November 22, 2017 To: Fatema Crane, Planning Department, City of Berkeley From: Shirley Dean, President Citizens for East Shore Parks Via: E-mail: FCrane@ci.berkeley,ca.us Subject: Draft Environmental Impact Report, 600 Addison St. Berkeley, CA Dear Ms. Crane:

The following comments are submitted on behalf of Citizens For East Shore Parks (CESP) in response to your Notice of Preparation of a DEIR dated October 24, 2017, and the Public Scoping Session held on November 8, 2017 regarding the proposed 600 Addison Street project.

Citizens for East Shore Parks (CESP), a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization, is one of the driving forces behind the shoreline park movement in the East Bay. Mobilizing community groups and thousands of individuals, the East Bay Regional Park District, State Department of Parks, local East Bay cities and counties, CESP led the successful movement to create the McLaughlin Eastshore State Park in 2002. Together, we created this wonder-filled shoreline park extending 8.5 miles from Oakland north into Richmond. For over 30 plus years, we have fought off inappropriate development in order to protect open space, preserve wildlife habitat, ensure public access to the shoreline and improve Bay water quality. In addition to expanding and completing shoreline parks, CESP is now fully engaged in establishing an East Bay Resilient Shoreline in response to predicted, inevitable sea level rise.

Climate change is the most serious challenge of our time and presents major threats to San Francisco Bay shorelines. Science is now telling us that the recent examples of extreme weather that have occurred in the Bay Area, Houston, Louisiana and Florida are all events which will significantly increase in the future. There is no doubt, sea level rise is here. There are solutions to this challenge based on natural resources. Science is also telling us that it is imperative that we begin to implement these solutions now to protect our open spaces and existing homes and businesses from destruction from sea rise.

We find nothing in the applicant's revised statement of July 7, 2017 that recognizes this problem except that Bay Conservation and Development Commission maps indicate that the site is "not vulnerable at a 16 or 55 inch rise in sea level." The site itself may or may not be underwater, but the Aquatic Park Lagoon is definitely impacted and there is no recognition of that most important fact. We submit a recent map prepared by Our Planet Our Future indicating that at 200 cm sea level rise + King Tide (around 6 feet), the Lagoon becomes a swamp. It is unclear exactly how much of Bolivar Road which provides access to Aquatic Park that lies immediately to the south of the project, is impacted and whether the proposed project set-back is adequate. We note that some of the proposed buildings are within that set-back.

In addition, the background information for the project also points out that existing sewer lines from 8" to 15" and storm sewer lines run under Bolivar Drive and "empty into the Aquatic Park Lagoon." Drainage problems from properties to the east of the project have been well-documented for years with the flooding of streets, closure of businesses and property damage

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particularly in West Berkeley but also in more easterly locations around creeks, open and culverted. With sea level rise, these problems will become much worse. Adding bioswales and permeable pavement have helped, but may well be too little in the face of projected sea level rise and future severe atmospheric river events. The inclusion of reducing some of the existing impermeable payment at the project site and treating water "in accordance with the Alameda County Clean Water Program, including C-3 requirements" before flowing into the City's storm drain system, simply does not address this larger issue of drainage. Additionally the two scenarios presented by the developer both propose constructing parking facilities that are partially below grade. (Scenario 1 proposed six levels, approximately 55,879 square feet, partially underground and Scenario 2 proposed 34,544 square feet, also partially below grade.) Logically, any construction below grade next to a shoreline doesn't seem to be such a good idea.

We recommend that the April 2017 report, Rising Seas in California, an Update on Sea-Level Rise Science, be consulted. Key Finding No. 5 of that Report concludes that Probabilities of specific sea-level increases can inform decisions and that "..projections may underestimate the likelihood of extreme sea-level rise" so it also "includes an extreme scenario called the H++ scenario. The probability of this scenario is currently unknown, but its consideration is important, particularly for high-stakes, long-term decisions." This project is certainly such a decision for both the developer and the city of Berkeley. The worst case scenario is a 10 foot sea-level rise.

