Fountaingrove Environmental Impact Report - City of Santa Rosa ...

2.0 LIST OF COMMENTERS AND RESPONSE TO COMMENTS
In response to comments indicating an interest in seeing depictions of the Project as it would
appear immediately after construction and before the landscaping has grown out, a
supplemental set of simulations has been prepared. These simulations, presented in this
document as Views 1, 2, 3, and 4, depict the views of the Project from each of the Key
Observation Points as they would appear immediately after completion of construction and
installation of the landscaping. As review of these simulations indicates, although the
recently planted trees and shrubs would provide some level of screening, the retaining walls
and structures would be more visible than would be the case in the simulations presented in
the EIR, which depict the level of landscape maturity and screening that would exist 5 to
10 years after project completion.
The CEQA Guidelines include no provisions that require that visual resource analyses
include grading plans or project cross sections as a part of their analyses. However, in
Appendix C of its Design Guidelines, the City requires that applications for certain
developments (which would include projects like Fountaingrove Lodge Project) include a
“three dimension Visual depiction.” The Guidelines specify that “[t]he three dimension
visual depiction must illustrate how the completed project will look as seen from public
areas” and provide a range of options for the form that this depiction might take. One of the
options is “[a] computer generated simulation.” Because this visual analysis includes four
computer-generated simulations of the Project, it is consistent with the City’s requirements.
The City does not require that the visual analysis must also be accompanied by a grading
plan and cross sections.
As described in Impact 3.1-3, implementation of the Project would result in new sources of
light with the addition of nighttime security lighting along driveways, in outdoor parking
lots, and near building entrances. The presence of this lighting on a site that now does not
contain substantial sources of nighttime illumination has the potential to substantially affect
nighttime views in the area. To some degree, the building massing and the trees retained
and planted on the site will attenuate these effects, but if unshielded and poorly directed,
the light fixtures could cause offsite light impacts. Mitigation Measure 3.1-3 requires strict
conformance with the City’s Lighting Design Guidelines and the Principles of Low-impact
Lighting Design. These guidelines and principles include measures such as restricting
outdoor lighting to areas where it is essential for safety and security and use of light fixtures
that eliminate uplighting and that are shielded to prevent light spill. Incorporation of these
measures will be confirmed during the design review process and will minimize the amount
of nighttime light that leaves the site. No significant impacts will occur.
2.3 Comments and Responses to Comments on the Draft EIR
This section contains, in alphabetical order, copies of the comment letters and public hearing
transcript on the Fountaingrove Lodge Project EIR. Individual comments within the letters
and transcript have been enumerated, and responses to each comment are provided.
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