Allesandro Elementary School Playground and Campus Exterior Upgrades

2026041332

Los Angeles Unified School District

NOE - Notice of Exemption

4/29/2026

4/29/2026

Christy Wong

Los Angeles Unified School District

CEQA Project Manager

Lead/Public Agency

333 S Beaudry Ave, 21st Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90017

(213) 241-3394

cp-christy.wong@lausd.net

The Allesandro Elementary School Playground and Campus Exterior Upgrades Project (Project) will be located on the approximately 4-acre Allesandro Elementary School campus (Allesandro ES or Campus). The Campus is located at 2210 Riverside Drive in the Silver Lake Neighborhood in the City of Los Angeles. It is bound by Gleneden Street to the north, Riverside Drive to the east, and Riverside Terrace to the south and to the west. The Campus is located in an urbanized community primarily consisting of residential uses. The Project will occur across the Campus.

Categorical Exemption

15301, 15302, 15304

Section 15301 - Existing Facilities Class 1 consists of the operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of use beyond that existing at the time of the lead agency's determination. The Project will replace approximately 47,000 square feet of existing paving in the main and kindergarten playgrounds with new paving. The scope of work includes solar reflective coating in playground areas, replacement of playground equipment, removal of existing portable classroom buildings, installation of an outdoor learning environment, greening and landscaping throughout the Campus, installation of privacy fencing, and exterior painting of buildings where needed. The Project will also provide infrastructure upgrades including underground utilities and accessibility upgrades. The Project would constitute operation, repair, maintenance, and minor alteration of existing public facilities involving no expansion of the facilities’ use. Therefore, the Project satisfies the requirements of CEQA Guidelines Section 15301. Section 15302 - Replacement or Reconstruction Class 2 consists of replacing or reconstructing existing structures and facilities where the new structure will be located on the same site as the structure replaced and will have substantially the same purpose and capacity as the structure replaced. As previously noted, the Project will replace approximately 47,000 square feet of existing paving in the main and kindergarten playgrounds with new paving. The scope of work includes solar reflective coating in playground areas, replacement of playground equipment, removal of existing portable classroom buildings, installation of an outdoor learning environment, greening and landscaping throughout the Campus, installation of privacy fencing, and exterior painting of buildings where needed. The Project will also provide infrastructure upgrades including underground utilities and accessibility upgrades. The Project will not result in an increase or alteration of the current use, function, or capacity of the existing campus. Therefore, the Project fulfills the requirements of CEQA Guidelines Section 15302. Section 15304 - Minor Alterations to Land Class 4 consists of minor public or private alterations in the condition of land, water, and/or vegetation which do not involve removal of healthy, mature, scenic trees except for forestry or agricultural purposes. The Project will repave existing asphalt as well as provide solar reflective coating in playgrounds, outdoor learning environment, greening, landscaping, and infrastructure upgrades throughout the campus. The Project will not remove healthy, mature, scenic trees. Therefore, the Project fulfills the requirements of CEQA Guidelines Section 15304. Section 15300.2 - Exceptions Section 15300.2 of the CEQA Guidelines, Exceptions, provides conditions under which categorical exemptions are inapplicable. Review of the Project indicates that they would not violate any of the exceptions, as described below. I. The project would occur in certain specified sensitive environments or locations; The Project site is a fully developed Campus within an urbanized community.2 The Project site is not designated as a biologically sensitive site or location and does not contain sensitive resources or habitat that will be impacted by the Project. The Project will be contained exclusively within the boundaries of the Campus. The nearest significant ecological area is Griffith Park located approximately 2 miles northwest of Allesandro ES and the nearest critical habitat is the Coastal California gnatcatcher located approximately 10 miles east of the Campus.3 , 4 As such, the Project will not impact sensitive environments or locations. 2. Cumulative impacts would be considerable because successive projects of the same type would occur at the same place over time; The Campus is an active school site and there will likely be ongoing maintenance activities and minor projects on the Campus to keep the schools operational. As the Project will not result in any lasting adverse impacts once construction of the Project is complete, the Project would not contribute to cumulative impacts when considered with expected successive projects. 3. There is a reasonable possibility that the activity would have a significant effect on the environment due to unusual circumstances. There are no known unusual circumstances that would have a significant effect on the environment. The removal of trees is anticipated as part of the proposed scope of work. District policy requires consultation with an arborist to determine if the trees are a protected native species. Additionally, written approval from the school principal will be required before any trees can be removed. If tree removal is scheduled to occur between February 1 and August 31 , a nesting bird survey would be performed prior to removal activities, per Standard Condition of Approval (SC) SC-B1O-3 of the Subsequent Program Environmental Impact Report (SPEIR). 5 , 6 The Project may include minor ground-disturbing activities. These activities are not considered unusual circumstances for the classes of projects under which an exemption is claimed. Nevertheless, consideration must be given to the management of pavement removal and excavated soils associated with earthwork activities for the Project. As the Project involves the removal of pavement, soil sampling and testing for characterization is required prior to demolition and removal of the paving materials. If construction or earthmoving activities require import or export of soils and materials, OEHS must be notified to provide oversight to ensure that these activities are conducted in compliance with the requirements of District Specification O 1 4524, relevant provisions of South Coast Air Quality Management District Rule 1466, and other applicable environmental agency rules and requirements. 7 Furthermore, as set forth in SC-CUL-6, SC-CUL-7, SC-CUL-9, SC-CUL-10, and SC-GEO-2 of the SPEIR, construction activities must be stopped immediately and OEHS notified upon discovery of subsurface features, such as buried resources (i.e., paleontological resources, archaeological resources), tanks or seepage pits, or stained/odoriferous soils.8 Lastly, any construction and demolition waste shall be recycled to the maximum extent feasible per SC-USS-1 of the SPEIR.9 Therefore, the Project will not have a significant effect on the environment due to unusual circumstances. 4. The project may result in damage to scenic resources, including but not limited to trees, historic buildings, rock outcroppings, or similar resources within a highway officially designated as a state scenic highway; The closest designated state scenic highway to the Project site is State Route 2 (SR 2, Angeles Crest Highway), which is located approximately 9.4 miles southwest of Allesandro ES. 10 The Project will not be visible from SR 2. Therefore, the Project would not result in damage to scenic resources or similar resources within a highway officially designated as a State scenic highway. 5. The project is located on a site which is included on any list compiled pursuant to Section 65962. 5 of the Government Code; or The Project is not located on a site included on any list compiled pursuant to Section 65962.5 of the Government Code. 11 Therefore, the Project will have no impacts related to being located on a hazardous waste site. 6. The project may cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a historical resource. Allesandro ES is over 45 years old, meeting LAUSD's threshold for review as a potential historic resource and requiring evaluation for historic eligibility. LAUSD's Historic Preservation Specialist has identified Allesandro ES as not eligible for federal, State, or local listing under any of the applicable criteria and is therefore not considered a historical resource pursuant to CEQA. 12 Therefore, the Project will not cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a historical resource.