los angeles memorial sports arena redevelopment project final environmental impact report

108 Pages·2011·3.04 MB·English

LOS ANGELES MEMORIAL SPORTS ARENA
REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT
FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT
Prepared for:
LosAngeles Memorial Coliseum Commission
January 21, 2011
SCH# 2010041059
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STAI'E OF CALIF-ORNIA
OF'I'-ICERS RICK CARUS{)
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A,ARRY SANDLRS FAB]AN R. \\'ESSO\
PR ES] DENT
DAV]D lSR{EL AN IHONY WJLLIAiUS
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PATRICK T. LYh\Cll couNTY op r-o$ ANGELES
CENFRAL I\4ANACER DON KNABE ,
CT]IEF AD]vl]N]STRATIVE OFF]CER N{,ARK RIDLEY-IHOUAS
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LOS ANGELES MEMORIAL COLISEUM COMMISSION
coLlSEUM, 3911 S. FtGUEROAST.. [phone] . SPORTSARENA,3939 S FtcUEROAST.. [phone] TON.I LaBONCE
FAX: (213) 74a-5a28 . LOSANGELES, CALIFORNIA9OO3T FAx: [phone] IOItN,AATLTHEAR\N WAT]IE,LSIANlS
NOTICE OF COMPLETION
OF A FINAL BNVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FOR THE
REDEVELOPMENT OF THB
LOS ANGELES MEMORIAL SPORTS ARENA
TO: All Concerned Persons
FROM: The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission
RE: Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Redevelopment Project
LOCATION: Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena,
3939 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, California
DATE: January 21,2011
SCH #: 201 0041 059
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission (LAMCC), as Lead Agency under the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA), is providing this couftesy notice that it has completed a Final Environmental Impact Report
(EIR) for the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Redevelopment Project ("Proposed Project"). This information
is being provided for information purposes only and no action or response is required.
As required by CEQA, the Draft EIR for the Proposed Project was prepared and circulated during a 45-day public
review period that began on November 15,2010 and ended on December 30, 2010. Pursuant to Section 15132 of
the State CEQA Guidelines, a Final EIR has been prepared and includes a list of persons, organizations, and public
agencies that commented on the Draft EIR; all comments and recommendations received on the Draft EIR; written
responses to each comment provided on the Draft EIR; and conections and additionsl.'.ps appropriate, to the Draft
ETR.
,
I
Copies of the Final EIR, as well as the Draft EIR, Draft EIR Technical Appendices are available for the public to
view via the Lead Agency's official website at http://www.lacoliseumlive.com., and at the LAMCC's
Administrative Offices during normal business hours at the Sports Arena ticket office at 3939 S. Figueroa Street,
Los Angeles CA 90037.
The LAMCC Board of Commissioners will conduct a public hearing regarding the Proposed Project, which may
result in certification of the EIR. The Board meeting will be open to the public at the following time and location:
Place: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Board Room
(3939 S. Figueroa Street, South End of the Coliseum Peristyle)
Date: Wednesday February 2,2010
Time: 2:30 p.m.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section Page
I. INTRODUCTION/SUMMARY ....................................................................................................I-1
II. CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS TO THE DRAFT EIR ...................................................... II-1
III. RESPONSES TO COMMENTS ON THE DRAFT EIR
1. State of California Governor’s Office of Planning and Research ........................................... III-3
2. State of California, Native American Heritage Commission .................................................. III-4
3. State of California, Department of Transportation (Caltrans) ................................................ III-7
4. Metropolitan Transportation Authority, CEQA Review Coordination .................................... III-9
5. South Coast Air Quality Management District ..................................................................... III-10
6. California Science Center, Jeffrey M. Rudolph, Executive Director ..................................... III-17
7. County of Los Angeles, Department of Public Works .......................................................... III-20
8. Summit Builders Construction Company .............................................................................. III-22
IV. MITIGATION MONITORING PROGRAM ............................................................................. IV-1

Tables
Table II-1 Summary of Environmental Impacts and Mitigation Measures ............................................. II-6
Table IV-1 Mitigation Monitoring Program ........................................................................................... IV-2

