 
and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in accordance with the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the California 
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for the Rancho San Pedro public 
housing redevelopment project, located in Los Angeles, California. The 
proposed action is subject to NEPA because the Housing Authority of the 
City of Los Angeles (HACLA), as the recipient of HUD's grant funding, 
proposes to carry out a Section 18/Rental Assistance Demonstration 
(RAD) demolition/disposition through a ground lease and to use a 
combination of Project-Based Vouchers (PBV) and Tenant Protection 
Vouchers (TPV). A Public Scoping Meeting for CEQA issues was held on 
February 6, 2021. This NOI complies with the NEPA public scoping 
process requirements by providing notice of a second Public Scoping 
Meeting on April 27, 2021 to discuss the EIR/EIS. Following the public 
scoping process, a Draft EIR/EIS will be prepared and ultimately 
circulated for public comment.

DATES: The next Public Scoping Meeting to satisfy NEPA requirements 
will be held virtually on Tuesday, April 27, 2021, from 5 p.m. to 6:30 
p.m. Pacific Time, at https://zoom.us/j/99228962849?pwd=dTZ6VEkwdW9rR2cxM0dqOUhteWsxUT09 or by calling (669) 
900-6833 (Meeting ID: 992 2896 2849, Passcode: 757989).
    Comments on the scope of the EIR/EIS will be accepted during the 
Public Scoping Meeting and for 30 days from the date of this Notice of 
Intent, April 9, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Comments relating to the scope of the EIR/EIS or on the 
draft EIR/EIS, when made available, will be accepted by the contact 
person listed below. Copies of Public notices are available at the 
following websites: https://hcidla2.lacity.org/partners/nepa-review-2 
and http://www.hacla.org/publicdocs.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jinderpal Singh Bhandal, Environmental 
Supervisor, Finance & Development Division, HCID, telephone number: 
(213) 808-8558, [email protected]. Comments and questions 
can also be directed to Jessica Frazier, Development Officer, Strategic 
Development, HACLA, [email protected], telephone number: (213) 
252-6120.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: For projects that require an Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS), the Responsible Entity, as defined in 24 CFR 
58.2(a)(7), must provide a notice of intent (NOI) to begin the public 
scoping process in accordance with National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. (NEPA); the Council of 
Environmental Quality (CEQ) NEPA Regulations at 40 CFR parts 1500-1508; 
and HUD implementing regulations at 24 CFR part 58. The Housing 
Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA), as the recipient of HUD's 
grant funding, proposes to carry out a Section 18/Rental Assistance 
Demonstration (RAD) demolition/disposition through a ground lease and 
to use a combination of RAD Project-Based Vouchers (PBV), Tenant 
Protection Vouchers (TPV), and PBV authorized by the U.S. Housing Act 
of 1937, as amended (USHA), to redevelop the Rancho San Pedro public 
housing project site.
    On behalf of HACLA, the City of Los Angeles, through the City of 
Los Angeles's Housing and Community Investment Department (HCID), is 
acting as the Responsible Entity for the Rancho San Pedro public 
housing project. Because the project is located in Los Angeles, 
California, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Public 
Resources Code 21000 et seq. and 14 California Code of Regulations 
15000 et seq., also requires the completion of an Environmental Impact 
Report (EIR). For compliance with CEQA, HACLA

[[Page 17622]]

held a public scoping meeting on February 6, 2021. As required by both 
NEPA and HUD's regulations, HCID issues this NOI to prepare a combined 
EIR/EIS for the Rancho San Pedro public housing project site. This NOI 
complies with the NEPA public scoping process requirements by providing 
notice of a second Public Scoping Meeting on April 27, 2021 to discuss 
the EIR/EIS.
    Following the public scoping process, a Draft EIR/EIS will be 
prepared that analyzes the project. Once the Draft EIR/EIS is certified 
as complete, the public will be invited to participate in its review 
and it will ultimately be circulated for public comment. A Notice of 
Availability of the Draft EIR/EIS will be published in the Federal 
Register and will be announced through public mailings and the local 
news media. All interested Federal, state, and local agencies; Indian 
tribes; and the public are invited to comment on the scope of the EIR/
EIS. Agencies with jurisdiction over natural or other public resources 
affected by the project or that possess information about the project 
site that HCID should consider in the Draft EIR/EIS are invited to 
submit comments to the individuals named in this notice.

