HomeMy Public PortalAbout4l-PubServicesNOVEMBER 2008 TRUCKEE RAILYARD DRAFT MASTER PLAN EIR
IV. SETTING, IMPACTS AND MITIGATION MEASURES
L. PUBLIC SERVICES
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L. PUBLIC SERVICES
This section analyzes the proposed project’s potential impacts to public services including:
fire protection, police services, schools, parks and recreation and libraries. Potential impacts
to public services that could result from the proposed project are identified, and mitigation
measures are recommended, as appropriate.
1. Setting
In this setting section, current service locations, capacities, and expansion possibilities are
discussed, as are the Town’s General Plan policies relating to public services.
a. Fire Protection. The Truckee Fire District provides fire protection, basic emergency
medical services, and related safety services for the Town of Truckee, including the Master
Plan Area. The Truckee Fire District currently staffs 44 full-time employees. The full-time
staff includes a fire chief, fire marshall, assistant fire marshall, four battalion chiefs, 12
station captains, 21 firefighters, a public safety information officer and three administrative
support personnel. The District also has seven part-time firefighters and two volunteer
firefighters. The District operates out of eight stations, of which four are staffed 24 hours a
day, seven days a week, with three rotating shifts. There are eight to eleven firefighters and
officers and one shift commander on duty at all times.1
In 2007, the Department answered 2,592 calls for service with an average response time for
all calls of 6 to 12 minutes depending on weather conditions.2
Fire Station 91, Downtown, is a full-time station located at 10049 Donner Pass Road. Station
91 houses the offices of the District Fire Chief, Fire Marshall and the Fire Prevention Bureau.
Station hours are Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; however, office hours vary
because the staff at Station 91 are often out in the field.
Fire Station 92, Gateway, is a full-time station located at 11479 Donner Pass Road. Station
92 is the largest station with the most apparatus. Station 92 is equipped with a type-1
engine capable of reaching a 3-story building, and a medic unit. Station 92 staffs one
Battalion Chief, one Station Captain and two firefighter/paramedics. Station 92 is
approximately two miles from the Master Plan Area, and would be the primary response
station for the calls within the Plan Area.
1 Bena, Bob, 2008. Fire Chief, Truckee Fire District. Written communications with RRM Design
Group. February 13.
2 Ibid.
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Fire Station 93, Donner Lake, is a part-time station located at 15572 Donner Pass Road.
Station 93 is a residential station equipped with one engine, and is staffed by one
firefighter/paramedic that lives on-site.
Fire Station 94, Tahoe Donner, is a part-time station located at 12986 Northwoods
Boulevard. Station 94 is a residential station equipped with one engine, and is staffed by
one firefighter/paramedic that lives on-site.
Fire Station 95, Glenshire, is a full-time station located at 10900 Manchester Drive. Station
95 is equipped with one engine and one ambulance and is staffed with one captain and two
firefighters. Station 95 is approximately five miles from the Master Plan Area and could
serve as additional response for service calls in the Plan Area.
Fire Station 96, Airport, is a full-time station located at 10277 Truckee Tahoe Airport Road.
Station 96 is a multi-agency station that is shared with California Department of Forestry
and Tahoe Truckee Airport. Station 96 is equipped with one engine, two ambulances, one
Hazardous Materials response vehicle, and a Careflight A Star helicopter, which is staffed
with a pilot and two flight nurses. This station is staffed by three captains and seven
firefighters/paramedics. Station 96 is approximately 3 miles from the Master Plan Area and
would serve as the secondary responder for service calls in the Plan Area.
Fire Station 97, Soda Springs, is a full-time station located on the north side of Soda Springs
Road just off of I-80. Station 97 is equipped with two medic units, two engines, one rescue
unit, one utility pick-up, one loader, and two snow mobiles. This station is staffed by one
captain and one firefighter.
Fire Station 98, Serene Lakes, is a part-time station located at 53823 Sherritt Lane. Station
98 is equipped with one engine, and one is staffed by one firefighter/paramedic that lives
on-site.
