City of Whittier
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT-PLANNING DIVISION
13230 Penn Street, Whittier, California 90602-1772
Tel: (562) 567-9320 Fax: (562) 567-2872
www.cityofwhittier.org
NOTICE OF PUBLIC SCOPING MEETING
Notice of Scoping Meeting: The City of Whittier (City) is the lead agency pursuant to the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and intends to prepare an Environmental Impact
Report (EIR) for the proposed project identified below. All interested parties are invited to attend
the scoping meeting to assist in identifying issues to be addressed in the EIR. The scoping meeting
will include a brief presentation of the project to be addressed in the EIR and will provide attendees
with an opportunity to provide input to the scope of the EIR either orally or by written comments.
The scoping meeting has been scheduled for November 30, 2022, at 6:00 PM, at the Whittier
City Council Chambers, 13230 Penn St, Whittier, CA 90602.
Participation by a virtual link will also be provided. The link to join:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88954285823
Or One tap mobile: US: +16694449171, 88954285823#
Or Telephone: Dial US: +1 669 444 9171, 88954285823#
Lead Agency: City of Whittier, Community Development Department
13230 Penn Street, Whittier, CA 90602-1772
Phone: 562-567-9320
Project Title: Whittwood Town Center Specific Plan Amendment
City Project No.: Specific Plan Amendment No. SPA20-0005, Tentative Tract Map No.
TTM22-0002 (TTM 83807), and Development Agreement No. DEA22-
0001
Project Location: The 66.4-acre Whittwood Town Center Specific Plan Area is located in
the eastern portion of the City of Whittier, in Los Angeles County,
California. The Area is bounded by Whittier Boulevard to the north,
existing residences and Starbuck Street to the south, Santa Gertrudes
Avenue to the east, and Scott Avenue to the west. The primary
address is 15466 Whittier Boulevard. The Project area is in Section 35,
Township 3 South, Range 11 West, San Bernardino Base Meridian.
NOP Comment Period: In addition to the Scoping Meeting, the City is also conducting a public
review. The 30-day public review period will commence on November 9, 2022 and end on
December 8, 2022. Written comments on the NOP must be received at the City within the public
review period. You may email comments to Patti Nahill, Contract Project Manager, at the following
address: pnahill@cityofwhittier.org. Copies of the Notice of Preparation are available for review at
the above address, at the Whittier Central Library at 7344 Washington Avenue and the
Whittwood Branch Library at 10537 Santa Gertrudes Avenue and on the City’s
website at: www.cityofwhittier.org/government/community-development/environmentaldocuments-notices. In addition, the Notice of Preparation was directly uploaded to the CEQAnet
Web Portal in the State Clearinghouse of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research.
Whittwood Town Center Specific Plan Amendment
Notice of Scoping Meeting
November 2022/Page 2
Introduction
The Whittwood Town Center is a fully developed, 66.4-acre outdoor retail center that includes
approximately 743,293 square feet (sf) of commercial uses and 114 residential dwelling units (du)
developed under the existing Whittwood Town Center Specific Plan, which allows up to 900,000 sf
of commercial uses and 150 residential du.
Project Description
The proposed Whittwood Town Center Specific Plan Amendment (Project or WTCSPA) will guide
the long-term development and redevelopment of the Project area. It revises the current land use
plan in the context of five planning districts and would allow for the Project area to transition to a
mixed-use village with a larger residential component, with the following modifications:
• An additional 1,200 dwelling units to the currently entitled 150 units, for a total of 1,350
dwelling units within the Specific Plan area.
• Reduction of commercial square footage from 900,000 sf to 600,000 sf. This change would
include the redevelopment of several portions of the Specific Plan area that are currently
occupied by big-box anchor retailers into higher density residential and mixed-use
development.
• The 600,000 commercial square footage is anticipated to encompass a combination of
permitted and conditionally permitted uses, and estimates approximately 379,000 sf of
retail, 30,000 sf grocery use, a 47,000 sf cinema, 30,000 sf fitness use and 114,000
square feet of restaurant, food/quick serve uses.
• Introduction of hotel use accommodating up to 300 rooms, which may be one structure or
divided into multiple structures.
• Realign Whittwood Parkway to provide improved internal circulation and an urban design
framework, with planned open space nodes throughout the Specific Plan area.
• Reoriented transit area to facilitate transit operations within the new design context.
Tentative Tract Map No. 83807 is proposed and designed to implement a significant portion of the
WTCSPA as amended. A Development Agreement between the City and Whittwood 1768, Inc. is
being proposed to vest development over properties under their ownership.
POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF THE PROJECT
Based on a preliminary review of the proposed project consistent with section 15060 of the CEQA
Guidelines, the City has determined that an EIR should be prepared for this proposed project. In
addition, consistent with section 15082 of the CEQA Guidelines, the City has identified the following
probable significant environmental effects of the project, which will be addressed in the EIR for this
project:
• Air Quality • Greenhouse Gas Emissions • Hydrology/Water Quality
• Transportation • Utilities/Service Systems • Mandatory Findings of Significance
The City has determined that there is not a likelihood of impacts related to the following
environmental topics:
• Agricultural/Forestry Resources • Mineral Resources • Wildfire
The City proposes that the EIR indicate the reasons why these effects were determined not to be
significant and are therefore not addressed in detail in the EIR.