A. Project Background

    The project site is in the Barton Hill neighborhood with the 
historic Downtown San Pedro located two blocks to the south and the San 
Pedro Waterfront to the east. The Port of Los Angeles (managed by the 
Los Angeles Harbor Department) lies to the east, and toward the north 
is the SR 47 (Vincent Thomas Bridge).
    Most of the surrounding Barton Hill neighborhood has a low-density 
residential character with single-family homes, though numerous 
properties host a main home on the front of the lot and an accessory 
dwelling unit to the rear. Additionally, there are a few vintage 
bungalow courts, small lot properties, and duplexes. The residential 
character of Barton Hill becomes denser with two- and three-story 
multifamily buildings around the Rancho San Pedro border. Other 
affordable housing developments to the immediate north and southwest of 
the project site host medium residential density development, with an 
increase in building scale towards Pacific Avenue to the west and 
Downtown San Pedro to the south. Immediately to the south between 
Rancho San Pedro and the Downtown core of 6th and 7th Street are a 
collection of civic and institutional buildings, including the Harbor 
Department Administration Building, Port Police Headquarters, Port of 
Los Angeles Charter High School, and The Port of Los Angeles Boys & 
Girls Club.

B. Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action

    Rancho San Pedro is seventy to eighty years old and the structures 
are reaching their useful life expectancy. The buildings were 
constructed in a style, form, and function typical of public housing 
developments at that time and suffer from monotonous building design, 
repetitive building pattern, long street frontages, and lack of through 
streets. These design deficiencies result in indefensible space and 
security issues, inadequately sized units, and accessibility issues, 
among other things. As the Greater Los Angeles region is experiencing a 
crisis of housing affordability, resulting in over-crowding conditions 
and homelessness, there is also the added imperative to use the large 
publicly owned property to expand affordable housing supply.
    In 2015, HACLA, in cooperation with Los Angeles City Council 
District 15 and the Mayor's Office of Economic Development, 
commissioned a feasibility study to determine the highest and best use 
and development potential of the Rancho San Pedro public housing 
property. The study outlines potential strategies to maximize the value 
of the property to the public and concludes that replacing and 
expanding the available housing--both affordable as well as market-
rate--would be the highest and best use of the public property with the 
primary objective to replace the existing affordable housing located at 
Rancho San Pedro for those currently residing there.
    The location, size of the property, and potential redevelopment 
scale also provides the capacity to layer additional community benefits 
into redevelopment. These have been identified within the San Pedro 
Redevelopment Plan, as well as by residents of Rancho San Pedro.
    The project would thrive as a revitalized, mixed-income 
neighborhood that builds on its existing assets and creates new, high-
quality housing options. Adjacent to the waterfront and downtown, the 
project would be a model for other revitalization efforts, complete 
with cultural, community, and economic activity. It would be a safe 
neighborhood with new parks and recreational opportunities, walking and 
biking streets, and a variety of housing and supportive service 
options.

C. Project Description

    The project is located at 275 West First Street in the City of Los 
Angeles in the community of San Pedro. The project site is 
approximately 21 acres in size and is currently developed with an 
existing 478-unit public housing complex known as ``Rancho San Pedro,'' 
which was initially developed in 1942 with subsequent development in 
1955. The existing access to the project site is from local surface 
streets surrounding the site, which include Santa Cruz Street to the 
north, Harbor Boulevard to the east, 3rd Street to the south, and Mesa 
Street to the west.
    Development of the proposed project would occur in multiple phases. 
Initial phases would focus on replacement and expansion of the aging 
housing stock with the later phases dedicated to expansion of 
affordable units, homeownership, community amenities, and services. The 
proposed phasing would be planned to minimize disturbance to current 
residents. The project would pursue a ``build-first'' approach to the 
greatest extent possible. When residents must be relocated, HACLA 
adheres to all of the requirements of the Uniform Relocation Assistance 
and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970. For purposes of the 
environmental analysis and to provide a conservative analysis of 
environmental impacts, overall construction is estimated to take 
approximately 14 years, with construction activities occurring from 
2024 to 2037. The opening year for the first constructed buildings is 
expected to occur in 2025.
    The proposed project involves the redevelopment of the Rancho San 
Pedro complex with a Specific Plan in order to improve the physical 
condition of the community and increase housing stock and amenities for 
residents. The proposed project would include demolition of the 
existing 478-unit Rancho San Pedro complex, including 8,000 square feet 
(sf) of amenities, services and administration, and construction of new 
housing (in phases) with a total of up to 1,390 multi-family 
residential units for mixed-income households, 85,000 sf of services, 
amenities and administration, and 45,000 sf of commercial/retail uses. 
Each building would have its own onsite parking garage with secured 
access limited to residents. In addition to secured parking garages, 
on-street parking within and around the site would also be maximized 
for guests and customers, including expanding available diagonal 
parking where available. This would include

