3) Maintain mutual aid agreements with neighboring cities and the County of San Bernardino and develop partnerships with other emergency relief organizations. 4) Designate emergency shelters, including potential outdoor shelter locations that are often preferred by the Hispanic population. 5) Establish traffic control contingency plans by the City s Police Department for disaster routes. 6) Coordinate the identification of casualty collection points and police/fire staging areas with local public safety agencies. 7) Enhance public awareness and preparedness by encouraging residents to store supplies for self-reliance in the event of isolation. 8) Offer education programs for residents and businesses regarding disaster mitigation measures to taker prior to, during, and after emergencies. 9) Involve the public in the awareness of City emergency response plans, resources, risk reduction and mitigation measures. 10) Compile and maintain inventories of facilities with special risks, hazards and needs, that may create special response situations during disasters. 11) Continue to participate in regional emergency exercises. 12) Support the development of local preparedness plans and multi-jurisdictional cooperation and communication for emergency situations consistent with regional, state, and federal standards, guidelines and/or recommendations. CHAPTER 12: NOISE ELEMENT ISSUE #1: NOISE AND LAND USE PLANNING CONNECTION How can the City ensure that its sensitive areas and land uses are not subject to excessive noise? GOAL #1: Our City protects its sensitive land uses from excessive noise through diligent planning. 1) Review all development applications for consistency with the standards and policies of the Noise Element of the General Plan as well as the City noise ordinance. City of Fontana General Plan L-39
2) Discourage the development of new sensitive land uses (unless mitigable) within 200 feet of any freeway or Metrolink corridor and within 500 feet of the Union Pacific rail corridor. (Note that this measure would also mitigate any potential vibration impacts as feasible.) 3) Install as feasible noise mitigation features (e.g., sound walls) where rail or freeway operations impact existing and new adjacent residential or other noise-sensitive uses. 4) Enforce the California Building Standards that sets standards for building construction to mitigate interior noise levels to the tolerable 45 dba CNEL limit. These standards are utilized in conjunction with the Uniform Building Code by the City s Building Department to ensure that noise protection is provided to the public. Some design features may include extra-dense insulation, double-paned windows, and dense construction materials. 5) Require developers to consider the composite noise from all sources (e.g., on-road vehicles, aircraft, and railroad) when siting new sensitive development. 6) Encourage developers to use the build-out, on-road noise contour map to protect noisesensitive land uses from high levels of noise for sensitive development in excess of 0.5 mile from any railroad corridor or within 0.5 mile of the 65 dba CNEL from any airport operations. 7) Within 0.5 mile of any railroad corridor or 65 dba CNEL from aircraft operations, require developers to perform and submit site specific noise studies. Noise level measurements should be of at least 15 minutes in duration and should include simultaneous vehicle counts on adjacent roads so that more accurate vehicle ratios may be used in modeling ambient noise levels. Actual 24-hour CNEL noise measurements may be obtained in lieu of modeling, but must ultimately consider future growth within the City. 8) Ensure that sensitive use developers are using the most current airport land use compatibility noise contour maps in the environmental review process. L-40 IMPLEMENTATION MATRIX
9) Encourage sensitive-use developers to utilize natural barriers such as hills and berms to assist in noise reduction, to reduce noise in habitable exterior areas through building design that provides acoustical shielding, and to consider the potential impacts from schoolyard activities and provide adequate mitigation. 10) Where development is to occur in areas in excess of 65 dba CNEL, ensure that developers attain a 65 dba CNEL in habitable exterior areas through the use of 1) noise buffers such as extended setbacks (preferred) or 2) berms and/or block walls. ISSUE #2: NOISE AND TRANSPORTATION CONNECTION How can the City reduce the effects of transportation-related noise on its residents/occupants? GOAL #2: Our City has a diverse and efficiently operated ground transportation system that generates the minimum feasible noise on its residents. 1) Work with local and neighboring law enforcement officials and the California State Highway Patrol to ensure enforcement of the State Motor Vehicle noise standards. Issue fix it citations to vehicles observed to create excessive noise due to modification or mechanical failure. 2) Develop local legislation to cite those vehicles observed to operate excessively loud car audio systems. 3) Develop local legislation to promote the citing of unmanned vehicles observed idling at the roadside. 4) Disallow/discourage the use of Jake brakes adjacent to residential areas. 5) Place a 5 ton gross vehicle weight limit on through traffic in residential and sensitive areas. 6) Post and enforce residential speed limits at 25 mph. 7) Post and enforce a speed limits at 25 mph or the lowest practical speed adjacent to other sensitive uses (e.g., hospital zone). 8) Require that new road projects consider the efficacy of using the most current quiet asphalt. City of Fontana General Plan L-41
