2.
Response
to
Comments
2.9
Individual
Responses
to
Comments
from
Organizations
identified
near
the
United
States
Postal
Service
Annex
west
of
Bayshore
Boulevard,
approximately
600
feet
west
of
the
Baylands
Project
Site.
Recorded
site
P-41-000496
is
outside
of
the
Baylands
Project
Site,
and
therefore
will
not
be
impacted
by
project
implementation.
Although
there
are
no
recorded
cultural
resources
within
the
Baylands
Project
Site,
with
the
inclusion
of
Mitigation
Measure
4.D-2,
on
Draft
EIR
pages
4.D-33–34,
Project
Site
development
would
not
cause
a
substantial
adverse
change
in
the
significance
of
archaeological
resources.
As
stated
in
Draft
EIR
Mitigation
Measure
4.D-2,
“Preservation
in
place,
i.e.,
avoidance,
is
the
preferred
method
of
mitigation
for
impacts
on
cultural
resources
and
shall
be
required
unless
there
are
other
equally
effective
methods.”
As
noted
on
Draft
EIR
pages
4.E-35
and
4.E-36,
there
have
been
a
number
of
geotechnical
investigations
conducted
at
the
Baylands
site
that
have
provided
an
understanding
of
the
existing
subsurface
materials
and
their
geotechnical
characteristics.
As
is
commonplace
for
preliminary
geotechnical
investigations
conducted
by
state
licensed
professionals,
the
investigations
have
considered
both
static
and
seismic
hazards
that
may
result
from
future
development.
The
goals
of
these
investigations
are
to
determine
overall
geotechnical
feasibility
and
provide
preliminary
recommendations
that
would
be
necessary
for
proposed
improvements
to
be
designed
and
constructed
to
mitigate
these
hazards
in
accordance
with
building
code
and
seismic
design
requirements.
As
discussed
on
page
4.E-40
of
the
Draft
EIR,
a
high
potential
for
liquefaction
at
the
former
railyard
portion
of
the
site
has
been
identified;
however
“site-specific
investigations
would
be
required
for
all
Baylands
site
development
to
determine
the
site
specific
risk
and
appropriate
foundation
system
design.”
As
required
by
Draft
EIR
Mitigation
Measure
4.E-3,
a
final
design-level
geotechnical
report
would
address
liquefaction
and
lateral
spreading
potential
at
each
development
site
and
provide
site-specific
recommendations
to
reduce
the
potential
damage
in
accordance
with
building
code
requirements.
Implementation
of
the
mitigation
measure
would
ensure
that
final
design
would
consider
site
specific
data
which
is
in
accordance
with
industry
standard
protocols
and
consistent
with
building
code
requirements.
The
first
paragraph
of
Draft
EIR
page
4.E-46
is
devoted
to
a
discussion
of
differential
settlement
within
the
Baylands
as
a
result
of
both
ongoing
decomposition
of
the
refuse
within
the
landfill,
as
well
as
from
consolidation
of
the
Bay
Mud
deposits.
Differential
settlement
for
particular
developments
will
depend
on
site-specific
characteristics
where
a
structure
might
be
placed
over
an
area
where
variances
in
the
underlying
Brisbane
Baylands
Final
EIR
2.9.2-73
May
2015