The Truckee Fire District has the goal to respond to all emergency calls within eight minutes
of receiving the call. The Truckee Fire District has mutual aid agreements with Northstar Fire
Department, Squaw Valley Fire Department and North Tahoe Fire Protection District. During
major emergencies, these neighboring fire agencies would provide assistance to the
Truckee Fire District, if requested.
Of the 36 firefighters in the District, 33 are licensed paramedics. Medical emergencies are
treated at Tahoe Forest Hospital or Renown Health Center in Reno, Nevada.
The following policies from the Safety Element of the Town of Truckee General Plan are
related to Fire protection services:
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L. PUBLIC SERVICES
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Safety Element
Goal SAF-4: Protect lives and property from risks associated with wildland and urban fire.
Policies
P4.1: Continue to cooperate with the Truckee Fire Protection District, the California Department
of Forestry, and the U.S. Forest Service in creating and promoting fire prevention education
programs.
4.2: Continue to cooperate with the Fire Protection District to implement fire safety ordinances
to minimize wildland fire hazards, including incorporation of fire resistant building and roofing
materials, and attainment and maintenance of “defensible space.” Defensible space may include
revegetation with less flammable species, such as fire resistant native and adapted species, and
the use of mulch to prevent erosion on bare soil.
4.3: Promote fire hazard reduction through cooperative fuel management activities in
association with the Truckee Fire Protection District, the California Department of Forestry and
the U.S. Forest Service. Such strategies may include identifying and implementing opportunities
for fuel breaks in very high fire hazard severity zones, and ensuring that fire breaks are
provided where necessary and appropriate.
4.4: Require new development to incorporate adequate emergency water flow, emergency
vehicle access and evacuation routes.
4.5: Continue to support the mitigation fee program for the Fire Protection District, to ensure
that the District is able to meet the future fire protection needs of the community as it grows.
4.6: Support, as appropriate, efforts to implement the recommendations of the 2005 Nevada
County Fire Plan, and programs of Fire Safe Nevada County.
4.7: Ensure that the development review process addresses wildland fire risk, including
assessment of both construction- and project related fire risks particularly in areas of the Town
most susceptible to fire hazards. Cooperate with the TFFPD in reviewing fire safety plans and
provisions in new development, including aspects such as emergency access, site design for
maintenance of defensible space, and use of non-combustible materials.
b. Police Services. The Truckee Police Department provides police service to the Town of
Truckee. The Police Department operates out of their headquarters located at 10183
Truckee Airport Road. The department has 26 sworn officers and four full-time and one
part-time non-sworn staff to provide services to the Town’s 16,019 residents. This equates
to a 1.62 ratio of police per one thousand residents.
The Police Department is divided into three police beats to patrol various areas of the Town.
Officers and supervisors are assigned to a specific district in order to stay abreast of
specific problems that are unique to each district. The Plan Area is located in Beat 2, which
currently includes Downtown, Ponderosa Palisades’s neighborhood, Gateway and businesses
along Brockway Road. The Police Department patrols the district 24 hours a day and seven
days a week.
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The Truckee Police Department typically responds to all emergency calls within seven to
nine minutes and all non-emergency calls within 20 minutes.3 The Police Department
average response time to the specific Plan Area for emergency calls is 4 to 5 minutes and 15
minutes for non-emergency calls.4
The following policy from Land Use Element of the Town of Truckee General Plan is related
to Police protection services:
Policy P4.4: Review all development proposals to ensure that demand generated for police
services can be adequately met; periodically evaluate current funding mechanisms for police
services to determine if they are adequate, and consider revisions as necessary.
c. Schools. The Town of Truckee is served by the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District.
The Tahoe Truckee Unified School District (TTUSD) encompasses over 720 square miles and
serves students in Nevada, Placer and El Dorado counties. TTUSD District boundaries stretch
from the Sierra County line, 27 miles North of Truckee, to Emerald Bay, near South Lake
Tahoe; and from Cisco Grove, 20 miles to the west, to the Nevada state line, ten miles to the
east. District offices are located in Truckee.
The TTUSD has a total student enrollment of 4,081 in kindergarten through the 12th grade.
