PUBLIC SCOPING MEETING

             2015-2025 FACILITIES MASTER PLAN EIS

             FOR THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL

                    AND PREVENTION'S (CDC)

                   EDWARD R. ROYBAL CAMPUS





                            - - -

                   Commencing at 7:30 p.m.

                       January 17, 2013

           Tom Harkin Global Communications Center

                         Building 19

                     1600 Clifton Road NE

                       Atlanta, Georgia

                            - - -
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 1  SPEAKERS:

 2  George F. Chandler, CDC

 3  Toby Kizner, Jacobs Engineering

 4  John Bugga, Mason Mill Civic Association

 5  Bruce MacGregor, Druid Hills Civic Association

 6  Ntale Kajumba

 7  Hal Foster, Victoria Estates

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 1                  PUBLIC SCOPING MEETING

 2                 MR. CHANDLER:  Thanks for coming out.

 3       We'll actually get started with the formal part

 4       of tonight's meeting in about five minutes or so,

 5       so we're almost there.  Thank you.

 6            (Brief pause.)

 7                 MR. CHANDLER:  Good evening, and

 8       welcome to the Edward R. Roybal Campus, global

 9       headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control

10       and Prevention, an Operating Division of the

11       Department of Health and Human Services.

12                 I appreciate you all taking time from

13       your busy schedules tonight to join us at the

14       Public Scoping Meeting for the new 2015-2025

15       Roybal Campus Master Plan Environmental Impact

16       Statement, or EIS for short.

17                 My name is George Chandler, and I am a

18       Senior Advisor at CDC, currently responsible for

19       strategic facility planning and developing the

20       2015-2025 Roybal Plan and EIS.

21                 First, a couple housekeeping items:

22       Restrooms are located at the end of the corridor

23       to my right, outside the auditorium.  Because

24       this is a secure federal campus, please stay in

25       the vicinity of the auditorium and do not explore
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 1       or leave the building except by the way you

 2       entered, through the security checkpoint.

 3                 If you need to take a call or text

 4       message, please step out into the lobby or

 5       hallway.

 6                 If you wish to make comments or offer

 7       information which you believe CDC should consider

 8       in the planning and EIS processes, you may use

 9       the comment cards provided in the lobby, or you

10       may make a verbal statement tonight, or you may

11       submit electronic or mail-in comments to the

12       addresses that will be shown on the final slide

13       of this presentation and that are also in the

14       brochure, or you may use any combination of these

15       comment methods.

16                 Please note that scoping comments must

17       be received on or before February 1st, 2013.

18       All comments received will become part of the

19       public record for the EIS.

20                 The formal portion of the Scoping

21       Meeting tonight will be noted and transcribed by

22       a court reporter and will be available as part of

23       the Draft EIS.

24                 I hope that you found the poster

25       boards, pre-Master Plan video presentation, and
                                                       5




 1       general information provided at the informal

 2       portion of tonight's meeting helpful.

 3                 In this portion of the Scoping Meeting,

 4       we will go over the planning and EIS processes in

 5       a bit more detail and follow up with an

 6       opportunity for anyone in attendance tonight to

 7       make a verbal statement for the record.  If you

 8       wish to make a verbal statement and have not

 9       already signed up, please hold up your hand, and

10       a CDC staff member will assist you with

11       registration.

12                 Commenters will be identified through

13       the registration sheets in no particular order.

14       Please stand when your name is called, and a CDC

15       representative will bring a microphone to you.

16       When you receive the microphone, please clearly

17       state your name and the organization you

18       represent or if you're speaking as a private

19       citizen for the reporter.

20                 In order to give everyone a chance to

21       speak -- that might not be too much of a problem

22       tonight -- I ask that you please limit your

23       comments to no more than three minutes and that

24       your comments pertain to the issue at hand, the

25       Roybal Campus 2015-2025 Master Plan, the EIS, or
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 1       an area of potential impact that we should

 2       consider.  If you are approaching the

 3       three-minute mark, I or another CDC staff member

 4       will verbally alert you.

