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4.6 – Noise Draft Environmental Impact Report February 2021 14800 W. Schulte Road Logistics Center 4.6-14 Assuming all the equipment is operating simultaneously for a minimum period of 1 hour, the worst-case calculated noise level at the Project’s property lines and the nearest noise-sensitive land uses is presented in Table 4.6-8. The maximum hourly noise level for all the HVAC equipment operating at each examined point along the property and nearest noise-sensitive receivers would range from 6 to 29 dBA Leq, which is substantially less than the County’s daytime or nighttime noise standard of 50 dBA Leq and 45 dBA Leq, respectively, for noise-sensitive uses, and is also well below the City of Tracy’s Municipal Code noise standards of 75 dBA Leq for industrial uses and 55 dBA Leq for residential uses. Assuming the office area were to be occupied from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., the resulting CNEL value was calculated and is reported in Table 4.6-8. Project-related noise levels from HVAC operation at each examined point along the property and nearest noise-sensitive receivers would be well below existing CNEL noise levels based on the traffic noise model results (Table 4.6-7) as well as extrapolating from the short-term ambient noise level measurements (Table 4.6-1); thus, an increase of 3 dB or more would not occur. The noise-level calculation spreadsheets for the HVAC package units are included in Appendix E-4. Table 4.6-8. Mechanical Equipment Operation Noise Summary of Results Equipment Noise Level at Property Boundary and Nearest Noise-Sensitive Land Uses Receiver Location/Land Use Average Noise Level (dBA Leq) Applicable Standard (dBA Leq) CNEL1 Noise Standard Exceedance? HVAC Northern Property Boundary 29 75 25 No HVAC Southern Property Boundary 24 75 20 No HVAC Eastern Property Boundary 26 75 22 No HVAC Western Property Boundary 21 75 17 No HVAC Nearest Residence: 1,500 Feet Northeast 16 45 12 No HVAC Residence 3,000 Feet Southwest 9 45 5 No HVAC ST2 6 45 2 No HVAC ST3 11 45 7 No Source: Appendix E. Notes: dBA = A-weighted decibel; Leq = equivalent noise level; CNEL = community noise equivalent level; HVAC = heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. 1 Assumes 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. operation of an air conditioning unit for office occupancy. The results of the mechanical equipment operations noise analysis indicate that the Project would comply with County and City of Tracy Municipal Code and Noise Element policy criteria. Parking Lot Activity A comprehensive study of noise levels associated with surface parking lots was published in the Journal of Environmental Engineering and Landscape Management (Baltrënas et al. 2004). The authors of the study found that average noise levels during the peak period of use of a parking lot (generally in the morning with arrival of commuters and in the evening with the departure of commuters) were 47 dBA at 1 meter (3.28 feet) from the outside boundary of the parking lot. The parking area would function as a point source for noise, which means that noise would attenuate at a rate of 6 dB with each doubling of distance. The employee parking areas are proposed to be situated along the sides of the warehouse buildings, no closer than 1,600 feet from the nearest noise-sensitive land use (a residence). At a distance of 1,600 fee t, parking lot noise levels would