There are 11 school sites, four elementary, two middle schools, two high schools, and one
continuation high school, a K-5 magnet school, and a 6-12 alternative school. In addition,
the District maintains various programs, departments, and a preschool in the inactive
school facility, Sierra Mountain, located in Truckee. The attendance areas of the active
schools are divided between the Truckee area and the Lake area schools. The Truckee area
schools would serve the Plan Area. The district does not utilize year-round education; it
operates on a traditional school calendar.
The Truckee area schools include Truckee High School and Alder Creek Middle School that
serve all of the students in the area. The middle school is fed by three K-5 elementary
schools including Donner Trail, Glenshire and Truckee Elementary. Donner Trail is a magnet
K-5 and draws students from other attendance areas, but also has its own attendance area.
The Lake area schools include Kings Beach and Tahoe Lake Elementary. The two elementary
schools feed into the North Tahoe Middle School and the middle school feeds into North
Tahoe High School.
3 Berry, Scott. Police Chief, Truckee Police Department. Written communication with RRM
Design Group. February 15 2008.
4 Berry, Scott. Police Chief, Truckee Police Department. Verbal communication with RRM
Design Group. February 25 2008.
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The District also operates Sierra Continuation High School and the Coldstream Alternative
Education Program, which do not have attendance boundaries, but rather serve all students
within the district boundary.
The Railyard Master Plan Area is within the Glenshire Elementary School, Alder Creek Middle
School and Truckee High attendance areas. Enrollment for 2007 and the existing capacity of
these schools is shown in Table IV.L-
1.
The TTUSD does not have official
classroom sizes, but the District
loads class sizes as follows: 20 for
kindergarten through 3rd grade, 28
students per teacher for 4th through
5th grades, 29 for 6th through 8th
grade.5
The Town of Truckee General Plan does not have specific policies related to public school
services and facilities.
d. Parks and Recreation. Truckee has
10 locally-operated parks that make up
approximately 120 acres recreational area,
plus four public recreation facilities. As
shown in Table IV.L-2, park facilities in
Truckee include neighborhood, district and
regional parks that range in size from
under half an acre to over 60 acres. Most
of the Truckee’s parks are operated by
Truckee Donner Recreation and Parks
District (TDRP), and a few facilities are
operated by the TTUSD. In addition to the
locally-operated parks, Donner Memorial
State Park and several privately-owned and
operated recreational facilities (golf
courses, parks and other amenities in the
Tahoe Donner resort area) are also an
important recreation resource for the
community. The Town of Truckee General
Plan includes the TDRPD’s goals for
5 Tahoe Truckee Unified School District Facilities Master Plan.
Table IV.L-1 LUSD School Enrollment and
Capacity
School
Enrollment
(2007) Capacity
Glenshire Elementary 505 500
Alder Creek Middle School 596 800
Truckee High School 748 900
Source: Todd Rivera, 2008. Facilities Planner/Financial Analyst.
Table IV.L-2 Public Parks and Recreation
Facilities
Name Acres
Billy Rose Park 0.3
Donner Memorial State Park 1,750
Donner Lake Boat Launch 1.5
Donner Lake Public Piers 2.5
Glenshire Park 6
Meadow Park 6
Riverview Sports Park 31
Shoreline Park 1.6
Truckee River Regional Park 62
West End Beach 10
Activity Center NA
Community Center NA
Community Center Swimming Pool NA
Veteran’s Building NA
Total (local park) acreage 120.9
Source: Town of Truckee General Plan, 2006.
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L. PUBLIC SERVICES
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providing parks; however, the General Plan also recognizes that the Truckee can only
require new development to provide park land or in-lieu fees at a ratio of up to 5 acres per
1,000 population, in accordance with the requirements of the Quimby Act. TDRPD’s goals
for providing parks are as follows:
Neighborhood Park: 2.5 acres/1,000 population
District Park: 2.5 acres/1,000 population
Regional Park: 5 acres/1,000 population
Greenbelt/Open Space: 20 acres/1,000 population
Urban Park/Plaza: no specified standard
With a population of 16,019, the current park ratio of residents to locally-operated public
parks is 7.5 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents.6
The following policies from Town of Truckee General Plan are related to the provision of
parks and recreational services:
Policies
8.1: Require land or in-lieu fees for parks to be provided by new development at a ratio of five
acres per thousand population, to conform with the standards established by the Quimby Act.