 5                 So why did CDC ask you here tonight?

 6       Under an EIS, scoping is an early, open process

 7       for determining the scope or range of issues to

 8       be addressed in the EIS and for identifying the

 9       significant issues that might result from

10       implementing one of several potential future

11       Roybal Campus Master Plan alternatives.  It is an

12       opportunity to actively engage in early public

13       involvement in the planning process as we develop

14       a range of alternatives and potentially

15       significant impact areas.  It is also an

16       opportunity to get information directly from CDC

17       as the process unfolds and how we are taking your

18       comments and concerns into account when we select

19       a preferred alternative.

20                 CDC is preparing a new Master Plan for

21       the Roybal Campus in large part because the

22       previous 2000-2009 Master Plan has been

23       implemented at Roybal through the replacement and

24       expansion of the 1950s and 1960s buildings

25       originally on site.  A new long-range plan is
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 1       needed to guide future development of the Campus.

 2       The objectives of the 2009 plan were

 3       substantially different from those of the new

 4       2025 plan in that the previous plan sought to

 5       address outdated, antiquated, and overcrowded

 6       facilities, particularly biological labs, that

 7       were not suitable for long-term use, and the CDC

 8       was growing at that time.

 9                 The 2009 plan addressed these long-term

10       facility needs through the provision of safe,

11       modern, flexible lab, lab support and office

12       buildings, upgraded and expanded utility systems,

13       and greatly improved physical security at the

14       Campus.

15                 In contrast, the 2015-2025 Plan does

16       not envision the wholesale replacement of

17       facilities due to age or obsolescence.  The new

18       plan will examine the need to add space based on

19       new or changing mission requirements, potential

20       agency growth, and in response to increased

21       federal cost and occupancy efficiency

22       requirements for owned and leased space.

23                 Through the EIS process, potential

24       future expansion needs will take into account

25       impacts to the natural and built environments
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 1       through the development of various Campus

 2       alternatives that will be shared with the public

 3       and with local, state, and other federal agencies

 4       and stakeholders for review and comment prior to

 5       CDC selecting a development alternative for the

 6       2015-2025 Plan.

 7                 At this point in the process, scoping,

 8       CDC does not have a preferred alternative and we

 9       do not have detailed information on the number of

10       employees, sizes of buildings, and potential

11       impacts of the various alternatives.  This

12       information will be made available for public

13       review and comment during the second phase of the

14       EIS and a planning process, the Draft

15       Environmental Impact Statement, or DEIS, which

16       will be discussed later in this presentation.

17                 CDC does have a range of conceptual

18       alternatives and broad areas of potential

19       environmental concerns to present to you this

20       evening as we move into detailed planning and

21       impact analysis.  In no particular order, the six

22       conceptual alternatives at the outset of the

23       scoping process are:

24                 No action, or status quo, with no new

25       construction of labs, office buildings, or
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 1       parking decks at Roybal over the 2015-2025

 2       planning period.

 3                 Increase existing space efficiency,

 4       where CDC could increase the number of personnel

 5       at the Campus by laying out space differently and

 6       by increasing -- by increasing office sharing and

 7       other modern workplace practices for office-type

 8       space.  No new office buildings and labs would be

 9       constructed under this alternative, but it is

10       possible that efficiency-driven growth could

11       result in the construction of an additional

12       parking deck.

13                 A laboratory/office mix, where CDC

14       could construct some combination of laboratories,

15       office space, and a parking deck, depending on

16       future growth trends, similar to the mix of lab

17       and office uses currently at the Campus.

18                 The office program focus, where CDC

19       could construct only office-type space and a

20       parking deck to consolidate leases to Roybal and

21       to accommodate future growth.

22                 Laboratory program focus, where CDC

23       could construct only lab, lab support, and a

24       parking deck at Roybal, depending on future

25       laboratory-based mission growth.
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 1                 And a relocation alternative, where CDC

 2       could relocate major portions of current

 3       office-type functions from Roybal to another CDC

 4       Campus and backfill the existing office space

 5       with potential future growth or programs that

 6       would more directly benefit from close proximity

 7       to laboratories.  New labs and a parking deck

 8       could be constructed under this alternative but

 9       no new office buildings.

