Common use of Project Understanding Clause in Contracts

Project Understanding. Our understanding of the Environmental Review for the Marinwood Plaza Project includes the following:  BRIDGE Housing Corporation, on behalf of the property owner, Marinwood Plaza, LLC, has submitted applications for a Master Plan, Precise Development Plan, Lot Line Adjustment, Lot Merger, and Right of Way Abandonment for the Marinwood Plaza site at ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇. The approximately 5-acre Project site is just west of US 101 at the Marinwood exit, and currently consists of four separate lots. Existing development on the site includes a 33,514 square foot commercial building, a wireless facility, parking lot, utilities, and landscaping. The commercial building is occupied by the Marinwood Market and a liquor store. The Marinwood ▇▇▇▇▇▇’▇ Market operates on the site on a weekly basis throughout the year. The property is zoned CP (Planned Commercial) and the Countywide Plan Designation is GC HOD (General Commercial/Mixed Use with Housing Overlay District).  The applicant proposes to demolish about half of the existing commercial building and retain the remainder as the Marinwood Market. The existing liquor store would be relocated on site. The existing ▇▇▇▇▇▇’▇ Market is not included in the proposal and would be discontinued. The applicant would redevelop the site with residential, commercial, and mixed use buildings. The total building area proposed is 89,822 square feet, consisting of commercial space, market rate apartments, affordable apartments, landscaping and public open space amenities. A total of 82 housing units are proposed, and the new development would have a floor area ratio (FAR) of 0.41, compared to the current FAR of 0.15.  The Project site is identified in the Marin County Housing Element as a potential affordable housing site. The Housing Element Draft 1. Approach and Work Program Supplemental EIR (DSEIR) includes the Project site in its screening- level review of potential impacts.  Consistency of the Project with the Countywide Plan and the Housing Element has already been vetted and confirmed, but the environmental document should reexamine and reaffirm this conclusion. There are few identified sensitive resources on the Project site. The environmental issues that require the greatest scrutiny to determine environmental effects are traffic, air quality, health risk from future residents’ exposure to toxic air contaminants, climate-altering effects of greenhouse gas emissions; soil contamination; and potential impacts on visual resources and scenic views.  The County is considering a phased approach to the environmental review, in which an initial study-type checklist is used to screen for potential environmental impacts that have not yet been adequately analyzed in the Countywide Plan EIR or the Housing Element DSEIR. The checklist would be used to come to a conclusion on the appropriate type and scope of environmental review, including the extent to which the prior EIRs can be used as a basis for “tiering.”  The Project has generated substantial public scrutiny and public comment. There are indications that an organized opposition may emerge. It is therefore essential that the environmental review document provide the highest level of legal protection for whatever decision the County Board of Supervisors makes regarding the Project. It is also important that the environmental review process provides ample opportunity for public comment, and that the environmental document thoroughly, clearly, and objectively discloses potential impacts of the Project.  Many of the public comments on the Project focus on whether the Project is consistent with the Marinwood Village Guiding Principles. The Principles are a conceptual design plan for the Marinwood Plaza property that resulted from a collaborative planning process between the Marinwood community, the Marinwood Plaza property owners, and the County. While the Principles appear to lack the force of formal County policy, and it is questionable whether consistency with the Principles has a bearing on physical environmental impacts, the consistency of the Project with the Principles may need to be discussed in the environmental review document.