For City Council Meeting November 12, 2024
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: G. Michael Milhiser, Interim City Manager
AUTHOR: Colby Cataldi, Director of Community Development
Title
Request City Council to Conduct a Public Hearing to Consider the Adoption of Resolution No. 8303 Approving a Mitigated Negative Declaration (Environmental Assessment Review No. 2023-017) and General Plan Amendment (GPA) No. 2023-001 for the amended Land Use Element, Safety Element, Circulation Element and new Environmental Justice Element.
(ACTION)
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Conduct a Public Hearing and adopt Resolution No. 8303 approving a Mitigated Negative Declaration and Environmental Assessment Review No. 2023-017 and General Plan Amendment (GPA) No. 2023-001 for the amended Land Use Element, Safety Element, Circulation Element and new Environmental Justice Element.
BACKGROUND
The General Plan is a policy document approved by the City Council to guide future development within the City. The General Plan is comprised of a minimum of seven (7) elements required by the State of California which include Land Use, Circulation, Housing, Conservation, Open Space, Noise, and Safety.
The Environmental Justice Element is a new element required of the City of Rialto to be added to the General Plan. Environmental Justice is defined by the state as “the fair treatment of all races, cultures, and incomes with respect to the development, adoption, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.”
Initiation of the Focused General Plan Update
On June 23, 2020, at a regularly scheduled City Council meeting, the Council authorized submittal of a Local Early Action Planning (LEAP) grant to the California Department of Housing and Community Development for multiple projects including a focused General Plan Update. In December 2022, the City initiated the focused General Plan Update portion of the grant and awarded a professional services agreement to the consulting firm Dudek.
The focused General Plan Update includes amendments to three (3) elements and the creation of a new element (Environmental Justice):
• The Land Use Element was updated to retain consistency with Housing, Safety, and the new Environmental Justice Elements.
• The Safety Element was updated to meet certain laws related to climate change projections, vulnerable populations, and evacuation. The Climate Adaptation Plan provides a basis for much of these requirements.
• The Circulation Element was updated incorporating recent data and figure updates to reflect current conditions and changes to the City’s truck routes (Attachment 7).
• The Environmental Justice Element is new for Rialto and is being prepared in response to Senate Bill 1000. An Environmental Justice Element includes policies and actions related to six (6) pillars. The six (6) pillars are:
§ Access to Healthy Food
§ Promote Exercise
§ Reduce Pollution
§ Access to Public Facilities
§ Promote Safe and Sanitary Homes
§ Promote Civic Engagement
Public Engagement
Public engagement is an important part of the General Plan Update process and is particularly important for the preparation of the Environmental Justice Element. The public engagement plan included:
• Pop-up activities at community events, which began in April 2023,
• Virtual and In-Person Workshops, which are planned to begin in May 2023
• The creation of the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) in May 2023
• Public Meetings to review the draft General Plan content and obtain public input
• Public Review Draft General Plan update published for Public Review
Community Advisory Committee (CAC)
As part of outreach to assure the public is thoroughly represented, the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) was created with the intent to be an integral part of the community participation process. The Rialto CAC was comprised of residents, business owners, members of the Planning Commission, and other City departments. The CAC met several times in person and in virtual meetings to discuss all topical issues in the proposed update, reformulate the goals and polices, and develop the guiding principles. The CAC identified issues and opportunities to be addressed in the proposed update as a part of the community participation process.
Multiple sources of notification were performed and sent out to solicit public engagement and included social media, a designated project specific website, mass email, and a direct postcard mailer to all Rialto households totaling over 25,000 physical mailers.
