Eagle Rock High School Relocatable Buildings Replacement

2026060013

Los Angeles Unified School District

NOE - Notice of Exemption

6/1/2026

6/1/2026

Zulema Renteria

Los Angeles Unified School District

Environmental Planning Specialist

Lead/Public Agency

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

(213) 241-3432

zulema.renteria@lausd.net

The Eagle Rock High School - Relocatable Buildings Replacement Project will be located on the approximately 24.5-acre Eagle Rock High School campus (Eagle Rock HS or Campus). The Campus is located at 1750 Yosemite Drive in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles. It is bound by Yosemite Drive to the north, Vincent Avenue to the east, Oak Grove to the south and La Roda Avenue to the west. The Campus is located in an urbanized community primarily consisting of single-family residences located along Yosemite Drive, Vincent Avenue and Oak Grove. Recreational land uses are located on La Roda Avenue.

Categorical Exemption

15301, 15302, 15304, 15311, 15314

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 proposed Project consists of demolishing eight (8) existing bungalow buildings and associated stairs, ramps, sitework, and utilities, and installing six (6) new relocatable classroom buildings on permanent foundations with related utilities, sitework, landscaping, the addition of two (2) fire hydrants on site and upgrading the fire alarm system. The Project will not generate growth or require the addition or construction of new or expanded facilities. Therefore, the Project fulfills 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. The proposed Project will demolish and replace bungalows and associated landscape, hardscape, and infrastructure upgrades and make necessary upgrades to fire alarm system. The proposed Project will not result in an increase or alteration of the current use, function, or capacity of the 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 include the installation of new bungalows on new permanent foundations, and associated landscape, hardscape, and infrastructure upgrades that involve minimal land disturbance. The Project will not involve major grading, excavation, other significant alterations to land, or removal of any trees. Therefore, the Project satisfies the requirements of CEQA Guidelines Section 15304. Section 15311 - Accessory Structures Class 11 consists of construction or replacement of minor structures accessory to (appurtenant to) existing commercial, industrial, or institutional facilities, including, but not limited to, on-premises signs and small parking lots. The Project will include the installation of new bungalows, and associated landscape, hardscape, and infrastructure upgrades on existing campus. The Project will also upgrade the existing fire alarm system. The Campus upgrades are consistent with the existing use of the Project areas and will result in necessary upgrades to Campus learning facilities. These structures are minor accessories to the Campus. Therefore, the Project satisfies the requirements of CEQA Guidelines Section 15311 . Section 15314 - Minor Additions to Schools Class 14 consists of minor additions to existing schools within existing school grounds where the addition does not increase original student capacity by more than 25% or ten classrooms, whichever is less. The addition of portable classrooms is included in this exemption. The Project will include the installation of new bungalows, and associated landscape, hardscape, and infrastructure upgrades on the Campus. The number of classrooms will decrease from 16 to 12 classrooms or by 25%. The Project will also upgrade the existing fire alarm system. The Campus upgrades are consistent with the existing use of the Project areas and will result in necessary upgrades to Campus learning facilities. These structures are minor additions to the Campus. Therefore, the Project satisfies the requirements of CEQA Guidelines Section 15314. 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 it will not violate any of the exceptions, as described in the following section. 1. The project will occur in certain specified sensitive environments or locations; The Project site is a fully developed Campus within a heavily urbanized area of Los Angeles that abuts the Occidental College campus and open spaces to the south, residential uses to the north and east, and the Yosemite Recreation Center to the west. The site is not designated as a biologically sensitive location. The nearest significant ecological area (SEA) is the Verdugo Mountains SEA in Glendale located approximately 3.74 miles north of the Project site. The nearest sensitive environment to the Project site is the Coastal California gnatcatcher habitat in Montebello located approximately 9.2 miles south of the Project site. As such, the Project will not impact sensitive environments or locations. 2. Cumulative impacts will 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 school operational. There are currently no known successive projects of the same type or scale planned for the Campus. As the Project would not result in any lasting impacts once construction of the Project is complete, the Project would not contribute to cumulative impacts when considered with expected successive projects. Therefore, no cumulative impacts will result from the Project and successive projects of the same type and at the same place over time. 3. There is a reasonable possibility that the activity will 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 not anticipated as part of the proposed scope of work. However, should the Project be altered to include the removal of trees, LAUSD's Office of Environmental Health & Safety (OEHS) must be notified immediately. District policy requires consultation with an arborist to determine if the trees are a protected native species. All tree trimming and removal conducted on District property is required to adhere to the procedures described in the LAUSD OEHS Tree Trimming and Removal Procedure. 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 (SC) of approval SC-BIO-3 of the Program EIR. The Project will 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 are 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 01 4524, relevant provisions of South Coast Air Quality Management District Rule 1466, and other applicable environmental agency rules and requirements.8 Furthermore, as set forth in SC-CUL-6, SC-CUL-7, SC-CUL-10, and SC-GEO-2 of the Program EIR, 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. Lastly, any construction and demolition waste shall be recycled to the maximum extent feasible per SC-USS-1. 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 the Angeles Crest State Scenic Highway, a 55.1-mile portion of State Route 2 (SR-2), which is located approximately 6.8 miles northwest of the Campus. 11 The Project will not result in the removal of historic buildings, rock outcroppings, or other scenic resources. Therefore, the Project will 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 the Government Code; or The Project site is not located on any sites that are included on any list compiled pursuant to Government Code Section 65962.5. 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 historic resource. Eagle Rock HS was established in 1927. The LAUSD Historic Preservation Specialist determined that Eagle Rock HS is ineligible as a historic resource.