Huntington Renovations: Read and Respond to Draft Environmental Impact Report

Update April 30:

The public meeting will now take place June 18, 2012 at 7 p.m. at the San Marino High School Auditorium and the deadline for public comment on the draft environmental impact report is June 18, according to San Marino City Manager Matt Ballantyne.

Almost a year after the announced extensive , contractor PCR Services released a lengthy draft environmental impact report Monday that details effects of the proposed plans and the City called for public input.

The draft environmental impact report (EIR) includes:

• Possible effects of the plans on aesthetics, traffic, air quality, cultural resources, greenhouse gas emissions, land use and noise
• Alternatives to the proposed plans
• A traffic and parking report

The 46-day draft EIR public review period runs from April 2 to May 17. See where to find the draft EIR and how to respond below.

Proposed Plans

At a public meeting covered by Patch last May, the Huntington and PCR Services—a contractor hired by the to make an impartial analysis—presented the proposed renovations to residents.

The project could take 18 months to two years to complete and long-time San Marino residents who live close to the Huntington and its nearby streets were wary of its effects on traffic, parking, noise and other aspects.

The total site area proposed for redevelopment involves about 26.8 acres of the Huntington’s 207-acre property. Usual Huntington events and activities may be slightly altered during renovations, but Huntington Vice President for Communications Susan Turner-Lowe said at the time the institution would remain open during the project.

New buildings would include:

• An auditorium
• Four classrooms
• Below-grade collections and storage area with a connecting tunnel to the basement of the Munger Research Center

The Huntington Education and Visitor Center Project would replace the following existing facilities with new ones:

• Overseers’ Room
• Garden Court
• Multi-purpose room
• Store and ticketing kiosk
• Coffee shop (currently a coffee cart)
• Café portion of the tea room building
• Restrooms
• Loading dock

The proposed Huntington Education and Visitor Center Project would require three basic components:

1. Modifying the existing Historical and Cultural Zone Ordinance (requires City Council approval)
2. A conditional use permit to allow redevelopment of facilities, parking, landscaping and other improvements within the existing entry complex area
3. A conditional use permit to allow The Huntington to occasionally exceed maximum daily vehicle counts and standard operating hours a limited number of days per year, and to allow larger outdoor events with amplified sound to be conducted only in certain areas on the site.

Where to Find the Draft EIR

The draft EIR, which is four volumes and runs over 2,900 pages, is available by volume in PDF format on the City of San Marino’s website under “Huntington Library Visitors Center Project.” Click here to go to the site and find the report.

See the table of contents for each volume of the report attached to this article.

The report is also available at:

2200 Huntington Drive, 1st floor
San Marino, CA 91108
(626) 300-0711

1890 Huntington Drive
San Marino, CA 91108
(626) 300-0777

Pasadena Central Library
285 E. Walnut Street
Pasadena, CA 91101
(626) 744-4066

Respond to the Draft EIR

To comment by mail:

Aldo Cervantes, Senior Planner

City of San Marino Planning and Building Department

2200 Huntington Drive, 1st Floor

San Marino, CA 91108

To comment via email: acervantes@sanmarinoca.gov

To comment via fax: (626) 300-0716

For further questions, Cervantes can be reached by phone at (626) 300-0713.

Public Hearing

The City of San Marino Planning Commission will hold a public hearing to take public comments on the Draft EIR on Monday, May 7 at 7 p.m. at Crowell Public Library in the Barth Community Room. Public hearing regarding certification of the final EIR and project entitlements will be scheduled in the future.

How do you initially feel about the Huntington’s proposed renovations? Do you have any concerns about the plans? Share your thoughts in the comments.