[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 207 (Thursday, October 27, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-26576]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: October 27, 1994]
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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
Public Buildings Service; Record of Decision; New United States
Courthouse-Federal Building in Sacramento, CA
The United States General Services Administration (GSA) announces
its decision, in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) and the Regulations issued by the Council on Environmental
Quality, November 29, 1978, to construct a new United States
Courthouse-Federal Building (USCT-FB) in Sacramento, California. The
site is bordered by H Street to the North, I Street to the South, 5th
Street to the West, and 6th Street to the east. The purpose of the new
USCT-FB is to relieve overcrowded conditions at the existing court
facilities in the City of Sacramento and to provide space for
anticipated future growth. The proposed project is anticipated to be
ready for occupancy in 1997-98. The existing courthouse facilities are
too small to meet the year 2000 and 2020 space requirements.
Additionally, the existing facilities do not meet guidelines for court
facilities set forth in the ``U.S. Courts Design Guide'' (February
1993). Structural restrictions such as obstructing columns and
inadequate ceiling heights prevent the use of full-size courtrooms in
the existing facilities. There is not sufficient space in the current
courthouse to accommodate an increase in the number of courtrooms and
the configuration of courtrooms to meet the court design guidelines. In
addition, security in and around the building is inadequate.
I. Criteria for Evaluating EIS Alternatives
Selection of an alternative site involves the weighing and
balancing of many complex, interrelated and often competing policy
factors. An alternative superior to others in one environmental respect
may be otherwise inferior in another. Several factors were of key
importance in evaluating each of the alternatives. These are identified
below.
A. The first project criterion is to provide for the expansion of
the federal courts in the Sacramento vicinity. Current facilities
housed in the John E. Moss Federal Building-US Courthouse are
insufficient. Leasing additional space to make up for the shortfall at
the Moss Building would not be an efficient means of providing court
space. Alternative project sites were therefore examined for their
ability to meet existing court needs as well as their suitability for
future expansion.
B. The second project criterion is to promote local government
redevelopment goals, which can often be greatly assisted by the
implementation of large projects such as the high-profile federal
building.
C. The third project criterion is the minimization of adverse
environmental effects.
D. The fourth project criterion is attractive location. Some sites
are more attractive due to their proximity to public amenities, the
City's Central Business District, and retail areas.
II. Alternatives Considered
In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA),
GSA has considered a range of alternatives to the preferred alternative
that could feasibly attain the basic objectives of the proposed
project. In addition to the preferred alternative, four other
alternatives (a reduced intensity alternative, the Lot B alternative,
the expansion alternative and the no action alternative) have been
analyzed within the EIS and are representative of a reasonable range of
alternatives.
A. Preferred Alternative
The preferred alternative site, which is owned by both the Southern
Pacific Railroad and the City of Sacramento, encompasses approximately
2.50 acres. The site is bounded by H Street to the North, I Street to
the South, 5th Street to the West and 6th Street to the East, within
the City of Sacramento. The block is currently irregular in shape and
must be reconfigured as a standard city block by realigning and
extending 5th and H Streets. The site is a full City block, which
provides the space required to meet both current court facility needs
and the projected court needs through the year 2020.
The preferred site is located within the boundaries of the Merged
Downtown Redevelopment Project Area, and is also within the boundaries
of the proposed Railyards Specific Plan. This alternative is consistent
with redevelopment plans for the Railyards area and will provide a
catalyst for development in the Railyards. The project site promotes
local land use and redevelopment goals. It is located in proximity to
existing and light rail transits system and is near the path of its
planned extension. This location will promote use of a transportation
means that is environmentally superior to single occupancy vehicle. By
virtue of its proximity of the County Jail and the Hall of Justice, the
location presents the potential for operational efficiencies that are
not present at the other alternatives. The proximity of these buildings
to each other would make the transportation of incarcerated individuals
both easier and safer. Additionally, the preferred alternative is
located in proximity to the City's new Central Library, located at 8th
and I Streets, Downtown Plaza, a regional shopping center located
between 4th and 7th Streets along K Street and Plaza Park, located at
8th and I Streets. These locational amenities add to the attraction of
the preferred alternative site.
There are no wetlands on the project site nor is the site within
the 100-year floodplain. Sacramento is located within Seismic Zone 3 on
a scale of 1 to 4, with 4 as having the highest risk of seismic events
and potential severity. No known active faults or Alquist-Priolo
Special Study Zones occur in or adjacent to the City of Sacramento. An
Alquist-Priolo Zone is a designation given by the State Geologist who
assures that homes, offices, public buildings, and other structures for
human occupancy are not built on active faults. The designation
requires that a geological investigation be conducted before a local
government can approve a development project located within the special
study zone.