8.2: Support efforts to create a new regional park, neighborhood parks in new neighborhoods
and at least an additional two new neighborhood parks for existing neighborhoods in Truckee.
8.3: Cooperate with Truckee Donner Recreation and Parks District to improve and maximize the
use of existing parks, trails and recreational facilities, identify needed facilities and
improvements, and to effectively plan for future parks and recreation needs of Truckee’s
residents and visitors.
8.4: Encourage new and existing destination resort and private recreational facilities to provide
opportunities for access and enjoyment by the wider community. In all cases, specific incentives
for such developments to provide increased public access should be considered.
8.5: Improve public recreational access to the Truckee River and to Donner Lake.
8.6: Support appropriate management of local lakes and reservoirs and releases from these
water bodies to sustain recreational uses and a healthy environment for aquatic and other
species.
8.7: Work with TDRPD and Placer County to increase cooperation in the funding and
development of parks and recreational facilities in Truckee that serve the wider regional
population.
9.1: Provide for links between open space areas, both within Truckee and beyond the Town
limits, to create contiguous habitat areas and enhance public access through greater
connectivity.
6 Town of Truckee, 2006. General Plan EIR, Open Space and Conservation Element. November
16.
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9.4: Preserve existing open space corridors and connections to adjacent open space areas, and
integrate publicly accessible trails and open space corridors into new development to the extent
feasible.
e. Libraries. The Town of Truckee Public Library is located at 10031 Levone Avenue. The
library provides additional community services such as summer reading camps, adult
literacy services and public internet access. There are no General Plan policies related to
library services.
2. Relevant Railyard Draft Master Plan Policies
The Draft Master Plan includes specific polices related to public services. New development
within the Master Plan Area would be subject to the following public services policies within
the Draft Master Plan:
Policies
3.e: Create a town gathering place or town square and establish a civic presence in the Railyard Master
Plan Area.
3.f: Enhance the community experience through attractively designed public places including parks and
venues for spontaneous and planned gatherings and memorable neighborhood centers that provide a
sense of place.
4.e: Restore Trout Creek, enhance the quality of the fisheries habitat, and develop a greenway along the
creek as a prominent natural and recreational feature available to the public.
3. Impacts and Mitigation Measures
This section discusses potential impacts to public services that could result from the
proposed project. The section begins with the significance criteria, which establish the
thresholds used to determine whether an impact is significant. The latter part of this section
presents the impacts associated with the proposed project and identifies mitigation
measures, if appropriate. Less-than-significant impacts are discussed first, followed by
significant impacts.
a. Criteria of Significance. Implementation of the Draft Master Plan would have a
significant impact on the environment related to public services if it would:
Result in substantial adverse physical impacts associated with the provision of or need
for new or physically altered governmental facilities, the construction of which could
cause significant environmental impacts, to maintain acceptable service ratios, response
times, or other performance objectives for any of the public services:
a) Fire protection,
b) Police protection,
c) Schools,
d) Parks, or
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e) Other public facilities.
Increase the use of existing neighborhood and regional parks or other recreational
facilities such that substantial physical deterioration of the facility would occur or be
accelerated; or
Include recreational facilities or require the construction or expansion of recreational
facilities that would have an adverse physical effect on the environment.
The significance criteria identified above are based on Section 15065 and Appendix G of the
CEQA Guidelines.
b. Less-Than-Significant Public Services Impacts. Less than significant impacts that
would result from implementation of the Draft Master Plan are described below for each of
the public service topics described above.
(1) Fire Protection. Buildout of the Draft Master Plan would create an increased
demand for in fire services. The additional residential population could affect the response
times due to an increase in calls for service, but this increase would not jeopardize the
Truckee Fire District’s ability to respond to calls within its response time goals.7 The District
currently responds to emergency calls for service in the Master Plan Area within 6 to 12
minutes depending on weather conditions. The Truckee Fire District would continue to serve
proposed development within the Master Plan Area from the District’s existing fire stations.
Station 92 would be the first responder for calls for service and Station 96 as the second
responder.
