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LSA Associates, Inc. has provided environmental assessment services since the first environmental laws were enacted in the early 1970s. From this foundation, LSA's expertise, experience, and services have grown to encompass the many issues related to environmental law.

Environment review is necessary for all projects that require a formal decision by government and regulatory agencies regarding a project's potential to impact the environment. LSA has
30 years of experience helping clients navigate this often complex process. LSA provides support with all aspects of California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance and mitigation plans.

LSA's work begins with the collection and analysis of baseline data, which LSA uses to determine the significance of the project’s impacts. LSA then proposes mitigation measures to reduce impacts, where possible, to below levels of significance. LSA also provides the thorough and accurate documentation — including use of our Geographic Information System (GIS) Staff to help clients make informed decisions and to protect the project from litigation.

Over the years, LSA has addressed a broad range of environmental issues. Working with specialists across disciplines, LSA's environmental planners offer deep knowledge of science and regulation, solid problem-solving skills, and well-rounded solutions. This balanced approach has earned LSA a reputation for thorough, credible, objective analysis that accommodates agency requirements without compromising clients’ objectives.

SERVICES INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:

  • Notices of Preparation and Intent
  • Initial Studies and Environmental Assessments
  • Development of environmental thresholds
  • Environmental Impact Reports/Environmental Impact Statements
  • Mitigation monitoring
  • Findings for certification and overriding considerations
  • Public participation programs


 
 

REPRESENTATIVE PROJECTS:

 
Sea Ranch

Sea Ranch Sanitation Zone Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Modifications Project
Environmental Impact Report and Permitting
Sonoma County Water Agency
Sonoma County, California

The Sea Ranch Sanitation Zone treats wastewater for the Sea Ranch development in north coastal Sonoma County.... continued

 
Roosevelt Elementary School

Roosevelt II School
San Bernardino City Unified School District
San Bernardino, California

Under contract to the San Bernardino City Unified School District, LSA completed an Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration.... continued

 
Livermore Airport

Livermore Municipal Airport General Plan Amendment and
Rezoning Project Environmental Impact Report
City of Livermore
Livermore, California

LSA prepared an Environmental Impact Report for a controversial project involving land use policy changes (and an associated increase in development) at Livermore Municipal Airport.... continued

 
Mid-County Parkway

Mid-County Parkway
Client: Riverside County Transportation Commission
Location: Riverside County, California

Mid-County Parkway is a new highway planned to accommodate future growth and relieve congestion on existing highways in Western Riverside County.... continued

 
Palm Mountain

Palm Mountain Resort and Spa
Pacific Hospitality Group, Inc.
Palm Springs, California

LSA prepared an Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration to streamline renovation and redevelopment of this historic destination resort in downtown Palm Springs.... continued

 
Oakley Downtown

Oakley Downtown Specific Plan Environmental Impact Report
City of Oakley
Oakley, California

As Contra Costa County’s newest incorporated city, Oakley is working to maintain its small town character and revitalize its historic downtown.... continued

 
Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital

Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Seismic Compliance and Modernization Plan
Environmental Impact Report
City of Santa Barbara Community Development Department
Santa Barbara, California

LSA prepared an Environmental Impact Report for the City of Santa Barbara to address the potential environmental impacts of the proposed reconstruction of Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital..... continued

 
Monterey Bay Trail

Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic Trail
County of Monterey Department of Public Works
Moss Landing, California

LSA is preparing the environmental technical reports and California Environmental Quality Act and National Environmental Policy Act documentation for the Moss Landing Segment of the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic Trail..... continued

 
Santa Ana College

Santa Ana College Facilities Master Plan
Rancho Santiago Community College District
Santa Ana, California

LSA prepared an Environmental Impact Report for the Santa Ana College Facilities Master Plan.... continued

 
Wellhead Treatment

Wellhead Treatment Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration
West Valley Water District  
City of Rialto, California

For the West Valley Water District, LSA prepared an Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration for a wellhead treatment project. The project proposes to construct a biological remediation system... continued

 
Foothill Transit

Foothill Transit Park and RIde  
Client: Foothill Transit
Location: City of West Covina, California

Foothill Transit proposed to construct a new park and ride facility to provide transit-oriented services in the area of West Covina... continued

 
Irvine Guideway Demonstration Project

Irvine Guideway Demonstration Project
Client: City of Irvine Public Works Department
Location:City of Irvine, California

