Pinewood Early Education Center (EEC) — Outdoor Classroom and Campus Upgrade

2026090368

Los Angeles Unified School District

NOE - Notice of Exemption

9/9/2026

9/9/2026

Bryan Ramos Fernandez

Los Angeles Unified School District

CEQA Project Manager

Lead/Public Agency

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

(213) 241-4210

cp-bryan.fernandez@lausd.net

0.4

The Pinewood Early Education Center Outdoor Classroom and Campus Upgrade (Project) is located at 7051 Valmont Street in the neighborhood of Tujunga within the City of Los Angeles. It is bound by Day Street to the north, Silverton Avenue to the east, Valmont Street to the south, and Pinewood Avenue to the west. The Project will occur on approximately 0.4 acres of Pinewood Early Education Center (Pinewood EEC or Campus). The Campus is located adjacent to Pinewood Avenue Elementary School in an urbanized community primarily consisting of residential uses.

Categorical Exemption

15301, 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 construct an outdoor classroom by dividing the existing playground area into distinct activity areas with paving, new playground matting, and landscaping. The Project also provides new heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) units, roofing, irrigation system, exterior painting of the Children's Center Building, as well as necessary upgrades to the fire alarm system and utilities. All Project components will involve minor alterations and will occur within areas occupied by existing facilities at the Project site. The Project components will not present a new or expanded use of the Project site. Therefore, the Project fulfills the requirements of CEQA Guidelines Section 15301. 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 the removal of healthy, mature, scenic trees except for forestry and agricultural purposes. The Project will construct an outdoor classroom by dividing the existing playground area into distinct activity areas with paving, new playground matting, and landscaping. The Project also provides new heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) units, roofing, irrigation system, exterior painting of the Children's Center Building, as well as necessary upgrades to the fire alarm system and utilities. No scenic trees will be removed. 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. 1. The projects would occur in certain specified sensitive environments or locations; The Project site is a fully developed Campus within an urbanized area of Tujunga and is primarily surrounded by residential uses. The Project site is not designated as a biologically sensitive location. The nearest significant ecological area (SEA) is the Tujunga Valley/Hansen Dam SEA located approximately two miles north of the Project site. The nearest threatened or endangered species is the Santa Ana sucker located approximately two miles north of the Project site at Big Tujunga Wash. As such, the Project will not affect 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 Project to keep them 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 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 upgrades associated with the Project are comparable to other modernizations and improvements that are being completed throughout the District under the School Upgrade Program. 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. lf 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 Standard Conditions of Approval for District Construction, Upgrade, and Improvements Projects. 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. All Project related ground disturbing activities would comply with SC-AQ-1, SC-AQ-2, SC-AQ-3, and SC-AQ-4. Since the Project involves the removal of pavement, soil sampling and testing has or will be conducted and a determination memorandum will be created for the Campus prior to demolition and removal of the paving materials. If justified by the determination memorandum, excavated soils would only be reused onsite if they are placed beneath paved areas. 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 I466, and other applicable environmental agency rules and requirements. Furthermore, as set forth in SC-CUL-7, SC-CUL-9, SC-CUL-10, and SC-CUL-11 of the Standard Conditions of Approval for District Construction, Upgrade, and Improvements Projects, and in District protocols, 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 t0 scenic resources, including but not limited t0 trees, historic buildings, rock outcroppings, or similar resources within a highway officially designated as a state scenic highway; The closest designated state scenic highway is the Angeles Crest Scenic Highway, a 55.1-mile portion of State Route 2 (SR-2) which is located approximately 5.8 miles south of Pinewood EEC. 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 of the Government Code; or The Project site is not located on any list compiled pursuant to Section 65962.5 of the Government Code.” 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. The Campus opened in 1971 meeting LAUSD‘s threshold for review as a potential historic resource and requiring evaluation for historic eligibility. LAUSD’S Historic Preservation Specialist has determined that the Campus is 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. Therefore, the Project will not cause substantial adverse changes in the significance of a historic resource.