[[Page 17623]]

reconfiguring on-street curb parking, transitioning from parallel to 
diagonal parking on some blocks. The proposed project would maintain 
the existing street grid and block configuration, with the exception of 
Beacon Street and the intersecting portion of Second Street, where a 
new pedestrian plaza is proposed. Site access would be similar to the 
existing conditions.

D. Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    Consistent with the Council on Environmental Quality regulations 
implementing NEPA, the EIS will examine a range of reasonable 
alternatives (40 CFR 1502.14) to the proposed project that are 
potentially feasible. As required by NEPA, the alternatives will be 
evaluated at the same level of detail as the proposed project. As a 
result of the scoping efforts to date, the alternatives currently 
proposed for evaluation in the EIS include:
    No Project/Action Alternative. This required alternative would 
evaluate the environmental impacts if the proposed project were not 
constructed and existing conditions remain unchanged.
    Preferred Alternative. This alternative would implement the 
proposed project described above in this notice under Project 
Description, including the demolition of the existing 478 housing units 
and the construction of up to 1,390 multi-family residential units for 
mixed-income households, 85,000 sf of services, amenities and 
administration, and 45,000 sf of commercial/retail uses.
    A range of other reasonable alternatives (to be identified) based 
on input received during the scoping process will be considered in the 
EIR/EIS. These may include: An alternative where existing buildings 
will be rehabilitated pursuant to the Secretary of the Interior 
Standards for Rehabilitation instead of being demolished and 
reconstructed; a decreased intensity alternative where the number of 
housing units, services, amenities and administration, and commercial/
retail uses would be decreased; a modified site plan alternative where 
the layout and location of the buildings and critical infrastructure is 
modified; or an increased intensity alternative where the number of 
housing units, services, amenities and administration, and commercial/
retail uses would be increased.
    The following alternatives are infeasible and/or would not meet the 
purposes and needs described in this notice, and thus will not be 
considered: An off-site alternative as it would be financially 
infeasible to purchase another site of the same size in the same 
general geographic area; a non-residential alternative as California is 
experiencing a housing crisis, which has highlighted the severe 
deficiency of affordable housing; an alternative that reduces the 
number of existing housing units because of the area's significant 
housing need; and an alternative where the site is abandoned as it is 
crucial to providing affordable housing for current residents of the 
site and to meeting regional affordable housing needs.

E. Need for the EIR/EIS

    The Proposed Project described above has the potential to 
significantly affect the quality of the human environment. The 
implementing regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) 
(40 CFR parts 1500-1508) and HUD's regulations (24 CFR part 58) require 
the preparation of an EIS in accordance with NEPA requirements. 
Responses to this notice will be used to: (1) Determine significant 
environmental issues; (2) assist in developing a range of alternatives 
to be considered; (3) identify issues that the EIS should address; and 
(4) identify agencies and other parties that will participate in the 
EIS process and the basis for their involvement.
    As the Proposed Project also implicates reporting requirements 
under California law, an EIR must be prepared in accordance with the 
State of California CEQA. HCID and HACLA, therefore, intend to prepare 
a combined environmental document, an EIR/EIS.
    The Draft EIR/EIS will be circulated for public review in 2021 and 
decision making is expected in 2021 or early 2022. The project will 
require the following approvals: (1) Adoption of Master Development 
Agreement, Disposition and Development Agreements, Ground Leases, and 
Relocation Plan by HACLA; (2) NEPA part 58 Compliance necessary for 
Demolition/Disposition and RAD Conversion of the existing Rancho San 
Pedro development from HUD and potential federal funding for the 
project; (3) Certification of the EIR/EIS; (4) Adoption of the One San 
Pedro Specific Plan, General Plan Amendment, Phased Vesting Tentative 
Tract Map, and Zone and Height District change by the City of Los 
Angeles; (5) Haul route approval from the Los Angeles Department of 
Building and Safety (if required); (6) Permit for removal of street 
trees from the Los Angeles Board of Public Works (if required); (7) 
Approval of a Water Supply Assessment; and (8) Other discretionary and 
ministerial permits and approvals that may be deemed necessary, 
including, but not limited to, demolition permits for structures and 
trees, temporary street closure permits, grading permits, excavation 
permits, foundation permits, building permits, and sign permits in 
order to execute and implement the project. HACLA will consider a 
Disposition and Development Agreement with the developer.