The Truckee Fire District requires a minimum fire flow of 2,500 gallons per minute (gpm);
however, this could increase depending on the ultimate mix of land uses within the Master
Plan Area. The project applicant would be required to meet Truckee Fire District standards
related to fire hydrants, water fire flow, spacing of hydrants, sprinkler systems, and other
fire code requirements. The residential and commercial components of the project would be
required to meet Uniform Building Code (UBC) and Fire Code standards. The project design
would be required to comply with the Town’s Public Improvement and Engineering
Standards (PIES) except as specified in Chapter 7 of the Draft Master Plan, Transportation
and Circulation.
In accordance with Town and State requirements, the project developer will be required to
install fire hydrants in accordance with the requirements of the fire chief. The sizes of the
water mains will be calculated to meet the water flow requirements of California Fire Code
Division III, Appendix III-A.
7 Bena, Bob. 2008. Fire Marshal, Truckee Fire Protection District. Written communication with
RRM Design Group. February 13.
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The proposed project would be subject to plan review by the Truckee Fire District to ensure
proper life safety standards and adequate emergency response access. The increase in
demand for fire and emergency medical services could be met by existing staffing and
facilities and the increased demand would not require the construction of any new facilities
(i.e., new fire station) to provide adequate fire protection.8 As such, the proposed project
would have a less-than-significant impact on fire services.
(2) Police Protection. Implementation and buildout under the Draft Master Plan
would result in an increase in demand for police services. The addition of new residents and
commercial activities would require additional officers for Beat 2. The types of commercial
uses (i.e., theatre, hotel, restaurants) generally increase traffic calls and possibly other
police issues like defrauding and disturbance calls; however, the Police Department
anticipates that policing traffic congestion in Downtown Truckee would be the area of main
concern. As a result of the proposed residential and commercial land uses within the Master
Plan Area, a minimum of two additional officers are anticipated to serve Beat 2 as the Master
Plan Area builds out.9 Although the need for additional staff would result in a fiscal impact,
it would not result in a significant physical impact as the addition of staff would not require
the construction of new facilities. As a result, no mitigation measures are required. The
proposed project would be subject to the Town’s development impact fees10, including fees
assessed for police services. The Town would fund the additional officers via its impact fee
program and the General Fund.
(3) Schools. The proposed project includes the potential for up to 570 new dwelling
units within the Master Plan Area. A student generation ratio is an estimate of the average
number of students that would live in each dwelling unit, and is used to calculate
anticipated student yields from new residential development. According to the TTUSD,
single-family development generates 0.16 K-5th grade students per unit, 0.081 6th-8th grade
students per unit, and 0.68 9th -12th grade students per unit. Multi-family dwelling units
generate 0.153 K-5th grade students per unit, 0.076 6th-8th grade students per unit and
0.062 9th - 12th grade students per unit.11
8 Ibid.
9 Berry, Scott. 2008. Police Chief, Truckee Police Department. Written communication with
RRM Design Group. February 15
8 Rivera, Todd. 2008. Facilities Planner/Fiscal Analyst, Truckee Tahoe Unified School District.
Verbal communication with RRM Design Group. January 30, 2008.
10 The Town of Truckee adopted a development impact fee program on March 17, 2005. Town
Council Ordinance 2005-004.
11 ibid
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Assuming a total of 25 single-family homes and a 54512 multi-family units, build out of the
Draft Master Plan would generate approximately 87 K-5th grade students, 43 6th – 8th grade
students, and 36 9th – 12th grade students, as shown in Table IV.L-3.
Under current conditions, students from the Master Plan Area would attend Glenshire
Elementary School (K-5), Alder Creek Middle School (6-8) and Truckee High School (9-12).
Glenshire Elementary School is currently operating beyond its capacity, WITH a current
enrollment of 505 students and a capacity of 500 students.13 Build out of the Draft Master
Plan would increase enrollment at the Glenshire Elementary School, which is currently
utilizing temporary classroom structures to accommodate excess enrollment. The proposed
project would not exceed the student capacity of Alder Creek Middle School or Truckee
High School.