B. The Reduced Intensity Alternative
The reduced intensity alternative is identical to the preferred
alternative except that a wing or annex would not be constructed. The
building constructed under this alternative would remain at
approximately 380,100 square through the year 2020. As new courtrooms
are needed by the Eastern District, approximately the top seven floors
would be converted from office space to courtroom space as under the
preferred alternative. Under the reduced intensity alternative,
however, the federal workers displaced by this conversion would move
into lease quarters in the Sacramento area instead of being
accommodated on site. The reduced intensity alternative is found to be
infeasible because it does not provide for long-term growth of the
federal courts. The building proposed under the reduced intensity
alternative would not provide adequate space through the year 2020. In
addition, as conversion from office to courtroom space takes place,
federal workers would have to move into leased space or additional
space would have to be constructed off-site.
C. Lot B Alternative
Under this alternative, a building similar to that described in the
``Preferred Alternative'' section would be constructed on the City of
Sacramento's Lot B, which is bounded by H Street on the north, I Street
on the south, 10th Street on the west and 11th Street on the east. This
site, which is owned by the City of Sacramento is currently used for
City employee parking. Land uses surrounding the two story parking
structure include residential and motel uses to the north, City Hall
office buildings to the west, a high rise parking structure with ground
level commercial structures to the south, restaurant, commercial and
residential structures to the east, and Plaza Park and the Sacramento
Central Library to the southwest. Like the preferred alternative site,
the Lot B site is owned by the City and is of adequate size to meet
current and future court needs. It is also located within the City's
Central Business District and is in proximity to light rail, the City's
new library and Plaza Park. The site is not, however, located as
conveniently close to the County jail as the preferred alternative
site. The Lot B Alternative is, however, infeasible as the State of
California has recently selected this site for the location of a new
State office building and the City has agreed to sell the property to
the State. The Lot B site is, therefore, not available for the
Courthouse.
D. Expansion Alternative
The John E. Moss Federal Building is a nine-story federal office
building located at 650 Capitol Mall in downtown Sacramento. Under this
project alternative, an annex would be constructed against the south
wall of the Moss Building. A parking lot for federal employees now
occupies the proposed annex site. The land uses surrounding the site
consist of the City's Lot A parking garage to the north, high density
residential uses (apartments and townhouses) to the south, and State of
California offices to the east and the IBM and Wells Fargo towers to
the west. Under this alternative, an approximately 250,000 square foot
annex to the existing John E. Moss Federal Building-US Courthouse would
be constructed against the south wall of the Moss Building. The
proposed annex would occupy the approximately 20,000 square foot
parking area to the south of the Building. It would house a new
district courtroom, a new and a relocated magistrate courtroom, a jury
assembly area, lobbies and corridors, elevators and ancillary
facilities. The proposed annex would be 13 floors in height. Parking
for 250 cars would be provided in a subterran two-level parking garage
beneath the annex. Approximately 28,000 cubic yards of material would
have to be excavated in order to accommodate a parking area of this
size. Because this site could not meet the courts projected space needs
over the current planning period, other space would eventually have to
be leased or constructed. The expansion alternative is infeasible
because it does not provide adequate space to meet the court's current
or projected needs.
E. No Action Alternative
Under the no action alternative, the City of Sacramento would
retain possession of the proposed site, and no Federal building would
be constructed there, or any other location. The U.S. Court for the
Eastern District of California would either reduce its space needs in
the Sacramento area, or accommodate its future growth by some other
means. The projected increase in the federal presence in the Sacramento
area is not contingent upon the construction of a Courthouse/Federal
Building. The rate of growth in all categories of federal employees
(including judicial and executive branch agencies) is projected to be
the same, regardless of whether the proposed building is constructed.
III. Mitigation Measures
All practicable means to avoid or minimize impacts to the area are
being considered in the development of the project. GSA received a
number of comments and mitigation suggestions from concerned citizens,
and interested and responsible local, state, and Federal agencies.
Significant impacts were identified and mitigation measures were
set forth in the EIS. The mitigation measures proposed in the EIS that
can be implemented were adopted by GSA.
A. Air Quality
There are several potential areas of impact to air quality.