F. Probable Environmental Effects

    Due to the increase in number of residents and expansion of the 
built environment, the proposed project could have potentially 
significant environmental impacts in the following topic areas, which 
will be addressed in the EIR/EIS: Aesthetics, Air Quality, Biological 
Resources, Geology and Soils, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Energy, 
Environmental Justice, Hazards and Hazardous Materials from 
construction materials, Land Use and Planning, Noise, Population and 
Housing, Public Services, Recreation, Transportation/Traffic, 
Utilities/Service Systems, and Hydrology and Water Quality. A Water 
Supply Assessment will be completed to determine the impact on the 
existing water supply.
    The project involves funding from HUD that qualifies as an 
undertaking subject to Section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act (54 U.S.C. 306108) due to potential effects to 
historic properties. HCID will be initiating the Section 106 
consultation process with the California State Historic Preservation 
Officer.
    HCID invites 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, and identification of 
potential alternatives, information, and analyses relevant to the 
proposed action. HCID invites all interested parties to participate in 
the scoping meeting.

G. Scoping

    Following the Public Scoping Meeting for CEQA issues held on 
February 6, 2021, a second Public Scoping Meeting for NEPA issues will 
be held online using Zoom on April 27, 2021 to share information 
regarding the project and the environmental review process. The meeting 
will also be an opportunity for HCID and HACLA to receive verbal and 
written public comments regarding the scope and content of the 
environmental analysis to be addressed in the EIR/EIS. Staff, 
environmental consultants, and project representatives will be 
available, and a brief presentation is scheduled. HACLA and HCID 
encourage all interested individuals and organizations

[[Page 17624]]

to attend this meeting. Written comments may be submitted during the 
project review period. No decisions about the project will be made at 
the Public Scoping Meeting. A separate public hearing on the underlying 
project approvals will be scheduled after the completion of the Draft 
EIR/EIS.
    The date, time, and location of the next Public Scoping Meeting to 
satisfy NEPA requirements is as follows:
    Tuesday, April 27, 2021, 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Pacific Time, https://zoom.us/j/99228962849?pwd=dTZ6VEkwdW9rR2cxM0dqOUhteWsxUT09 or call 
(669) 900-6833 (Meeting ID: 992 2896 2849, Passcode: 757989).
    HCID and HACLA want the meeting to be open to those with Limited 
English Proficiency and Individuals with Disabilities. In order to 
ensure HCID and HACLA are able to effectively communicate with 
individuals in another language or with disabilities, including 
individuals with hearing, vision or speech impairments, HACLA will 
furnish appropriate auxiliary aids and services, where necessary. 
Examples of auxiliary aids and services include amplification headsets, 
language interpreters, note-takers, transcription services, written 
materials and large print materials.
    To ensure availability, you are advised to make your request for an 
auxiliary aid or service at least 72 hours prior to the meeting/event. 
Requests should be directed to Jocelyn Aldana at telephone number (213) 
252-1037 or by email at [email protected]. Puede obtener 
informaci[oacute]n en espa[ntilde]ol sobre esta Reunion llamando a 
Jocelyn Aldana al (213) 252-1037.

H. Lead Agencies

    HCID is the Responsible Entity and lead agency for this project's 
EIS in accordance with 24 CFR part 58, ``Environmental Review 
Procedures for Entities Assuming HUD Environmental Responsibilities.'' 
As the Responsible Entity, HCID assumes the responsibility for 
environmental review, decision-making, and action that would otherwise 
apply to HUD under NEPA. The project may use Community Development 
Block Grant Program (CDBG) funds (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.), HOME 
Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) funds (42 U.S.C. 12701 et seq.), 
Section 202 Project Rental Assistance Contract (PRAC) funds (12 U.S.C. 
1701q), Section 8 Project-Based Vouchers (PBV) and Rental Assistance 
Demonstration Project-Based Vouchers (RAD PBV) (42 U.S.C. 1437f), or 
Section 811 Developmentally Disabled Vouchers (42 U.S.C. 8013). In 
addition, HACLA is the CEQA lead agency and is responsible for 
preparing an EIR.

Kevin J. Bush,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Development.
[FR Doc. 2021-06929 Filed 4-2-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P