Timeline
The project schedule included the following GPU meetings and events:
• September 18, 2024, Planning Commission Public Hearing
• August 2024 Economic Development Committee (EDC) presentation of GPU
• December 2023: End of Comment Period for Environmental
• November 2023: Comment Period on Environmental
• October 2023: CAC meeting
• September 2023: Public review/comment of the draft plan
• June 2023: public workshops and CAC meeting
• April 2023: Two (2) community popups
• May 2023 City Council presentation and update
• May 2023: public workshops, formation of the Community Advisory Committee (CAC), the first CAC meeting (tentative), and presentations to Planning Commission and City Council
• April 2023: EDC update and timelines presented to committee
• March 2023, public outreach
• January 2023: EDC update on General Plan and Community Engagement
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION
To assure the City is in compliance with State Law, required updates to the Land Use Element and Safety Element needed to be completed. The Land Use Element incorporates changes identified in the 6th Cycle Housing Element and the Safety Element which was updated to today’s standards. As a part of the overall update, the Circulation Element was revised and includes the City’s updated truck routes. In addition to updates to the Land Use, Safety, and Circulation Elements, a new Environmental Justice Element and/or policies were created and prepared for future adoption.
The purpose of the Environmental Justice Element and related goals, policies, and objectives, is to facilitate transparency and public engagement in local decision making, reduce pollutants and associated health risks, and promote equitable access to health-inducing benefits. The new element will identify objectives and policies to reduce health risks in disadvantaged communities, promote civic engagement, and address the needs of disadvantaged communities.
Circulation Element Update
The Circulation Element is one of seven mandated elements of the General Plan and is intended to guide the development of the City's circulation system in a manner that is compatible with the Land Use Element. Due to the importance of a well-planned circulation system, the State of California has mandated the adoption of a citywide Circulation Element since 1955. The current State mandate for a Circulation Element is found in Government Code section 65302(b), which states that the General Plan shall include:
As a part of the overall update, the Circulation Element was revised to include the City’s updated truck routes as shown in the attached updated truck route map. The Citywide Truck Route Study was presented to the City Council on November 15, 2022. At that hearing, the City Council set a public hearing for December 13, 2022, and adopted an Interim Urgency Ordinance to restrict truck traffic on certain segments of City roadways proposed to be decommissioned as truck routes or modified are listed below:
Moratorium
• Riverside Avenue from Locust Avenue to Ayala Drive
• Ayala Drive from Casmailia Street to Riverside Avenue
• Ayala Drive from I-210 freeway to Baseline Road (restore expired moratorium)
• Baseline Road from Cedar Avenue to east city limits
• Pepper Avenue from I-210 freeway to Rialto Avenue
• Slover Avenue from Cactus Avenue to Riverside Avenue
• Santa Ana Avenue between west city limits and east city limits
The revised truck route map proposed with the circulation element has been updated to include these road sections to be consistent with the above-listed.
Safety Element Update
The Safety Element addresses hazards in the City of Rialto and the potential short- and long-term risks to human life, property, and economic and social dislocation resulting from hazard events, including extreme heat, flooding, geologic and seismic hazards, hazardous materials, and wildfires. This is one of seven elements required by State law (Government Code 65302). Climate change has the potential to exacerbate many of these hazards and compound their effects; for example, increased risk of wildfire and flood also increases the risk of landslide. Therefore, in accordance with Senate Bill (SB) 379, this Safety Element also addresses climate change within each applicable hazard section.
Other topics covered within this element include, noise, and wind hazards. Wind hazards encompass additional safety concerns present in Rialto and are not required by state law, while noise is another required general plan element that has been consolidated into this element.
This Safety Element includes a section titled Safety Concerns in Rialto, which outlines each hazard facing Rialto, when and where hazards occur, and how the City of Rialto (City) is currently addressing these hazards. Vulnerable populations are considered throughout this Safety Element because many hazards disproportionately affect certain populations. Vulnerable populations include people who have heightened exposure or increased sensitivity to hazards. Vulnerabilities vary by hazard, and can be caused by physical, social, political, or economic reasons. Climate change can exacerbate these vulnerabilities if not addressed. Following the existing conditions is a Goals, Policies, and Actions section, which provides the City’s safety roadmap, including a comprehensive hazard mitigation and emergency response strategy. Goals, policies, and actions are organized by four planning phases designed to enhance the resilience of a community: mitigate, prepare, respond, and recover.
