Virginia Avenue Commercial and Parking Structure Redevelopment EIR Addendum

Located near the US-Mexico border, the Virginia Avenue Commercial and Parking Structure Redevelopment Project will create a new multi-level structure featuring 13,694 square feet of retail space and approximately 350 parking spaces. Baja-Mex Insurance Services and the City of San Diego selected Harris to obtain streamlined environmental approvals.

The new structure will stem from the City’s recently adopted San Ysidro Community Plan Update (CPU). Harris prepared an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) Addendum, tiered from the San Ysidro CPU EIR, with substantial evidence to demonstrate compliance with San Diego’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) targeting greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions.

Core Elements

In addition to the EIR Addendum documentation, Harris has delivered an air quality/GHG memo, a waste management plan, and the CAP checklist. Other key issues Harris analyzed for the project include:  

• Aesthetics
• Land use consistency
• Traffic

Beyond the Blueprints

The City of San Diego has updated numerous community plans in recent years. The San Ysidro CPU and CAP introduced new requirements for project compliance after planning had already begun. Harris’ environmental specialists were able to quickly update essential project reports to match the new requirements.