City Council

3. PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER A RESOLUTION CERTIFYING AN EIR, INCLUDING\nTHE RESPONSE TO COMMENTS; ADOPTING FINDINGS OF FACT AND A\nSTATEMENT OF OVERRIDING CONSIDERATIONS; APPROVING THE MMRP;\nAPPROVING THE COMMUNITY CENTER PROJECT ON THE SITE OF THE FORMER\nHEALTH CLINIC ON SHORB STREET BETWEEN 6TH AND 7TH STREETS, LOCATED\nAT 612 WEST SHORB STREET ON A SITE OF 1.77 ACRES; AND APPROVING A\nPARCEL MAP FOR THE PROJECT, INCLUDING A VACATION OF A PORTION OF\nSHORB STREET, LOCATED BETWEEN 6TH AND 7TH STREETS AND DIRECTING\nISSUANCE OF A NOTICE INVITING BIDS – F2M22-65, N2M25-8, R2M25-4\nThis is the time and place set by Notice No. N2M25-8 for the City Council to hold a\npublic hearing to consider approval of the Alhambra Community Center Project at a 1.77-\nacre site located at 612 West Shorb Street, between 6th and 7th streets. Approval of the\nProject includes approval of a parcel map, aggregating lots and vacating Shorb Street\nbetween 6th and 7th to facilitate the Project. The Council will consider certification of an\nEIR for the project, including the associated response to comments, mitigation monitoring\nand reporting program, findings and statement of overriding considerations.\nThe City of Alhambra is the owner of the Property located at 612 West Shorb Street,\nlocated between 6th and 7th streets. The Property is the site of a historic building that was\nformerly a health clinic, but which has been vacant for decades. In 2020 the City Council\nbegan imagining a use for the Property, and determined that construction of a community\ncenter on the site would provide a much-needed amenity for the local neighborhood, as\nwell as the City of Alhambra at large. Unfortunately, the City did not have funding for such\na project at that time. In April 2023, the City received a grant from the State for construction\nof a community center in the amount of 25 million dollars, thanks to the efforts and State\nAssemblymember Mike Fong. The City then retained an architect, project manager and\nenvironmental consultant to prepare designs for consideration by the City Council and\nAlhambra community. The Council held public meetings to consider design options on\nOctober 25, 2023 (on site), March 11, 2024 and June 18, 2024. Approval of the project\nrequires an environmental evaluation under the California Environmental Quality Act.\nOptions were included in the project studied in the event that additional funding became\navailable during the processing of the project, ranging from 17,000 square feet, up to\n25,000 square feet. Currently, the City projects the current available funding would be\nsufficient to construct the 17,000 square foot project, but the project will be designed to\nenable additions if funding becomes available in future years.\nThe City determined that it would prepare a full Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the\nproject. Pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 15082, the City circulated a Notice of\nPreparation (NOP) together with the Initial Study to State, regional, and local agencies,\ninterested organizations, and members of the public for a 30-day period, commencing May\n28, 2024, and ending June 27, 2024. Based on public input and the results of the Initial\nStudy, the Draft EIR addresses environmental effects in the following areas: Biological\nResources (special-status species and the movement of wildlife species), Cultural\nResources (historic and archaeological resources), Geology and Soils (paleontological\nresources), Noise (all except airport land use plan, private airstrip), and Tribal Cultural\nResources. The Draft EIR determined that impacts to biological resources, archaeological\nresources, paleontological resources, noise and vibration, and tribal cultural resources\nwould be less than significant with the incorporation of mitigation measures. Additionally,\nthe current Property to be utilized for the Project is comprised of multiple parcels. The\nCalifornia Building Code prohibits construction of buildings across lot lines. Further, the\nProject also contemplates construction within the existing Shorb Street right-of-way,\nbetween 6th and 7th streets. The Subdivision Map Act allows these parcels to be joined\ninto one lot to allow for construction of the project if the Council approves a parcel map for\nthe site. Finally, the next step in the progress of the Project is to direct staff and the City’s\nconsultants to prepare a Notice Inviting Bids for the 17,000 square foot Project. The\nproposed resolution directs staff to do so, and return to Council with a proposed award of\ncontract for construction.\nThe Project is described at length in the Final EIR document (comprised of the Draft EIR,\nwritten comments, responses to comments, and minor revisions/clarifications to the Draft\nEIR and the MMRP), are available through the City of Alhambra’s website here:\nhttps://www.cityofalhambra.org/743/Alhambra-Community-Center-Project.\nRecommended Action: City Council conduct a public hearing and thereafter adopt\nResolution No. R2M25-4 entitled: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY\nOF ALHAMBRA CERTIFYING AN EIR, INCLUDING THE RESPONSE TO COMMENTS;\nADOPTING FINDINGS OF FACT AND A STATEMENT OF OVERRIDING\nCONSIDERATIONS; APPROVING THE MMRP; APPROVING THE COMMUNITY CENTER\nPROJECT ON THE SITE OF THE FORMER HEALTH CLINIC ON SHORB STREET\nBETWEEN 6TH AND 7TH STREETS, LOCATED AT 612 WEST SHORB STREET ON A SITE\nOF 1.77 ACRES; AND APPROVING A PARCEL MAP FOR THE PROJECT, INCLUDING A\nVACATION OF A PORTION OF SHORB STREET, LOCATED BETWEEN 6TH AND 7TH\nSTREETS AND DIRECTING ISSUANCE OF A NOTICE INVITING BIDS\nPRESENTATIONS