TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THRU: Tom Kisela, City Manager
FROM: Christopher Cash, Public Works Director
1. Subject
title
Review and adoption of Mitigated Negative Declaration No. 1887-24 and approval of preliminary project plans for the Cannon Street widening project. Resolution No. 11616.
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2. Summary
The Cannon Street Widening Project will provide an additional northbound through lane to Cannon Street from Santiago Canyon Road to Serrano Avenue. The City prepared Mitigated Negative Declaration No. 1887-24 to evaluate the potential environmental impact of the project in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act. The Council is being asked to review and consider the information presented, adopt the Mitigated Negative Declaration, and approve the preliminary project plans.
3. Recommended Action
recommendation
Adopt Resolution No. 11616. A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Orange approving and adopting Mitigated Negative Declaration No. 1887-24 and a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program for the Cannon Street Widening Project, approving Preliminary Plans therefor, and making certain findings in connection therewith.
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4. Fiscal Impact
None.
5. Strategic Plan Goals
Goal 5: Improve Infrastructure, Mobility, and Technology
6. Discussion and Background
The Public Works Department is proposing a project to widen a portion of Cannon Street from Santiago Canyon Road to Serrano Avenue to accommodate a third northbound through lane along the segment. The additional through lane will alleviate the heavy traffic volume experienced during peak-hour periods.
An agreement was previously approved by City Council on July 12, 2022, to authorize Mark Thomas & Company, Inc. to provide consulting services for the engineering design and preparation of the Initial Study - Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND), in compliance with California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements, for the project. The MND concludes that the project will not have a significant adverse effect on the environment, with the implementation of mitigation measures and/or project design features related to hazards and hazardous materials, air quality, biological resources, water quality, noise, and traffic. The identified measures and/or design features ensure that significant impacts resulting from the project are reduced to less than significant levels.
The City Council is being asked to review and consider the information presented in the MND prior to rendering a decision on the project. The MND and the Notice of Intent (NOI) announcing the availability of the MND for public review was sent to the State Clearinghouse (SCH# 2024101389) on October 31, 2024, for distribution and review by State agencies, and to regulatory agencies such as the Orange County Health Care Agency and Orange County Waste & Recycling. The NOI was concurrently filed with the Orange County Clerk, posted in the local newspaper, and mailed to all stakeholder agencies in the vicinity of the project. The MND was made available to the public at Orange City Hall, all City of Orange Libraries, and on the City’s website. The 30-day review period ran from October 31, 2024, to November 30, 2024. The City of Villa Park was also notified of the project. Comments received during the review period and the City’s responses to comments are included in the Final MND and attached for City Council’s consideration.
Upon City Council approval of the MND and preliminary plans for the project, the Public Works Department staff will finalize the construction documents and specifications and determine the project’s construction cost estimate. The City will then apply for grant funding from the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) through the Comprehensive Transportation Funding Program (CTFP) for the construction phase. The City previously received $618,750 in CTFP grant funding for the engineering/planning phase with a 25% match for a total amount of $825,000. If the construction phase application for this project is approved by OCTA, grant funding would likely be programmed for fiscal year 2026-2027.
7. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Mitigated Negative Declaration: Mitigated Negative Declaration No. 1887-24 was prepared to evaluate the physical environmental impacts of the project, in conformance with the provisions of CEQA per State CEQA Guidelines Section 15070 and in conformance with the Local CEQA Guidelines. The MND finds that the project will have less than significant impacts on the environment, with the implementation of standard conditions and mitigation measures. The draft MND was circulated for a 30-day public review period that was initiated on October 31, 2024, ending on November 30, 2024. Copies of the document were available for public review at all City of Orange Public Libraries, City Hall, and on the City’s website. On or before October 31, 2024, the City sent the NOI to Adopt MND No. 1887-24 to all stakeholder agencies in the vicinity of the project and to the City of Villa Park. Additionally, the NOI to Adopt MND No. 1887-24 was posted with the County of Orange Clerk and with the State Clearinghouse (SCH # 2024101389) on October 31, 2024.
Three comment letters were received during the public review period related to traffic congestion, safety risk, noise increase, and property devaluation. The City prepared responses to address these comments that are presented in the draft Final MND. The comments and associated responses do not change the conclusions or mitigations of the potential environmental impacts evaluated in the MND. Therefore, no changes to the MND were merited based on the comments received.
8. ATTACHMENTS
• Attachment 1 - Resolution No. 11616
• Attachment 2 - Location Map
• Attachment 3 - Preliminary Plans
• Attachment 4 - Cannon Street Widening Project Final IS-MND No. 1887-24
• Attachment 5 - Cannon Street Widening Project Rendering
• Full copy of the Final IS-MND No. 1887-24 is available for review in the City Clerk’s Office