Final environmental impact report
The Final Environmental Impact Report(PDF, 1MB) has been released and is available for review. The public comment period closed March 28, 2022, and the Planning Commission held a public hearing that day on requested land use entitlements and certification of the final environmental impact report.
An initial study and focused environmental impact report are required for the project. On July 23, 2020, the City Council approved a contract to start the environmental review process. The Notice of Preparation and Initial Study for the project were released November 16, 2020, and public comments were received Nov. 16, 2020, to Dec. 21, 2020. In accordance with the requirements outlined in Section 15168 of the CEQA Guidelines, the project-level initial study was prepared to disclose the relevant impacts and mitigation measures addressed in the certified program-level ConnectMenlo EIR, and discuss whether the project is within the parameters of the ConnectMenlo EIR, or if additional analysis would be necessary.
Additionally, as a result of the settlement agreement between the City of Menlo Park and the City of East Palo Alto, housing and transportation were required to be analyzed. Based on the findings of the initial study, a DEIR was prepared and was included with the Notice of Availability for the proposed project. The focused DEIR, technical appendices and Notice of Availability were released Friday, Oct. 22, 2021 with the 45-day public comment period beginning Monday, Oct. 25, 2021 until Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021. The Final EIR was prepared for the project and does not identify any significant and unavoidable environmental impacts that would result from the implementation of the proposed project. The Final EIR identifies potentially significant environmental impacts that can be mitigated to a less than significant level in the following categories: Air Quality, Transportation and Noise. The Final EIR identifies less than significant environmental impacts in the following categories: Population and Housing and Greenhouse Gas Emissions.