Synopsis

For those interested in the Sunrise Senior Assisted Living Project (the proposed development on the old “Westlake Hospital” property), the draft Environmental Impact Report is now available, and a 45 day period of public review has started.


Full Article

You can download the PDFs for this from the City of Westlake Village web site at: http://wlv.org/whats_new/sunrise-senior-housing.asp

And, if you want to read the earlier Westlake Revelations pieces on Sunrise, they are listed here:

Old Westlake Hospital Property: Your Chance to Speak Up
https://westlakerevelations.com/?q=node/11

Old Westlake Hospital Property: Straw Poll Update
https://westlakerevelations.com/?q=node/20

Sunrise Q&A: Church Donation, Size of Development
https://westlakerevelations.com/?q=node/21

Straw Poll Results
https://westlakerevelations.com/?q=node/22

The Draft EIR

The public notice has the two paragraphs (below) which you may find informative. A public hearing date has not yet been set, but the Public Review Period is from September 14, 2007 to October 29, 2007.

One thing to note about EIRs. It is required by law that an EIR have alternatives in them, and they not be solely for the proposed project, but other project versions or uses of the property. The fact that these other versions exists does not necessarily mean that they are economically viable nor that the developer wants to build them.

The next steps will happen following the public review period:

* evaluation of and response to comments
* consideration of the need to re-circulate the EIR
* preparation of the Final EIR
* presentation of the Final EIR for certification

The Significant Effects on the Environment,
if any, Anticipated as a Result of the Project:

“The Draft EIR analyzes the potential for the project to result in environmental impacts in the following topics: aesthetics, air quality, land use and planning, noise, public services, transportation and circulation, and hazards and hazardous materials. The project, as proposed, would result in the following significant environmental effects:

“1) The proposed project could result in substantial adverse changes that may degrade the visual character of the site and its surroundings. While the proposed projectâ??s architecture, layout, and construction materials appear to be largely compatible with Westlake Village design standards, the project greatly exceeds the siteâ??s allowable floor area ratio, as identified in the Cityâ??s Zoning Code and General Plan. As a result, the project would cause proportionality and visual bulk/massing impacts.

“2) Conflicts with Land Use Plans, Policies, or Regulations of the City of Westlake Village. The proposed project deviates from the City of Westlake Village General Plan and Municipal Code.

“The project site is not included on any lists of hazardous waste sites.”

Environmentally Superior Alternative

“The full-scale proposed project would result in two significant impacts â?? Impact AES-1: a substantial adverse change that could degrade the visual character of the site and its surroundings; and Impact LU-1: conflicts with land use plans, policies, and regulations. None of the three alternatives would cause either of these significant impacts and, therefore, all three alternatives would be environmentally superior to the full-scale proposed project (i.e., the proposed project prior to incorporating Mitigation Measures AES-1 and LU-1, which require redesigning and reducing the size of the facility).”