The Irvine Guideway Demonstration Project was an approximately 5-mile-long dedicated transit system anticipated to include eight new stations, with the existing Irvine Transportation Center serving as the central hub... continued

 
Metropolitan Water District - Diemer Project

Metropolitan Water District Diemer North Access Road Project
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
City of Yorba Linda, California

LSA is currently under contract with Metropolitan Water District to provide monitoring and monitoring oversight for construction of a new secondary emergency access road to the Diemer Plant in Yorba Linda... continued

 
San Jose Parks

San Jose Parks Environmental Consulting Services
City of San Jose Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Services
San Jose, California

LSA provided on-call services for the environmental analysis of various parks, recreation, and open space projects... continued

 
Davis Road Bridge

Davis Road Bridge Replacement and Road Widening Project
County of Monterey Public Works Department
Monterey County, California

LSA is under contract with the County of Monterey, Department of Public Works, to prepare the environmental technical reports and CEQA/NEPA documentation for the Davis Road Bridge Replacement project... continued

 
Metropolitan Water District Environmental Services

Metropolitan Water District On-Call Environmental Services
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Counties of Orange and Los Angeles, California

LSA has provided on-call environmental services over several multiyear contracts to the Metropolitan Water District... continued

 
Foresthill Bridge

Auburn-Foresthill Bridge Seismic Retrofit Project
Placer County Department of Public Works
Placer County, California

LSA recently completed the environmental documents for the Foresthill Bridge Seismic Retrofit project in Placer County... continued

 
La Pata Gap Closure

La Pata Avenue Gap Closure and Camino Del Rio Extension Project
Orange County Department of Public Works
San Clemente, California

LSA is managing the team preparing the Project Report and Environmental Impact Report for this project... continued

 
El Cerritor Recycling Center Initial Study

El Cerrito Recycling Center Initial Study
City of El Cerrito
El Cerrito, California

LSA prepared an Initial Study for the proposed reconstruction of the Recycling Center, founded by community volunteers in 1971... continued

 
Environmental Services for Solar Sites

Environmental Services for Solar Sites
enXco Solar Development
California, Arizona, and New Mexico

LSA is currently providing technical environmental services to enXco Solar Development.... continued

 
El Cerrito Safeway

El Cerrito Safeway Project Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration
Safeway, Inc.
El Cerrito, California

LSA prepared the environmental documentation for the redevelopment of a vacant Target store... continued

 
Livermore Downtown Performing Arts Theater

Livermore Downtown Specific Plan Amendments and
Regional Performing Arts Theater Subsequent EIR
City of Livermore
Livermore, California

A new 2,000-seat Performing Arts Theater has been proposed for the Downtown. continued

 
Gilead Sciences Corporate Campus

Gilead Sciences Corporate Campus Master Plan EIR
City of Foster City
Foster City, California

Gilead Sciences, a major biopharmaceutical firm headquartered in Foster City, desires to double the square footage of its existing campus and improve pedestrian circulation. continued

 

Mountain View General Plan Update EIR
City of Mountain View
Mountain View, California

With slightly more than 70,000 citizens, the City of Mountain View is located in the heart of Silicon Valley, between the Santa Cruz Mountains and San Francisco Bay... continued

 
The Springs Amended Redevelopment Plan

The Springs Amended Redevelopment Plan
Sonoma County Community Development Commission
Sonoma County, California

The Springs Redevelopment Project Area consists of approximately 323 acres of unincorporated County territory along a two-mile corridor of Highway 12, immediately north of the City of Sonoma... continued

 
Berkeley Affordable Housing

City of Berkeley Affordable Housing
City of Berkeley
Berkeley, California

The City of Berkeley continues to suffer from a  shortage of affordable housing. However, the City has recently seen an uptick in proposals for below-market rate housing developments... continued

 
Pacific Street Bridge

Pacific Street Bridge
Flatiron Constructors, Inc.
Oceanside, California

The project consisted of replacing the existing at-grade Pacific Street crossing of the San Luis Rey River with a bridge designed to safely pass the floodwaters of a 100-year storm and provide a permanent second access to the Oceanside Harbor. continued

 
San Francisco General Hospital

San Francisco General Hospital Rebuild Project Environmental Impact Report
City and County of San Francisco
San Francisco, California

LSA was selected to prepare the Environmental Impact Report for San Francisco General Hospital... continued

