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final scope memo M E M O R A N D U M City of Yelm Community Development Department   To: Agencies with Jurisdiction and Environmental Expertise Native American Tribes Adjacent Property Owners From: Grant Beck, Director of Community Development Date: June 8, 2006 Subj: Final EIS Scope – Thurston Highlands Master Planned Community Attached is the final scope for the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to be prepared for the proposed Thurston Highlands Master Planned Community. The final scope is issued after an expanded scoping process undertaken by the City of Yelm that included significant effort to solicit comments on the draft scope, which included all elements of the environment as identified in Section 197-11-444 WAC. Expanded Scoping Process The expanded scoping process undertaken by the City of Yelm included an extensive public and agency participation program: A 35-day written comment period Two public open houses (April 25 and May 18) Meetings with interested agencies Nisqually Tribe Fort Lewis Cities of Roy, Rainier, and Lacey Thurston County Development Services, Parks & Recreation, and Roads & Transportation Services Intercity Transit Yelm Police Department SE Thurston Fire/EMS Rainier School District Yelm Community Schools Washington State Department of Transportation Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Washington Department of Ecology Utility service providers (YCom, Comcast, Digiteria, PSE, HBH Systems [propane], Centralia City Light). City of Yelm Public Works Department (stormwater, water, sewer, and reclaimed water. Invitations to the meetings listed above were made to all agencies with jurisdiction and environmental expertise, although not all chose to participate. Specifically, the Washington Department of Natural Resources, Washington State Parks, and Washington Department of Agriculture, and Pierce County did not participate in the expanded scoping process. Notice of the application, the determination of significance, and draft scope were mailed to all property owners within 1,000 of the proposed development, to the official SEPA contact for all agencies with jurisdiction and environmental expertise, and to affected Native American Tribes. In addition, the same packet was sent via email to all persons who subscribe to the email agenda mailing lists for the Yelm City Council and the Yelm Planning Commission, and to the Yelm Site Plan Review and Notice of Application email mailing lists. Notice of the Open Houses were mailed and emailed as noted above, and published in the Nisqually Valley News. A press release was sent to all area media regarding the application and open houses. The entire application, including all notices, has been published on the City of Yelm’s web site at www.ci.yelm.wa.us from the date of application. All agency and public comments, as well as updates from the open houses and summaries of all comments are published on the City’s web site as they are received. Final Scope The final scope, a description of what will be studied in the Environmental Impact Statement, is not substantially different from the draft scope issued by the City of Yelm on April 18, 2006, in that the draft scope included all elements of the environment as identified in Section 197-11-411 WAC. Public and agency comments received during the expanded scoping period did factor into clarifying the final scope and identifying specific areas for detailed analysis. Several of the public comments received did not result in clarifying the final scope of the EIS, for a variety of reasons, including: Some of the comments were of a general nature about the project itself, and did not address issues to be studied in the upcoming Environmental Impact Statement. These comments will be held and addressed upon completion of the EIS during the City’s actual project review portion of the process. Some of the comments indicated that the EIS should include alternatives that reduced the density of the project to something less than 5,000 dwelling units per acre, or that would provide for little or no development of the property. These suggestions were not included in the final scope, as they would not be appropriate under Section 197-11-786 WAC. An alternative that would create suburban densities is not a reasonable or feasible alternative in that it would not be consistent with the Growth Management Act or the City of Yelm Comprehensive Plan. Some of the comments called for additional studies or a ‘hold’ on additional development until studies are complete. These comments were not addressed specifically in the final scope of the EIS as the City had already determined that the proposal had probable significant adverse impacts, and had already required an Environmental Impact Statement to be prepared. Comments relating to the EIS scoping and master plan process have been previously addressed in documents issued by the Community Development Department, including press releases, a Master Planned Community process document, and a presentation regarding the Environmental Review and Master Planned Community process. These documents are posted on the City’s website. Questions relating to the costs of providing public services were already identified by the City as something to be addressed in the Environmental Impact Statement. Comments regarding religious activities and affiliations are beyond the scope of an Environmental Impact Statement prepared under the Washington State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), and therefore were not identified as an area for study in either the draft or final scope. One request for the City to relinquish SEPA lead agency status is declined. The Community Development Department is very capable of carrying out the duties prescribed under the State Environmental Policy Act. The City Council created the Community Development Department for just this type of coordinated review, and the team of professional staff is fully-qualified for the task. The Community Development Department has engaged in an expanded scoping process well beyond the requirements of the State Environmental Policy Act, and has committed to holding fast to the primary purpose of an Environmental Impact Statement to provide an impartial discussion of significant environmental impacts and reasonable alternatives and mitigation measures. The purpose for preparing this impartial study is to allow the decision makers, in the case of a Master Planned Community ( the Yelm Hearing Examiner and City Council, to make an informed decision.  Next Steps The City is now meeting with the project consultants responsible for preparing the technical reports upon which much of the Environmental Impact Statement will be based, to provide direction in the preparation of these reports based on the final scope. As these consultants begin preparation of the technical reports, the City will be scheduling meetings, as appropriate, with agencies that participated in the expanded scoping process, in order to solicit feedback on the scopes of the technical reports and data collection requirements. Additionally, meetings with agencies, other local governments, tribal governments, and service providers will be scheduled as needed during technical report preparation to provide status reports and receive input to the preparation of these documents. Concurrently, City staff and the EIS consultant will begin the analysis of those areas of the environment for which technical reports are not being prepared. As with the technical reports, meetings will be scheduled with the appropriate agencies to solicit feedback on the draft analysis and to provide periodic status updates. Conclusion If you have any questions regarding the final scope for the Environmental Impact Statement or the process being undertaken in preparing the EIS, please contact the Yelm Community Development Department.