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Sep 17

Envision Whittier General Plan, 2021-2029 Housing Element and Draft EIR

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NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING/PUBLIC HEARING

2021-2040 GENERAL PLAN UPDATE (GPA21-0001)

2021-2029 HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE (GPA21-0002)

DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT (State Clearinghouse No. 2021040762)

Notice is hereby given that the Planning Commission of the City of Whittier will conduct a special meeting and public hearing to consider the following project request on Wednesday, September 29, 2021, at 6:30 pm or as soon thereafter as possible, in the Whittier City Council Chambers, City Hall, 13230 Penn Street, Whittier, California:

Project: The City of Whittier is proposing a comprehensive update to its existing General Plan including the Housing Element. The updated Whittier General Plan is expected to be adopted in 2021 and will guide the City’s development and planning. The Plan is intended to be an expression of the community’s vision for the City and Planning Area and constitutes the policy and regulatory framework by which future development projects will be reviewed and public improvements will be implemented. The City will implement the Plan by requiring development, infrastructure improvements, and other projects to be consistent with its policies and by implementing the actions included in the Plan. State law requires the City to adopt a comprehensive, long-term General Plan for the physical development of its planning area. The Plan must include, land use, circulation, housing, conservation, open space, noise, and safety elements as specified in Government Code Section 65302, to the extent that the issues identified by State law exist in the City’s Planning Area. Additional elements that relate to the physical development of the city may also be addressed in the Plan. The degree of specificity and level of detail of the discussion of each Plan element need only reflect local conditions and circumstances. The Plan has been prepared to address the requirements of State law and the relevant items addressed in Government Code Section 65300 et seq. The Plan includes all of the State-mandated elements, including Land Use and Community Character, Mobility and Infrastructure, Housing (2021-2029), Resource (combines Open Space, Habitat Conservation, Resource Conservation, Aesthetics, Recreation, and Park Services and Facilities), and Public Safety, Noise, and Health as well as an optional element addressing Historic Resources. The Draft General Plan includes a Land Use Map that identifies where land use designations are applied to parcels in the Planning Area.

Location: All Lands within the City of Whittier General Plan Planning Area

California Environment Quality Act: A Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) has been prepared consistent with the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (Pub. Res. Code, Section 21000 et seq.) and the State CEQA Guidelines (Title 14 CCR §15000 et seq.). The 2021-2040 General Plan Update and 2021-2029 Housing Element Update have been extensively evaluated pursuant CEQA and the CEQA Guidelines. An Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and Statement of Overriding Findings have been prepared for the Proposed Project. CEQA requires that all cities consider the environmental consequences of projects over which they have discretionary authority before acting on those projects. The City published and distributed a Notice of Availability of the Draft Program EIR in accordance with CEQA Guidelines Section 15087 on July 9, 2021. The public comment period for the Draft EIR closed on August 23, 2021.

 

Document Availability: The Draft EIR with all appendices and supporting materials, the Whittier General Plan Update and 2021-2029 Housing Element are available for public review at the following locations:

In person at Whittier City Hall – Planning Services Division located at 13230 Penn Street, Whittier and the Whittwood Branch Library, 10537 Santa Gertrudes Avenue, Whittier. Note: Due to the COVID Pandemic, please check the business hours of the Library Branch on the day you wish to review the documents.

On-line at the Community Development Department’s “Environmental Documents & Notices” webpage at https://www.cityofwhittier.org/government/community-development/environmental[1]documents-notices and on the Envision Whittier webpage at https://www.envisionwhittier.org/documents.

Cortese Sites: Whittier hosts properties listed on hazardous waste sites lists compiled pursuant to California Government Code Section 65962.5. Please refer to Table 4.9-2 and Exhibits 4.9-1 and 4.9-2 of the DEIR for a description of these sites.

Consistent with mandates of Executive Order No. N-29-20 (COVID-19), a physical location from which members of the public may observe the meeting or offer public comment will not be made available. For the time being, City Hall will not be open to the public for public meetings; however, viewing and public comment options are provided below.

View live meetings remotely:

Public Comment/Question options for Planning Commission:

  • Email: comdev@cityofwhittier.org (must be submitted prior to 5:30 p.m. on September 29, 2021)
  • Live audio only public comment virtually via Zoom; (Speakers must limit their comments to three minutes. Please note, by order of the presiding officer, public comments may be limited if at their discretion a surplus of speakers are present at the meeting).

Live Public Comment virtually via Zoom: Login or call at 6:30 p.m. and raise your hand.

    • Use ‘Raise Hand’ feature.
  • Phone Call-in: (669) 900-9128 Meeting ID 81890476866
    • Press *9 to ‘Raise Hand’ and then *6 to unmute yourself when prompted.

If you challenge any part of the proposed action in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised during the public hearing.

Any person with an interest in this matter is invited to attend said hearing and testify on all matters related thereto.

 

Lead Agency and Contact: Please address all written comments and questions concerning this project to: Sonya Lui, Principal Planner, City of Whittier, 13230 Penn Street, Whittier, California 90602-1772 or slui@cityofwhittier.org.

A Planning Commission Public Hearing/Special Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 29, 2021 at 6:30 PM and will be conducted using the Zoom video teleconferencing app. For additional meeting details, please see the attached public hearing/special meeting notice.

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