The Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for City’s redevelopment at 415 Pacific Coast Highway found that the project would cause “significant and unavoidable” traffic impacts at two intersections.
415 PCH is a 4.91-acre site on which publisher William Randolph Hearst built a lavish beachfront estate for his mistress, actress Marion Davies loped in the 1920s.
According to City documents, the “elements from the original estate currently remaining include the original guest house (North House), the swimming pool and bulkhead that runs along the western edge of the site. The proposed project is for the rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of the existing historic facilities for a public community space including outdoor recreational areas and development of an event/meeting facility.
The proposed project includes the demolition of the existing two-story Locker Building, retention of the existing beach café, rehabilitation of the North House and swimming pool, and development of a new 7,000 square foot pool house and a 6,000 square foot event house.
“The proposed project will incorporate public beach-related recreational uses and facilities including the remodel of an existing 1,350 square foot public restroom building to provide concessions and storage space. Construction of an approximate 500 square foot viewing platform, 5 feet above grade with storage space below is also proposed. The open recreational area would include a variety of beach-related amenities such as outdoor showers, beach volleyball courts, paddle tennis courts and children’s play equipment. Approximately 280 on site parking spaces would be provided.”
The report also states that “the proposed project would result in 24 weekday a.m. peak hour trips, 104 p.m. peak hour trips, and 104 weekend peak hour trips” and these additional trips would result in significant and avoidable impacts at the intersections of the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) and the California Incline and of PCH and Lot 10 North. Impacts at the intersection of PCH and the California Incline cannot be mitigated because of “physical constraints and factors beyond the control of the City of Santa Monica.”
The proposed mitigation measure for the intersection of PCH and Lot 10, additional traffic signals, may not be feasible because “the intersection is owned by Caltrans and implementation of the proposed measure is beyond the control of the City of Santa Monica.”
The analysis also found that impacts on the City’s environment in the areas of aesthetics, construction effects, geology and soils, historic resources, neighborhood effects and hydrology and water can be reduced with mitigation to a level that wouldn’t be considered significant.
City environmental areas that would experience no adverse impacts from the project are air quality, hazards and hazardous materials, noise, biological resources, shadows, population and housing, land use and planning, public services, recreation, economic and social impacts, agricultural resources and mineral resources.People who want to comment on the DEIR must do so by December 22. Copies of the DEIR are available in the City’s Planning Division, in the office of the City Clerk and in the reference section of the Temporary Main Library. Comments may be sent to the Community and Cultural Services, Attn: Karen Ginsberg, 1685 Main Street, Room 210, Santa Monica, CA 90401; Phone; (310) 458-8310.