The TTUSD is authorized by State law (Government Code § 65995-6) to levy a new
residential construction fee of $2.63/square foot of residential construction and
0.42/square foot of commercial construction, for the purpose or funding the reconstruction
or construction of new school facilities. Pursuant to Section 65995(3)(h) of the California
Government Code, the payment of statutory fees is “deemed to be full and complete
mitigation of the impacts of any legislative or adjudicative act, or both, involving, but not
limited to, the planning use, or development of real property, or any change in govern-
mental organization or reorganization as defined in Section 56021 or 56073, on the
provision of adequate school facilities.” The school impact fees would offset the potential
impacts of increased student enrollment related to the implementation of the proposed
12 For a conservative estimate on the school generation rates, the analysis assumes 25 single-
family units and 545 multi-family units, which includes 125 work/live units.
13 Rivera, Todd, 2008, op. cit.
Table IV.L-3 Projected Students That Would be Generated at Buildout of the Draft
Master Plan
Elementary (K-5) Middle (6-8) High (9-12)
Dwelling Units
Generation
Ratea
Projected
Students
Generation
Ratea
Projected
Students
Generation
Ratea
Projected
Students
25 Single-Family 0.16 4 0.081 2 0.068 2
545 Multi-Family b 0.153 83 0.076 41 0.062 34
Total (740 DU) 87 43 36
a Student generation ratios provided by Todd Rivera, Facilities Planner/Fiscal Analyst, Tahoe Truckee Unified School
District, 2008.
b This category is assumes the same generation rate for multi-family and work/live units.
Source: RRM Design Group, 2008.
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project. Pursuant to Section 65995(3)(h) of the California Government Code, this impact
would not be considered significant.
(4) Parks and Recreation. The Conservation and Open Space Element of the Town
of Truckee General Plan states that the Town should require in-lieu fees or development of
new parks at a ratio of 5 acres of parkland per 1,000 population, which is consistent with
the Quimby Act.14
Buildout of the Master Plan Area would include the construction of up to 570 dwelling units
(including 125 work/live units). At 570 maximum units, build out of the Master Plan Area
could yield 1,470 new residents. In accordance with the Town’s General Plan policy, the
Draft Master Plan should develop or pay in-lieu fees for the 7.35 acres of parkland.
The Guidelines and Standards included within the Draft Master Plan would require
development of 2.5 acres of parkland per 1,000 population within the Master Plan Area. The
Draft Master Plan includes approximately 5.5 acres neighborhood parks and trails including
a Town Square Park and trails along Trout Creek. The Draft Master Plan also includes
25,000 square feet of community space. The community space is not yet specifically
defined, but the intent of the Draft Master Plan is to provide space for a use to serve the
needs of Town residents and visitors such as a museum or a library.
The Town’s current park ratio is approximately 7.5 acres per 1,000 population. This ratio
includes locally-operated, public parks, and does not include State Parks, private recreation
facilities or TTUSD properties. With development of the Master Plan Area, the Town’s park
ratio would decrease slightly from 7.5 to 7.2 acres per 1,000 population. While
implementation of the Draft Master Plan would slightly reduce the Town’s park ratio,
development within the Master Plan Area would not increase the use of existing parks or
recreational facilities to the extent that physical deterioration of the facility would occur or
be accelerated, nor would the development within the Draft Master Plan require extension of
existing facilities.
(5) Libraries. It is anticipated that residents would patronize the Truckee Library for
its educational services and programs. The proposed project would cause an increase in the
demand for library services due to the addition of approximately 1,527 residents generated
by the project. The Truckee library system may not have adequate capacity to serve the
incremental increase in library use that would result from the implementation of the Draft
Master Plan because the library system is currently operating beyond its capacity. The
library is currently researching sites for a larger location. Plans to expand and relocate the
library are moving forward independent of the proposed Draft Master Plan. It is anticipated
14 Cities and counties have been authorized since the passage of the 1975 Quimby Act
(California Government Code §66477) to pass ordinances requiring that developers set aside land,
donate conservation easements, or pay fees for park improvements.
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that the increased demand for library services will be accommodated when the library
relocates. As a result, no significant impacts related to library services would result from
implementation of the Draft Master Plan.
c. Significant Public Service Impacts. Implementation of the Draft Master Plan would
not result in any significant impacts to public services.