Environmental Planning Services
Chambers Group Experience
Chambers Group has performed thousands of environmental studies for public and private entities throughout the western United States. Examples of services the company routinely provide include reviewing a minor section of an environmental document (ED), collecting and analyzing data, preparing a full CEQA Environmental Impact Report, or a NEPA Environmental Impact Statement. Chambers Group’s forward looking approach to environmentally sensitive or controversial projects has averted stalled schedules and potential court suits. In the history of Chambers Group, no Chambers Group CEQA or NEPA ED has ever been successfully challenged by a third party. Besides having extensive experience with clients from the private sector, Chambers Group has also completed numerous projects directly for federal, state, and local agencies. When appropriate for projects on federal lands in California or for projects in California that include federal funding, Chambers Group prepares joint CEQA/NEPA documentation in collaboration with the lead agency and trustee agencies. This blend of experience enables us to assist our clients in complying with all regulations while proceeding with the project in a cost-effective manner.
Services Include:
- CEQA compliance (IS Checklist, EIRs, MND, NDs, MMRP, Findings of Facts, Statement of Overriding Considerations)
- NEPA Compliance (EA, FONSI, EIS, and Record of Decision (ROD))
- CEQA/NEPA statutory conformance
- Land use, community assessment and policy development
- Environmental constraints / Benefits analysis
- Public participation and outreach programs
- Water quality analysis
- Air quality analysis and permitting
- LEED-accredited assessment
- Third party peer review
- Visual Assessment
- Noise impact analysis
NEPA and CEQA Document Preparation and Review
Environmental laws and regulations, such as the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and the California Environmental Quality Act of 1970 (CEQA), require permitting agencies to consider the environmental consequences of most proposed development projects prior to issuing permits. Formal planning and documentation are often required as the basis for determining these consequences. Based on the scope of the project or facility, requirements vary from preparing a comprehensive EIR or EIS to conducting a records and literature search. An EIR or EIS may include studies, such as marine biological surveys, archaeological surveys, air pollutant emissions modeling, comprehensive economic analyses, land use analyses, visual resource analyses and systems safety analyses. In many instances, a project benefits-constraints evaluation will be the initial step, possibly leading to the preparation of alternative development, impact assessment and permit acquisition. Chambers Group offers the capability to prepare these documents or provide comments on the adequacy of environmental documentation prepared by others. Our expert review will assure applicant companies and permitting agencies that analyses are accurate and defensible and that conditions imposed on project permits are reasonable, feasible, and environmentally sound. In addition, we have extensive experience with highly controversial projects, such as major land development projects, hazardous material storage facilities; major water, oil, and gas pipelines; and offshore oil and gas development. Chambers Group deals very effectively with the public, agency personnel, and decision makers.
Environmental Planning Projects:
Environmental Impact Report, General Plan Update and Redevelopment
Plan Update (City of Grand Terrace)
Chambers Group has been retained by the City to prepare and process
all requisite CEQA compliance documentation for the City of Grand
Terrace General Plan Update and proposed fourth amendment to the Revised
Grand Terrace Community Redevelopment Project Redevelopment Plan.
The scope of Chambers Group's efforts encompasses, but is not necessarily
limited to, the preparation of: an IS, Notice of Preparation, Draft
Program EIR, Notice of Completion, Final Program EIR, Notice of Determination,
Mitigation Monitoring & Reporting Program, Findings of Fact pursuant
to Section 15091 of the State CEQA Guidelines, and if necessary, a
Statement of Overriding Considerations, pursuant to Section 15093
of the same Guidelines.
Peer Review, Environmental Impact Report, Highland Fairview
Development (City of Moreno Valley)
Chambers Group assisted the City of Moreno Valley in their review
of the Highland Fairview Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The project
consisted of peer review of environmental documents associated with
four buildable parcels, an additional parcel adjustment to Highway
60 for dedication purposes, and a total warehouse and commercial build-out
of 2,620,000 square feet. The project location is south of Highway
60, between Redlands Boulevard and Theodore Street. The project site
includes just over 182 gross acres or 147.5 net acres of land. The
applicant was proposing to split the project site into five individual
parcels for industrial and commercial uses as well as for land dedicated
for freeway improvement purposes.
Addendum EIR for Orange County Great Park (City of Irvine
Redevelopment Department)
Chambers Group completed an Addendum EIR to the Final EIR for the
Orange County Great Park. The Preliminary OCGP Master Plan was reviewed
for conformance with the FEIR. The Orange County Great Park Master
Plan is a 1,143-acre component of the overall reuse of the now closed
Marine Corps Air Station at El Toro, with a combined building area
of over 300,000 square feet. The proposed OCGP Master Plan refines
the institutional, recreation and preservation-oriented uses envisioned
for lands within City of Irvine Planning Areas 51 and 30 that are
publicly owned and under the auspices of the Orange County Great Park
Corporation. Where feasible, Chambers Group identified strategies
that reduced impacts to levels that conformed to the FEIR and textually
incorporate these strategies into the appropriate discipline-specific
discussions. Mitigations included maximum utilization of Project Design
Features and Best Management Practices as part of the strategy to
address differences or conflicts between the Master Plan and the FEIR.
Program EIR for the Orange Coast College (OCC) Facility Master
Plan and Golden West College (GWC) Facility Master Plans, Costa Mesa,
Huntington Beach, Orange County (Coast Community College District)
Chambers Group wrote the Program EIR for the OCC/GWC Facility Master
Plan. The Program EIR focused on the nature and extent of project
impacts resulting from campus growth. Major topics analyzed included
local traffic/circulation and parking; air quality and noise; neighborhood
impacts and land use compatibility; storm water quality; and infrastructure
improvements.