 
Oakland Measure DD

Oakland Measure DD Project Environmental Impact Report
City of Oakland
Oakland, California

LSA prepared an Environmental Impact Report evaluating the environmental impacts... continued

 
Santa Ana River Mainstem Project

Santa Ana River Mainstem Project
The County of Orange
Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, California

The Santa Ana River is the largest flood threat west of the Mississippi.... continued

 
Two Bunch Palms Specific Plan and EIR

Two Bunch Palms Specific Plan and EIR
John King Ventures

Desert Hot Springs, California

LSA prepared a Specific Plan and an EIR on the proposed development of 289.26 acres in the City of Desert Hot Springs... continued

 

 



 
RCIP

Riverside County Integrated Project
Riverside County, California

LSA was retained as part of a large consulting team to prepare environmental documents for the Riverside County Integrated Project (RCIP). The crush of projected population increases and the challenge of balancing associated housing, transportation, and economic needs of existing and future populations with limited natural resources and a sensitive natural environment required Riverside County to develop a unique planning model. This model, known as the (RCIP), consists of three integrated plans to determine future planning, transportation, and habitat conservation needs for the County. The goals of the effort are threefold:

  • Update the County’s General Plan
  • Create a Multispecies Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP) for the western portion of the County and integrate an ongoing Coachella Valley MSHCP effort into the fabric of General Planning for the County
  • Identify transportation corridors to meet the County’s future transportation needs through a planning effort called the Community and Transportation Acceptability Process (CETAP)

As part of this effort, LSA prepared the RCIP Existing Setting Report to provide a common factual basis for the preparation of the three components of the integrated planning effort. This report also provides a single environmental baseline inventory to be used in the preparation of subsequent environmental documents for each of the three plans constituting the RCIP. LSA prepared a Draft EIR for the General Plan update and prepared joint EIR/EIS documents for the CETAP transportation corridors and the MSHCP. These documents were all circulated for public review in 2002. The Existing Setting Report presents the results of an intensive research effort aimed at identifying the physical, social, and economic characteristics of Riverside County, which need to be understood in order to formulate goals, objectives, and policies for the integrated planning effort. Along with the preparation of this report, an extensive and detailed GIS database was constructed for the 7,200-square-mile County.

 
Marine Corps Air Station El Toro Airport System Master Plan
 

Marine Corps Air Station El Toro Airport System Master Plan
County of Orange, Federal Aviation Administration
Orange County, California

LSA led an extensive consultant team, consisting of environmental analysts/planners, transportation engineers and planners, federal aviation noise and air quality experts, land planners/designers, and aviation systems planners to prepare an EIR and an EIS for the reuse of Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) El Toro.

The proposed reuse/redevelopment is extremely controversial, particularly in the surrounding communities, regarding the issues of noise, air quality/toxic air contaminants, traffic, and public safety. The LSA team successfully completed the Draft EIR and other environmental documents pertaining to specific project related land use proposals for the County’s Master Lease of the MCAS El Toro property from the Department of the Navy. The LSA team prepared responses to over 9,000 public comments on the Draft EIR. LSA also prepared the technical analyses and write-up for the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) contribution to a joint FAA/Department of the Navy Final EIS for the proposed commercial airport at the former El Toro Marine Base. The EIS-related work included the preparation of a Section 4(f) Analysis in accordance with the requirements of the Department of Transportation Act and the preparation of a General Conformity finding for air quality in conformance with the Clean Air Act. LSA coordinated with aviation, air quality, and noise subconsultants, as well as key members of the Orange County team and outside counsel to meet the FAA’s needs.

 

Melrose Triangle

 

Melrose Triangle
City of West Hollywood
West Hollywood, California

LSA is preparing an Environmental Impact Report for this 295,600-square foot mixed-use development adjacent to the City of Beverly Hills. The site is currently developed with a mixture of one and two level commercial uses constructed over several years. The project includes six aboveground levels and five subterranean levels for parking and art and wine storage. Technical work prepared by the LSA team includes view simulations, a traffic impact analysis, an air quality analysis, a noise analysis, a biological constraints analysis, a cultural resource assessment, and a paleontological assessment. LSA has made recommendations to the City and the applicant for needed technical work related to drainage, water quality, soils, and groundwater management in order to prepare a comprehensive EIR. Key environmental and controversial issues include groundwater control, traffic, public services, and land use.

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