Galt Walmart Environmental Impact Report – City of Galt 

The Galt Walmart EIR project is another project that faced a great deal of public scrutiny, thus requiring extensive public facilitation on behalf of and in coordination with the City. The project included the development of 11.26 acres of vacant land zoned Highway Commercial (HC) into a retail building and consisted of one (1) 132,295-square-foot building. Consistent with the City’s Big Box Ordinance, a Conditional Use Permit was required for approval. Because the proposed tenant is a Walmart, the EIR was prepared to address the basic CEQA issues as well as impacts related to urban decay. Given the proximity to residential uses, noise was an additional concern. Raney prepared the Draft EIR and Final EIR as well as responded to numerous comments received at the public hearings. The EIR was certified and the project approved; however, a lawsuit was subsequently filed. The judge rejected many of the petitioner’s claims with one exception; the judge required additional information and analysis related to forklift back-up beeper noise. Raney subsequently conducted additional analysis and a revised noise chapter was prepared. The City Council has since re-certified the EIR and the project has been approved and built.

Mace Ranch Innovation Center Environmental Impact Report – City of Davis 

The Mace Ranch Innovation Center project consists of the proposed development of 2,654,000 square feet of research/office/R&D uses on a 212-acre agricultural site within unincorporated Yolo County, adjacent to the City of Davis city limits. The applicant is seeking to develop the project within the City of Davis; therefore, the project site would need to be annexed to the City. The applicant is seeking approval of the following entitlements from the City of Davis: Annexation, General Plan Amendment, prezone, preliminary planned development, site plan and architectural review, and development agreement. If the project is approved by Davis City Council, the project would then go to the voters for ultimate approval, pursuant to the City’s Measure R process. If approved by the voters, the applicant will seek Yolo County LAFCO’s approval of a Sphere of Influence (SOI) amendment, to include the project site within the City’s SOI, and subsequently annexation of the project site to the City of Davis. Raney prepared a comprehensive Draft EIR for the proposed Mace Ranch Innovation Center project, which has been released to the public for review and comment. The Draft EIR includes all analyses required by CEQA, an equal-weight analysis of a mixed-use alternative, two equal-weight cumulative scenarios, as well as a full urban decay analysis. All environmental topics within Appendix G of the CEQA Guidelines have been evaluated within the Draft EIR, in addition to Appendix F of the CEQA Guidelines, concerning energy impacts.  Due to the size and complexity of the project and Draft EIR, the public comment period was 90 days.  Raney has prepared the Final EIR, including responses to the extensive comments received.  The project has since been placed on hold by the project applicants.

Plumpjack Squaw Valley Inn Environmental Impact Report – County of Placer

The PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn project includes the demolition of the existing on-site hospitality structures (e.g., 60-room hotel and conference center) to construct a new, 61-room multi-level hotel, two residential condominium buildings totaling 34 units, and an underground parking garage. The project is located on a 3.2-acre parcel two miles west of State route (SR) 89 at 1920 Squaw Valley Road. The project entitlements include approval of a Tentative Map, Conditional Use Permit, Variance(s) and a Design Review. Raney prepared a detailed Initial Study to determine whether an EIR would be required for the proposed project. While many environmental topics were fully addressed in the Initial Study, it was determined in consultation with the County that several issues warranted further analysis in an EIR.

The PlumpJack Inn site is located in close proximity to fault lines. As a result, for the PlumpJack Inn analysis, two fault evaluation reports were prepared by Holdrege & Kull to evaluate the level of risk to project structures and occupants associated with these fault traces. A total of seven faults are located in Squaw Valley, and while none of the faults cross the PlumpJack Inn project site, three of the seven faults are located in close proximity. The PlumpJack Inn project was subject to Wildland Urban Interface standards in accordance with Chapter 7A of the California Building Code. Raney addressed the risk of wildland fire in a detailed Emergency Preparedness and Evacuation Plan (EPEP), which was incorporated into the Hazards Chapter of the EIR. Raney reviewed defensible space requirements, ignition-resistant materials standards, and evacuation routes to determine the level of risk that a wildfire in the Valley might pose to the proposed project structures and residents/guests. The EPEP included several recommendations for the project’s design and operation to ensure that the risk of wildfire is adequately addressed. Hydrology and Water Quality was an additional issue of concern due to the proposed subterranean parking garage being located partially within an underground aquifer when groundwater levels are high. Raney conducted extensive coordination with the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board to ensure that the mitigation for the project’s construction dewatering operations met the rigorous requirements of the Lahontan Board. Additionally, the project site is located near Squaw Creek, which is on the State’s 303 D list of impaired water bodies, necessitating mitigation to ensure further sedimentation of the creek would not occur.  The Draft EIR has circulated for public review and Raney is in the process of completing the Final EIR in advance of the public hearings on the project.