On June 14, City staff released a notice of preparation and initial study for the proposed project, located at 111 Independence Drive. The notice of preparation is part of the environmental review process and identifies that an environmental impact report (EIR) will be prepared for the proposed project.

The proposed project includes a new eight-story residential apartment building with 105 dwelling units and a community-serving retail space. The site contains an existing one-story office building, approximately 15,000 square feet in size, which would be demolished as part of the project. Based on the requirements of the City’s BMR Ordinance, 14 residential units (15 percent) would be provided as below market rate (BMR) units. The project also includes a publicly accessible open space along Independence Drive, which would remain owned and managed by the applicant. The proposal includes a request for an increase in height, density and FAR under the bonus level development allowance, which is subject to obtaining a use permit and providing one or more community amenities. 

As identified in the initial study, a focused EIR will be prepared to study potential new or increased impacts in the following areas: air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, noise (traffic noise), population and housing, and transportation and traffic. The City is requesting comments on the scope and content of the focused EIR during a 30-day comment period from June 14, 2019, to July 15, 2019. Comments can also be provided at the Planning Commission’s June 24, 2019, EIR scoping session.

In addition to an EIR scoping session, the Planning Commission will also hold a study session on the project to allow for members of the public and the Planning Commission to provide general feedback to the applicant and staff on the project proposal. The meeting takes place at 7 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. The meeting agenda and staff report will be published Thursday, June 20, 2019.

For more information, including previous Planning Commission study session staff reports and plan sets, visit the 111 Independence Drive project page.