Continued contamination of the Lagoon water and impaired function of the tunnels that run under I-80, which allow Bay water in and Lagoon water out, cannot be ignored. While the city of Berkeley has taken steps for some repairs and preventive measures, it isn't at all certain how accelerating sea level rise will affect the success of these changes. There is also the issue of the fuel line that runs close to and parallel to I-80 from north to south, the entire length of the Lagoon. What happens to that line in the sea level rise that we inevitably face? These issues are not mentioned and it is interesting that the staff report states that the project's significant impacts are expected "to be limited to archeological and tribal cultural resources and transportation" issues. (Emphasis added.) From the narrative, it is clear that the developer bases the extraordinary appeal of the proposed project on the location and ambiance of the open water of the Lagoon. Making the project's location a central part of the project, emphasizes the importance of the appearance and function of the Lagoon as a key component, and as such, it must be addressed as to its condition in the future. The DEIR is the place to do that and it fails in that regard.

The impact of the proposed project on Aquatic Park is also a major issue that is not directly addressed. Aquatic Park is a major park important to the city of Berkeley as a whole and to the West Berkeley community in particular. With its Playground designed by the community itself, Aquatic Park serves not only young children, but a wide variety of users of all ages, from frisbee players to bird watchers, and as a gathering place for Monarch butterflies. We note that the applicant's July statement acknowledges that the City's Aquatic Park Improvement Program (ADIP) has been placed on hold indefinitely until the City's Watershed Master Plan addresses most of the water quality issues that the ADIP was intended to address. All of this must be clearly and concisely analyzed, and clarified as to what it means to the Park's relationship to the proposed project. The addition of seven to five buildings with 830 parking spaces to

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accommodate 1,894 employees (where 86 employees now exist) plus clients and customers at the very entrance to Aquatic Park would clearly have some impact.

Aquatic Park is an important part of the Pacific Flyway for 90 or more species of birds that use the coastline for rest, food and shelter. The city of Berkeley has acknowledged this by regulating motor driven boats in the Lagoon. A full evaluation of protection of birds at this site is lacking in the DEIR.

The Audubon Society estimates that at least a billion birds migrate along the Pacific Flyway that includes Aquatic Park and extends from Alaska to Patagonia every spring and fall. That large number is actually lower than years past. The number has dropped because of habitat loss, water shortage, diminishing food sources and climate change. In fact, recent disclosure of 100-year old notes made by a naturalist indicates that birds are now nesting earlier to protect their chicks from the increasing heat. We note that you have already received a survey from Ms. Woodcock. In addition, CESP is forwarding to you our recent publication, Birds at the Albany Shoreline that expands information regarding the importance of Pacific Flyway sites and the specific bird species that are present in this area that includes Aquatic Park. This information cannot be ignored by thinking that some other place like the Albany site is good enough. The proposed development on the Lagoon and next to Aquatic Park must consider the impact on wildlife through its large amount of new traffic, height and placement of buildings and lights and windows of those buildings that proposed to be built.

While the DEIR indicates that a traffic study is in progress and that mitigations will flow from that study, it has been our experience that Berkeley traffic studies have routinely been based on one-day traffic counts. This is not adequate. Any traffic study must include over several time periods seasonal fluctuations and in particular take into account University calendar changes and also the large number of residential units that are currently in the planning and construction phases. These increases must also take into account air quality impacts both from the increasingly congested I-80 corridor and on city streets as well as proposed increases to railroad activity.

Two scenarios have been presented and presumably, these, plus the No-Project alternative, which is legally required, will be the only ones that are analyzed in the DEIR. This is grossly inadequate as the difference between Scenario 1 (approximately 469,385 square feet of gross floor area) and Scenario 2 (approximately 453,075 square feet of gross floor area) is only a 3.5% difference even though there is a two building reduction between them. Building heights, 45 feet, are the same, as are Floor Area Ratio 1.3, number of stories 4, number of parking places for vehicles 830 and bicycle spaces 240. There should be at least 4 projects analyzed: Scenario 1, the largest, a separate medium sized scenario, a separate minimum sized scenario, and a no-project scenario.

CESP thanks you for the opportunity to comment. If you have any questions or need further information, please do not hesitate to contact either Robert Cheasty, Executive Director or Shirley Dean, Board President by e-mail at cespmanager@eastshoreparks.org.