Construction activities will exceed the SMAQMD NOx and SMAQMD PM10
emission thresholds. This will be significant and unavoidable. The
construction management plan developed for the project will reduce
vehicle emission by reducing vehicle idling time and vehicle miles
traveled. Specifically it will:
1. Route construction trips to avoid congested streets.
Construction traffic ingress and egress will be controlled so as to
avoid long queues of construction vehicles entering and leaving the
site. Vehicles will enter and leave via the staging area. Appropriate
traffic controls will be established on public roadways where project
traffic enters and leaves the site.
2. Electrical power for construction activities will be obtained
from power poles instead of electrical generators (when feasible).
3. Methanol or natural gas will be used for mobile construction
equipment instead of diesel (when feasible).
4. Trucks will not idle for more than two minutes.
5. Active portions of the project site will be watered twice daily.
6. Non-toxic soil stabilizers will be applied to graded areas to be
inactive for 10 days or more.
7. Excavation and grading will be suspended when the wind speed (as
instantaneous gusts) exceeds 25 miles per hour.
8. Trucks carrying earth material off-site will be covered.
9. Paved streets adjacent to the construction site will be swept as
needed to remove dust and silt that may have accumulated as a result of
construction activities, and all construction requiring heavy equipment
will be curtailed during second stage smog alerts.
Mitigation Measures are feasible and required, but the impact is
unavoidable. The primary source of construction-related NOx
emissions are gasoline and diesel-powered heavy duty mobile
construction equipment. The above mitigation measures will reduce the
short-term significant impact of construction activities by restricting
use of mobile construction equipment such that NOx, ROC and CO
concentrations from Project construction are minimized. These measures,
however, will only partially reduce the impact. The impact remains
significant and unavoidable.
The project's direct and indirect emissions are less than the de
minimis thresholds, as defined in Section 176 of the 1990 Amendments to
the Clean Air Act. Therefore, the subject project is exempt from the
final conformity rule and a conformity determination need to be
prepared. The information has been provided to the regional office of
the Environmental Protection Agency.
B. Noise
Implementation of this alternative would expose surrounding land
uses to short-term noise levels in excess of City threshold levels.
This impact is considered significant and unavoidable. Site preparation
and construction activities shall comply with the City of Sacramento
Noise Ordinance limiting construction activities to the hours between 7
a.m. and 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. on
Saturday as a maximum. All construction equipment fixed or mobile shall
be in proper operating condition and fitted with standard silencing
features. Prior to construction activities, a solid wood construction
barrier will be erected around the exterior perimeter of the project
sites to minimize noise intrusion into surrounding residential land
uses. An outside construction manager will ensure that all noise
mitigation measures are implemented. In addition, the construction
manager will handle any complaints regarding noise that may arise as a
result of construction. The mitigation measure will reduce, but not
entirely eliminate, construction noise impacts resulting from the
project. The impact remains significant and unavoidable.
C. Archaeological and Historical
The implementation of the preferred alternative will have an impact
on archaeological and historic resources. The American Railway Express
Building is a building which has been determined eligible, by
consensus, for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. A
portion of the structure which is the loading dock has been removed by
the City after the concurrence of the State Historic Preservation
Officer and Advisory Council. This is considered a significant
unavoidable impact. The loading dock structure was recorded through
mapping, photography, textual description, and drawings along with a
narrative description and history of the structure.
Mitigation has GSA consulting with the State Historic Preservation
Officer to seek ways to avoid or reduce the effect on historic
properties. In addition, GSA will cooperate to the extent feasible, in
plans to preserve the historic structure which would be affected by the
proposed project. The mitigation measure is feasible and will reduce
impacts to historical resources through recordation. However, impacts
to the physical structure through demolition cannot be reduced to a
less-than-significant level.
Another potential impact is the scale and style of the proposed
courthouse may not be compatible with the surrounding historically
significant structures. This is considered a significant unavoidable
impact. By using the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for
Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitation of Historic Buildings
as a resource document, the project will employ project design
standards which make thorough use of existing historic context. The
project design standards for new construction will consider the
existing historic context in determining: mass, size, scale, materials,
texture, setback, and architectural features. The mitigation measure is
feasible and will partially reduce compatibility impacts, but not to a
less-than-significant level.
The General Services Administration believes that there are no
outstanding issues to be resolved with respect to the proposed project.
For additional information associated with the new U.S. Courthouse-
Federal Building may be directed to Mr. Lou Lopez, Planning Staff
(9PL), U.S. General Services Administration, 525 Market Street, San
Francisco, CA 94105, (415) 744-5256.
Dated: October 13, 1994.
Aki K. Nakao,
Acting Regional Administrator (9A).
[FR Doc. 94-26576 Filed 10-26-94; 8:45 am]
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