Land Use Element Update
The Land Use section describes the general location, type, and intensity of development, and designates the distribution of land uses throughout Rialto. Land uses such as residential, commercial, industrial, open space, and public uses are planned to meet the needs of residents, support the local economy, achieve the City’s fiscal goals, and create an environment that fosters a high quality of life in Rialto.
This section sets policies for land uses in the City and the Sphere of Influence, establishing the foundation for future development. Also addressed are the permitted density and intensity of various land uses. Density and intensity are quantitative measures used to describe how much development may occur on a property.
Using maps and text, this Land Use section defines the distribution and intensity of development for residential neighborhoods, commercial and employment districts, industrial space, parks and other open spaces, and governmental and public uses of property in Rialto.
Environmental Justice Element (New)
Generally, environmental justice is defined as the basic right of people to live, work, go to school, play, and pray in a healthy and clean environment. Low-income residents, communities of color, tribal nations, and immigrant communities have disproportionately experienced some of the greatest environmental burdens and related health problems throughout the history of the United States. Those in neighborhoods of lower income are more likely to be at a disadvantage when it comes to equal access to programs and places that make and keep us healthy. This disadvantage gave rise to the notion of environmental justice, which arose out of the social and environmental movements of the 1960s and 1970s based on the fact that polluting facilities were being located in neighborhoods that were mostly minority or low income.
EJ elements address six (6) key environmental justice issues as outlined in Senate Bill (SB) 1000: community engagement, pollution exposure, access to public facilities, access to healthy food, safe and sanitary housing, and physical activity. Each of these issues has their own section with descriptions and analysis of how they exist in Rialto; the goals, policies and actions section relates back to these issues. This element provides analysis for four basic geographic areas: north of State Route (SR) 210, between SR-210 and Foothill Boulevard, between Foothill Boulevard and Interstate (I) 10, and south of I-10. As possible during policy implementation, the most specific local data will be used in place of these geographic areas.
Three other key components of SB 1000 include prioritizing disadvantaged communities, equitable development, and climate change. Each of these topics may be woven into the EJ element or other general plan elements to fit Rialto’s unique context. The prioritization of improvements and programs for disadvantaged communities is a key part of SB 1000 that will be addressed in the policy for each specific environmental justice issue. This is detailed more in the Disadvantaged Communities section, under Prioritizing Rialto’s Disadvantaged Communities. Aspects of equitable development are considered within the environmental justice issues and their associated policies and actions. Finally, climate change impacts were partially covered in the EJ Element as it relates to air pollution; however, this topic is more comprehensively covered in the City of Rialto’s (City’s) Safety Element and Climate Adaptation Plan.
The revised Land Use, Safety, and Circulation Elements, and new Environmental Justice Element and/or policies were created and prepared with input from the Community Advisory Committee (CAC), residence and stakeholders, government officials, including the Planning Commission, Economic Development Committee, and City Council.
Economic Development Committee
Throughout the timeline of processing the GPU, the project was scheduled for review by the Economic Development Committee (EDC) on three (3) different dates in January 2023, April 2023, and August 2024. The EDC committee provided comments to staff on policy issues on the four (4) proposed elements.
Planning Commission Determination
The role of the Planning Commission is to review the draft General Plan update, including any written comments and responses to comments, conduct the public hearing and receive public testimony. The Commission must also consider the adequacy of the proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) and its supporting documents and determine that the MND adequately address all potential environmental impacts that could be generated by adoption of the comprehensive update. On September 18, 2024, the Planning Commission conducted a public hearing, and determined that the draft document contains goals, policies and land use guidelines that will promote the orderly development of the community, and the MND adequately evaluates potential long range and cumulative effects of the updated General Plan and the comprehensive Zoning Ordinance. The Planning Commission voted 5 - 0 with 2 vacancies to recommend approval to the City Council.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
A Mitigated Negative Declaration (Environmental Assessment Review No. 2023-0017) was prepared for consideration in conjunction with the project.
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney's Office has reviewed the resolution and approved it as to form.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Operating Budget Impact
Preparation of the focused General Plan Update does not have a direct impact on the City’s General Fund. The City received a LEAP grant from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to fund the project.