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Draft Environmental Impact Report February 2021 14800 W. Schulte Road Logistics Center 6-1 6 Other CEQA Considerations Section 15126 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines requires that all aspects of a project be considered when evaluating its impact on the environment, including planning, acquisition, development, and operation. As part of this analysis, the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) must also identify (1) significant environmental effects of the proposed project (refer to Chapter 4, Environmental Analysis, of this Draft EIR), (2) significant environmental effects that cannot be avoided if the proposed project is implemented, (3) significant irreversible environmental changes that would result from implementation of the proposed project, (4) growth - inducing impacts of the proposed project, and (5) alternatives to the proposed project (refer to Chapter 7, Project Alternatives, of this Draft EIR). 6.1 Growth-Inducing Impacts As stated in Section 15126.2(e) of the CEQA Guidelines, an EIR is required to include a discussion of a project’s growth-inducing effects. The CEQA Guidelines generally describe such effects as (1) economic growth, population growth, or additional housing in the surrounding environment; (2) removal of obstacles to population growth (e.g., a major expansion of a wastewater treatment facility that allows for more construction in the service area); (3) increases in population that tax existing services requiring construction of new facilities that could cause significant environmental effects; and (4) characteristics of a project that would encourage and facilitate other activities that could significantly affect the environment, either individually or cumulatively. For the 14800 W. Schulte Road Logistics Center (Project), a temporary workforce would be needed to construct the new buildings and related on-site improvements. The number of construction workers needed during any given period would largely depend on the specific stage of construction. These short-term positions are anticipated to be filled primarily by construction workers who reside in the Project area. Therefore, construction of the Project would not generate a temporary increase in population within the Project area. Once the Project is operational, the Project would not directly result in the addition of new residents to the area, because the Project would not involve residential development. Based on typical employee densities for warehousing and distribution uses, it is expected that the Project would result in approximately 555 employment opportunities. The additional employees may come from the Project area; however, this analysis conservatively assumes that all 555 new employees would relocate to the Project area.1 In its General Plan, the County of San Joaquin (County) notes that it is anticipated to add 51,000 new jobs through 2035 for a total 271,685 jobs in the County by 2035. Projections for employment growth under the 2035 General Plan are relatively consistent with San Joaquin Council of Governments projections that there would be 282,613 jobs within the County by 2035 (County of San Joaquin 2016; SJCOG 2014). Given these anticipated employment projections, the Project’s 555 new employees would represent a relatively small percentage of new employment projections in the County. In addition, given the non-managerial nature of most of the future employment opportunities provided on site, it is anticipated that future employees would not relocate into the area to work at 1 For purposes of this analyses, employment estimates were calculated using average employment density factors reported by Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG). SCAG reports that for every 1,225 square feet of warehouse space in the Southern California region (including Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, and Imperial Counties), the median number of jobs supported is one employee (SCAG 2001). Although these estimates are based off of data collected in Southern California, they are appropriate for use in Northern California because employment density rates as they pertain to the warehouse/industrial industry are primarily a function of the use and are not typically location -dependent. The Project would include approximately 678,913 square feet of flexible industrial space. As such, the estimated number of employees required for operation would be approximately 555 persons.