Environmental Impact Statement; Los Angeles County, CA

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

Environmental Impact Statement; Los Angeles County, CA

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration and the Los Angeles County

Metropolitan Transportation Authority intend to prepare an Environment

Impact Statement (EIS) in accordance with the National Environmental

Policy Act (NEPA) for transportation improvements in Los Angeles

County, California. In addition, the FTA intends to prepare, in

addition to the EIS, a Major Investment Study (MIS) for the project.

Further, the MTA will be jointly issuing a Supplemental Environmental

Impact Report (SEIR), pursuant to the California Environmental Quality

Act (CEQA). The purposes of the project are to improve east-west travel

options in the San Fernando Valley and to provide a connection to other

portions of a regional rail network that is being developed by the MTA.

DATES: Comment Due Date: Written comments on the scope of alternatives

and impacts to be considered should be sent to the address below by

November 20, 1995. Scoping Meetings: Two scoping workshops will be held

on November 7, 1995 at Reseda Senior Service and Resource Center from

6:30 p.m. until 9:00 p.m; and on November 14, 1995 at the Sherman Oaks

Woman's Club from 6:30 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. See addresses below. The

public is invited to arrive at any time. There will be no formal

presentations; both workshops will be held in an open house format.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the project scope should be sent to

David Mieger, Project Manager, Los Angeles County Metropolitan

Transportation Authority, 818 West 7th Street, Los Angeles, California,

90017. The scoping workshops will be held at the following locations:

Reseda Senior Service and Resource Center, 18255 Victory Boulevard,

Reseda, California, and Sherman Oaks Woman's Club, 4808 Kester Avenue,

Sherman Oaks, California.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Hymie Luden, City & Regional Planner,

Federal Transit Administration, Telephone (415) 744-3115.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FTA, in cooperation with the MTA, will

prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a proposed public

transit project in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles County,

California, to be implemented in an east-west corridor extending from

an under-construction Metro Rail station located in North Hollywood

westward to Valley Circle Boulevard, a distance of approximately 17

miles. The purposes of the project are to improve east-west travel

options in the San Fernando Valley and to provide a connection to other

portions of a regional rail network that is being developed by the MTA.

FTA and MTA invite interested individuals, organizations and

federal, state and local agencies to participate in defining the

alternatives and environmental factors to be evaluated in the MIS/DEIS/

DSEIR. Scoping comments regarding these matters may be made at the

workshops on the dates and at the locations indicated above, and they

may also be made in writing if mailed to the address indicated above.

During scoping, comments should focus on identifying specific social,

economic or environmental concerns to be evaluated and suggesting

alternatives which should be considered during the MIS process. Scoping

is not the appropriate time to indicate a preference for a particular

alternative. Comments of this nature should be communicated after the

MIS/DEIS/DSEIR has been completed.

Letters describing the proposed action and soliciting comments will

be sent to appropriate Federal, State and local agencies, and to other

parties who are known to have an interest in the project. Comments or

questions concerning this proposed action should be addressed to the

FTA.

Background

Rail transit planning has been underway regarding the San Fernando

Valley since 1980, with the passage locally of a \1/2\ cent sales tax

measure to fund rail improvements in Los Angeles County. In 1986,

studies were conducted to identify alternatives, and in 1990 and 1992,

the MTA completed an EIR and SEIR for the study corridor. These studies

and environmental documents led to the identification of a preferred

rail alignment along the existing Southern Pacific Burbank Branch,

following Chandler Boulevard, Oxnard Street, Victory Boulevard, and

Topham Street, which the MTA subsequently purchased in 1990. In 1994,

this corridor was endorsed by the MTA's Board of Directors.

Local concerns which had surfaced regarding noise, aesthetics and

other issues led to the passage by the California legislature of Senate

Bill 211, which restricts the development of a rail transit facility

along Chandler Boulevard to a below-grade subway from the Hollywood (SR

170) Freeway to Hazeltine Avenue, a distance of approximately 3.5

miles. In an effort to develop a project for implementation, the

currently adopted alignment is being reevaluated, along with other

alignment options, in the context of a Federally-required Major

Investment Study, which is being administered by the FTA.