Appendix
G. Comment Letters on the Draft EIR1

1 Appendices A through F were included in the Draft EIR and are bound under separate cover.
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Redevelopment Project Table of Contents
Final Environmental Impact Report Page i
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I. INTRODUCTION/SUMMARY
INTRODUCTION
Sections 15089 and 15090 of the CEQA Guidelines require that prior to approving a project, a Final
Environmental Impact Report (Final EIR) must be prepared for the review and consideration of the lead
agency. Section 15132 of the CEQA Guidelines provides that a Final EIR shall consist of:
(a) The Draft EIR or a revision of the Draft.
(b) Comments and recommendations received on the Draft EIR either verbatim or in summary.
(c) A list of persons, organizations, and public agencies commenting on the Draft EIR.
(d) The responses of the Lead Agency to significant environmental points raised in the review and
consultation process.
(e) Any other information added by the lead agency.
The lead agency must provide each agency that commented on the Draft EIR with a copy of the lead
agency’s proposed response at least ten days before certifying the Final EIR.
ORGANIZATION OF THE FINAL EIR
This document, together with the Draft EIR for the Project and the Technical Appendices to the Draft EIR
(dated November 15, 2010), constitute the “Final EIR” for the Project.
The Final EIR is organized in the following sections:
I. Introduction/Summary: This section is intended to provide a brief overview of the CEQA requirements
and EIR history for the Project. This section also provides a summary of the Proposed Project, areas of
concern, issues to be resolved, alternatives to the Proposed Project, and environmental impacts and
mitigation measures.
II. Corrections and Additions: This section provides a complete overview of the corrections and additions
that have been incorporated into the Draft EIR in response to the comments submitted during the public
review period.
III. Responses to Comments on the Draft EIR: This section includes detailed responses to the comment
letters submitted to the City in response to the Draft EIR. Copies of the comments letters are incorporated
as Appendix G to the EIR.
IV. Mitigation Monitoring Program: This section includes a list of the required mitigation measures and
includes detailed information with respect to the policies and procedures for implementation of the
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Redevelopment Project I. Introduction/Summary
Final Environmental Impact Report Page I-1
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission January 2011

mitigation measures. This Mitigation Monitoring Program (MMP) identifies the monitoring phase, the
enforcement phase and the applicable department or agency that is responsible for ensuring each
recommended mitigation measure is implemented.
CEQA PROCESS
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (Public Resources Code (P.R.C.) Division 13, §
21000 et seq.) was enacted in 1970 with the main objective of providing public disclosure to inform
decision makers and the public of the significant environmental effects of proposed activities and to
require agencies to avoid or reduce the environmental effects by implementing feasible alternatives or
mitigation measures.
CEQA applies to all discretionary activities proposed to be carried out or approved by California public
agencies, including state, regional, county, and local agencies. The proposed Sports Arena
Redevelopment Project requires discretionary approval from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Commission (LAMCC) and, therefore, is subject to the environmental review requirements established
under CEQA. For purposes of complying with CEQA, LAMCC is identified as the Lead Agency for the
Proposed Project.
A Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was prepared in accordance with CEQA, the State CEQA
Guidelines (California Code of Regulations (C.C.R.), Title 14, Division 6, Chapter 3, §§ 15000-15387, as
amended). The State CEQA Guidelines § 15121(a) provides the following description of an EIR:
An EIR is an informational document which will inform public agency decision-makers and the public
generally of the significant environmental effects of a project, identify possible ways to minimize the
significant effects, and describe reasonable alternatives to the project. The public agency shall
consider the information in the EIR along with other information which may be presented to the
agency.
Furthermore, the Draft EIR was prepared in accordance with State CEQA Guidelines § 15151 which
defines the standards for EIR adequacy:
An EIR should be prepared with a sufficient degree of analysis to provide decision makers with
information which enables them to make a decision which intelligently takes account of environmental
consequences. An evaluation of the environmental effects of a proposed project need not be
exhaustive, but the sufficiency of an EIR is to be reviewed in the light of what is reasonably feasible.
Disagreement among experts does not make an EIR inadequate, but the EIR should summarize the
main points of disagreement among the experts. The courts have looked not for perfection but for
adequacy, completeness, and a good faith effort at full disclosure.
This EIR is a Project-level EIR in accordance with State CEQA Guidelines §§ 15161-15168.
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Redevelopment Project I. Introduction/Summary
Final Environmental Impact Report Page I-2
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission January 2011

