Draft EIR for proposed Whole Foods at City Center finds air-quality impacts under thresholds; noise from rooftop equipment needs mitigation

Planning staff presented a draft environmental impact report (EIR) on Jan. 19 for a proposed Whole Foods Market to occupy vacant retail space at City Center, 2675 Geary Boulevard. The draft EIR, produced after a Board of Supervisors appeal, analyzes whether deliveries, refrigeration and rooftop mechanical equipment could expose nearby residents and a day-care playground to elevated pollutant concentrations or noise.

The EIR's air-quality modeling quantified diesel particulate matter and other emissions from deliveries and found project-level and cumulative pollutant concentrations to be less than significant at identified receptors after standard controls. The staff environmental presentation noted that many modern delivery vehicles are moving away from diesel and that operational controls further reduce risk.

Noise modeling identified the project's rooftop refrigeration cooling tower (23 feet tall) as a source that would exceed noise limits at a nearby day-care playground and at the northern property plane under the project design. Staff said that noise attenuation measures, including a sound wall around the cooling tower and other equipment enclosures, would reduce noise to less-than-significant levels; that mitigation is included in the draft EIR.

The EIR considered alternatives, including relocating the cooling tower nearer to Parking Lot C on Level 3 and increasing vertical separation, which would reduce noise at the playground and is identified as the environmentally superior alternative. Staff noted that all public comments on the draft EIR will be addressed in a written responses-to-comments document and that written comments are open through Jan. 30, 2023.

Public comment at the hearing was largely supportive: neighborhood residents and labor representatives cited the long-vacant status of the Best Buy space, the need for local grocery access for seniors and patients, and job and construction benefits. Speakers asked staff to confirm noise mitigation and pointed to the community value of activating the mall.

What happens next: Staff will accept public comment through Jan. 30, respond in a final EIR and return to the commission and Board of Supervisors as required by CEQA for subsequent approvals.