Description of the Study Area

The study corridor extends from the North Hollywood Red Line

station (currently under construction), located at Lankershim Boulevard

and Chandler Boulevard, west across the entire San Fernando Valley to

the vicinity of Valley Circle Boulevard. The length of the corridor is

approximately 17 miles. The corridor is being considered in two phases.

Phase I (currently included in the MTA's 20-Year Implementation Plan)

extends from North Hollywood to the vicinity of the I-405 Freeway

(approximately 6 miles in length). Phase II extends from I-405 to the

west (approximately 11 miles in length). In addition to the Southern

Pacific Burbank Branch, other alignment variations are being considered

along segments of Oxnard Street and Sherman Way. Also, a potential

connection to the Chatsworth Metrolink station is under consideration,

thus extending the corridor to the north at that location.

Alternatives

A range of alternatives is being considered as part of the MIS/EIS/

SEIR. These include the following:

No Build

This alternative would include the transit system primarily as it

exists today, augmented by those additional projects for which a

funding commitment has been made. The Red Line would terminate at the

North Hollywood station, and the level of bus service shown in the MTA

Long range Plan would be provided, in accordance with the findings of

the San Fernando Valley Bus Restructuring Study. Highway and HOV

projects would be provided on a number of freeways.

Transportation Systems Management/Best Bus

This alternative would not require major investment for capital

cost items, but would rather focus its efforts on maximizing the

efficiency of existing facilities and expanding and improving the

existing bus system. Enhanced bus service would be provided, on-street

bus lanes would be included, and park-ride lots would be proposed.

Buses would be

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given priority through traffic signal preemption techniques.

Intersection improvements would be proposed to reduce congestion at

selected locations. Arterial improvements would be identified to

improve east-west movements in the study corridor.

Rail Transit Alternatives

A range of rail transit alternatives will be developed to serve the

study corridor that will include technology options such as the Red

Line heavy rail, the Blue/Green Line light rail, or, as potentially

feasible in selected applications, Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs).

Alignments will include the SP Burbank Branch, Oxnard Street, Sherman

Way and Topanga Canyon Boulevard. Profile options will range from

below-grade subway to at-grade alignments to above-grade sections

(bearing in mind the restrictions imposed by SB211), in areas permitted

by law.

Probable Effects

The FTA and MTA will evaluate all significant environmental, social

and economic impacts of the alternatives analyzed in the MIS/DEIS/

DSEIR. Potential impact categories which will be evaluated include:

Land Use and Development; Economic and Fiscal Impacts; Displacement and

Relocation; Traffic Circulation and Parking; Community and Neighborhood

Impacts; Visual and Aesthetic Impacts; Air Quality; Noise and

Vibration; Geotechnical Considerations; Water Resources; Natural

Resources; Energy; Safety and Security; Cultural Resources; Community

Facilities and Parklands; Construction Impacts. The impacts will be

evaluated both for the construction period and the long-term period of

operation, and financial information in support of the MIS will be

provided. Measures to mitigate significant adverse impacts will also be

addressed.

MIS Process

The MIS process was formally initiated by the SCAG MIS Committee at

its June, 1995 meeting. At that meeting, the Committee concurred in the

definition of the proposed study corridor. Within the corridor, a range

of alternatives is being studied in the MIS, which is being conducted

in parallel with the EIS. The alternatives (as described above)

include: No Project, Transportation Systems Management (TSM), Enhanced

Bus, and a series of rail transit alternatives, including options

regarding technology, alignment, profile, and station locations. When

completed, the FTA intends to issue its EIS jointly with the MTA's

SEIR, which will update the environmental documentation required under

CEQA.

FTA Procedures

The EIS process will be performed in accordance with Federal

Transit Laws and FTA's regulations and guidelines for preparing an

Environmental Impact Statement. The impacts of the project will be

assessed, and, if necessary, the scope of the project will be revised

or refined to minimize and mitigate any adverse impacts. After its

publication, the draft EIS will be available for public and private

agency review and comment. One public hearing will be held. On the

basis of the draft EIS and comments received, the project will be

revised or further refined as necessary and the final EIS completed.

Date Issued: October 18, 1995.

Leslie Rogers,

Deputy Regional Administrator.

[FR Doc. 95-26360 Filed 10-23-95; 8:45 am]

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