9) Work with City staff and Caltrans to ensure that all roadways are adequately maintained and paving is free of cracks, bumps, and potholes. 10) During the environmental review process, require that industrial and commercial projects adequately consider the percentage/number of trucks added to the road (as opposed to just the total daily traffic volumes). 11) Require that new road projects mitigate noise to within 5 dba of existing levels if the noise level remains within the goals of the General Plan Noise Element (Figure 12-1) or 3 dba of existing levels if the noise exceeds or would exceed these goals at any existing sensitive land uses or any vacant areas slated for subsequent sensitive development. 12) Encourage the development and use of alternative transportation modes including bicycle paths and pedestrian walkways to minimize vehicular noise within and adjacent to sensitive receptor areas. 13) Actively participate in the development of noise abatement plans for freeways and rapid transit. 14) Restrict the use of motorized trail bikes, mini-bikes, scooters, skateboards, and other off-road vehicles in areas of the City except where designated for that purpose. Enforce strict operating hours for these vehicles in order to minimize noise impacts on sensitive land uses adjacent to public trails and parks. Cite users of these vehicles who use them on designated bike paths. ISSUE #3: NON-TRANSPORTATION NOISE AND LAND USE CONNECTION How can the City ensure that its sensitive areas and land uses are not subject to excessive spill-over noise? GOAL #3: Our City s residents are protected from the negative effects of spill over noise in our community. 1) Establish and enforce a new community noise ordinance that clearly defines allowable levels of noise intrusion on adjoining land uses. 2) Ensure that the new noise ordinance considers the State-mandated exterior and interior noise level standards. L-42 IMPLEMENTATION MATRIX
3) Require that on-site truck and railroad traffic for existing and new facilities be subject to stationary source noise regulations to be included in the ordinance. 4) Ensure that existing facilities comply with the new ordinance through Code Enforcement. 5) Continue to recommend that the County of San Bernardino enforce the current noise restrictions imposed on the California Speedway. 6) Require that detailed and independent acoustical studies be conducted for any new or renovated land uses or structures determined to be potential major stationary noise sources. 7) Require major stationary noise-generating sources to be located within 500 feet of any zoned residential areas to install additional noise buffering or reduction mechanisms within their facilities to reduce noise generation levels to the lowest extent practicable prior to the approval and/or issuance of new Conditional Use Permits for said facilities. 8) Require that new industrial and commercial land uses consider the noise from on-site operations (including unloading/loading activities) and its potential impacts on vacant land slated for subsequent sensitive use development during the environmental review process. 9) Require that new industrial and commercial land uses design their sites so as to route truck/train traffic as far as possible from adjoining, more sensitive uses. Alternatively, require these facilities to provide acoustic shielding (e.g., sound walls) to protect more sensitive land uses from onsite vehicle movement. 10) Require that new industrial and commercial land uses orient their loading docks so as to maintain the maximum distance from adjoining, more sensitive land uses. Alternatively, require these facilities to provide acoustic shielding (e.g., sound walls of enclosed docks) for on-site loading operations. City of Fontana General Plan L-43
11) Require schools to meet the stationary noise standards for the zoned land use any proximate sensitive land uses. This may require that schools include sound walls or in the case of new facilities, orient their athletic fields away from sensitive adjoining land uses. 12) Require that schools terminate any outdoor athletic or social events (e.g., graduation ceremony) prior to 10:00 p.m. if conducted within 500 feet of any sensitive land uses. Alternatively, require that the school obtain a noise variance for these activities. 13) Establish acceptable standards for residential noise sources such as, but not limited to, leaf blowers, audio equipment, and boisterous conduct. 14) Require that new residential development include the most current and quiet stationary noise sources such as air conditioners and swimming pool equipment. 15) Require that commercial and residential mixed-use structures minimize the transfer or transmission of noise and vibration from the commercial land use to the residential land use. 16) Minimize the generation of excessive noise level impacts from entertainment and restaurant/bar establishments into adjacent residential or noise-sensitive uses through compliance with the noise ordinance. 17) Include and enforce provisions for such things as residential parties, barking dogs, boisterous conduct, etc. in the noise ordinance. 18) Ensure that construction activities are regulated to established hours of operation to be included in the noise ordinance. L-44 IMPLEMENTATION MATRIX
19) Condition subdivision approval within 500 feet of developed/occupied noise-sensitive land uses by requiring the developer to submit a construction-related noise mitigation plan to the City for review and approval prior to issuance of a grading permit. The plan must depict the location of construction equipment and how the noise from this equipment will be mitigated during construction of this project, through the use of such methods as: a. Temporary noise attenuation fences; b. Preferential location of equipment; and c. Use of current noise suppression technology and equipment. 20) Require that all construction equipment utilizes noise reduction features (e.g. mufflers and engine shrouds) that are no less effective than those originally installed by the manufacturer. 21) To mitigate both noise and vibration, require that any pile driving within 1,000 feet of any developed/occupied sensitive land use be subject to those construction requirements set for construction within 500 feet of these land uses. CHAPTER 13: AIR QUALITY ELEMENT ISSUE #1: COST/BENEFIT OF IMPROVED AIR QUALITY What is the cost/benefit of Improved Air Quality? GOAL #1: Air quality improvements are achieved in our City while continued economic growth has been sustained. 1) Seek the placement of a city staff member on an Air Quality improvement committee as a means of influencing SCAQMD policies and programs. 2) Create permit streamlining procedures relating to conformity with emissions standards. 3) Ensure that City Planning Staff that review environmental studies are aware of current air quality reduction methods and are open to new technology. Make a conscience effort to facilitate those projects that go beyond the requisite rules and regulations to reduce air emissions. City of Fontana General Plan L-45