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Redlands council certifies program EIR and approves Kaiser Permanente master plan for major medical campus
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Summary
The Redlands City Council certified a program Environmental Impact Report and approved a multi‑phase master plan for Kaiser Permanente’s 1301 California Street campus, clearing concept plan and development plan amendments and adopting a statement of overriding considerations for unavoidable VMT and GHG impacts.
The Redlands City Council voted unanimously to certify the program environmental impact report (EIR) and approve a multi‑phase master plan for Kaiser Permanente’s proposed medical campus at 1301 California Street.
The council adopted three related resolutions to certify the final program EIR, adopt mitigation and monitoring measures and a statement of overriding considerations for transportation and greenhouse gas impacts, and to approve amendment No. 8 to Concept Plan 1 and the associated development plan. The motions passed on roll call with five affirmative votes.
City planning staff told the council the master plan envisions phased build‑out across roughly four phases, beginning with a medical office building and ambulatory surgery center and later adding a general hospital (the project’s Phase 2) and two additional medical office buildings. The hospital phase was described as averaging three to four stories with a seven‑story, 122‑foot tower proposed for the primary hospital building; staff said that height would be below the zoning district’s 150‑foot limit.
Deborah Wong, land use manager for Kaiser Permanente, said the applicant expects to submit entitlements for the next phase this year and estimated the hospital phase could occur about 10 years after completion of the near‑term medical office building, depending on demand and market conditions. “If we were to be able to proceed with entitlements for this year and finish this year, it would be online before 2030,” Wong said.
Staff and the EIR consultant explained the program EIR analyzed 15 resource areas and identified potentially significant and unavoidable impacts for vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions. City staff said mitigation measures and monitoring are required for other impact areas and that the council must balance those unavoidable impacts against public benefits in a statement of overriding considerations. The council’s motion adopted those overriding considerations, citing benefits including increased health‑care access and meeting forecasted demand.
Supporters at the hearing included Evan Sanford, executive director of the Redlands Chamber of Commerce, who described the project as a long‑term investment in local health care capacity and economic development. Questions from council and the public addressed traffic signal placement, emergency access and future fire‑service apparatus needs; the city’s traffic engineer explained signal placement was recommended on California Street based on standard traffic engineering criteria and that ambulance access would be from Lagonia Avenue.
The council approved the package of resolutions after discussion, concluding the program EIR and development plan met the required findings to proceed to later entitlement phases. The approval does not authorize immediate ground‑disturbing construction; subsequent phased entitlement and permit approvals will be required before building permits are issued.