Notice of Preparation and EIR Scope
The Notice of Preparation was circulated to local and regional government agencies and the general
public for a 30-day public review period starting on April 19, 2010 and ending on May 19, 2010. The
NOP was subsequently re-circulated on May 27, 2010 to announce a public scoping meeting would be
held to solicit comments from the general public and responsible agencies with regard to the scope of the
EIR. The re-circulated NOP comment period began on May 27, 2010 and ended on June 30, 2010.
The public scoping meeting was held on June 16, 2001 at 9:30 a.m. at the Los Angeles Memorial
Coliseum Commission’s Board Room at 3939 S. Figueroa Street, in Los Angeles CA. Appendix A to the
Draft EIR contains copies of both NOPs, the scoping meeting attendance sign-in sheet, and all written
comments submitted to the lead agency in response to the NOPs. Based on a preliminary assessment of
the Proposed Project and comments received in response to the NOP and at the public scoping meeting,
the Lead Agency determined that the following environmental issue areas should be included within the
scope of the EIR:
 Aesthetics (Views, Light and Glare)
 Air Quality
 Global Climate Change
 Hydrology and Water Quality
 Land Use and Planning
 Noise/Vibration
 Public Utilities (Water, Sewer, Energy Conservation, Solid Waste)
 Public Services (Police and Fire Protection)
 Transportation/Traffic/Parking
 Cumulative Impacts
Public Participation
To provide full public disclosure of potential environmental impacts that may occur as a result of a
proposed project, CEQA requires the Draft EIR to be circulated during the public review period to all
responsible agencies, trustee agencies, and the general public. Consistent with CEQA, the Draft EIR was
circulated for a 45-day review period (P.R.C. § 21091 (a)). The Draft EIR public review period began on
November 16, 2010 and ended on December 30, 2010. During this period, the Draft EIR was made
available to the public via the LAMCC’s official website at: http://www.lacoliseumlive.com. Copies of
the Draft EIR and all documents referenced in the Draft EIR were also available for public review at the
LAMMC’s Administrative Offices during normal business hours.
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Redevelopment Project I. Introduction/Summary
Final Environmental Impact Report Page I-3
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission January 2011

In response to the Draft EIR, a total of eight comment letters were received by the lead agency. The
comment letters and responses to the comment letters are contained in Section III, Responses to
Comments to this Final EIR.
PROPOSED PROJECT SUMMARY
Project Location
The Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (“Sports Arena”) occupies an approximate 15-acre parcel of
land within the boundaries of the Exposition Park Master Plan Area. Exposition Park is located
approximately two miles southwest of the downtown Los Angeles area and encompasses a total of 160
acres. Exposition Park is bounded by Exposition Boulevard to the north, Figueroa Street on the east,
Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard on the south, and Vermont Avenue on the west. Exposition Park is the
largest park in the Central Los Angeles area of the City of Los Angeles. The Sports Arena is generally
situated in the southeastern portion of Exposition Park.
Project Characteristics
The Proposed Project consists of the demolition and removal of the existing Sports Arena and the
redevelopment of the Project Site with a new use that would reactivate the underutilized Project Site. In
an effort to be responsive to changing community needs and market conditions, the LAMCC is
considering two different and mutually exclusive future uses for the Project Site: Option 1, which consists
of a Multiple Use Space for civic and special event gatherings; or Option 2: a Major League Soccer
Stadium with approximately 22,000 seats. Both of these development options are analyzed in an equal
level of detail in this EIR to allow flexibility for the decision–makers to select either one of the two
projects.
Under Option 1, all existing improvements on the Project Site, including the Sports Arena and the VIP
parking lot, would be removed and the site would be redeveloped with an open-air multiple use space.
This multiple use space would be improved to provide additional surface parking for Coliseum events and
would serve as a public venue for civic gatherings and announcements, capable of hosting a variety of
celebratory and entertainment civic events such as parades, rallies, public gatherings, festivals and
neighborhood carnivals similar to the current outdoor event usage at the Sports Arena. Under this
proposal, the Coliseum Commission would continue to lease the Project Site from the State and be
responsible for its operation, and would partner with the City to produce civic events.
The Multiple Use Space Option would be primarily developed as an open-air amphitheater. However, as
a Multiple Use Space, the intent of this Option is to provide flexibility in event programming to stimulate
the local economy and promote civic activity. The Multiple Use Space could support stand-alone events
confined to the 15-acre project site or, alternatively, provide flexible uses for joint events held at the
Coliseum. For events held at the Coliseum, the Multiple Use Space could serve as an extension of the
park-like grounds within Exposition Park, be utilized as an overflow surface parking lot, or serve as an
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Redevelopment Project I. Introduction/Summary
Final Environmental Impact Report Page I-4