10                 Please note that there could be

11       possible sub-alternatives and combinations of

12       these alternatives as CDC develops future

13       requirements and based on comments received

14       during the scoping and DEIS phases of the

15       planning and impact review processes.  I also

16       note that eventual approval of the 2015-2025

17       Master Plan and EIS does not constitute actual

18       authority or funding for CDC to construct new

19       facilities.  Major new construction at Roybal

20       would have to be authorized and funded through

21       the Department of Health and Human Services,

22       Office of Management and Budget, and

23       Congressional budget processes.

24                 CDC has identified a number of

25       potential impact areas that need to be considered
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 1       in evaluating these conceptual alternatives,

 2       including but not limited to traffic and

 3       transportation-related impacts; air and water

 4       quality impacts; electricity, water, and natural

 5       gas supply and distribution system impacts;

 6       cumulative impacts in the study area resulting

 7       from the development plans of other major Clifton

 8       corridor employers; and overall community quality

 9       of life in the study area.

10                 At this time, Toby Kizner from Jacobs

11       Engineering, under contract to CDC to assist in

12       the EIS and Master Plan, will explain the EIS

13       processes and timeline in a bit more detail.

14       We'll follow Toby's presentation with an

15       opportunity for verbal public scoping comments

16       from the audience.

17                 MS. KIZNER:  Hi.  My name is Toby

18       Kizner.  I'm with Jacobs, and I am the consultant

19       project manager for the EIS.

20                 The EIS will be prepared pursuant to

21       the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969,

22       commonly referred to as NEPA, which establishes

23       national policy for the protection of the

24       environment.  NEPA provides for consideration of

25       environmental issues in federal agency planning
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 1       and decision-making, mandates public disclosure

 2       of impacts from federal activities, and actively

 3       solicits public participation throughout the

 4       process.  NEPA also requires that there be an

 5       early and open process for determining the scope

 6       of the issues to be addressed in an environmental

 7       impact statement.  This process is commonly known

 8       as scoping, which is the purpose of tonight's

 9       meeting.

10                 As George already mentioned, this is

11       the public's opportunity to identify significant

12       issues to be considered in the EIS.  Input

13       received tonight, as well as through written

14       comments, will be factored into the development

15       of our EIS analyses and mitigation, if necessary.

16                 The EIS will include assessments of the

17       existing or current conditions; future conditions

18       within the study area independent of the proposed

19       project, known as the no-build condition; as well

20       as future conditions with the proposed project in

21       place, identified as the future build condition,

22       for each element of the proposed project.

23                 As George previously mentioned, key

24       areas of analysis for the EIS will include

25       traffic and transportation, air and water
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 1       quality, utility capacity, overall community

 2       quality of life, and the cumulative impacts of

 3       future growth within the study area.  Other areas

 4       that will be evaluated in the EIS include land

 5       use, public policy, community facilities, urban

 6       design and visual resources, cultural resources,

 7       noise, socioeconomic conditions, hazardous

 8       materials, natural resources and sustainability.

 9                 The NEPA process will take roughly 14

10       to 16 months and involves the following steps:

11                 The NEPA process officially starts with

12       the publication of the notice of intent to

13       prepare an EIS, commonly referred to as the NOI.

14       This is the first public notice regarding the

15       EIS, and it starts the scoping process and also

16       advertises the public Scoping Meeting.  The NOI

17       for this project was published in the Federal

18       Register, Atlanta Journal Constitution, the

19       Decatur Dispatch, as well as community websites

20       starting on November 17, 2012.

21                 Once scoping is complete, we will

22       process the public comments and commence our

23       preparation of the Draft EIS.  In addition to

24       looking at the Roybal Campus, CDC has determined

25       that our study area for analysis of the EIS will
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 1       cover a 1-mile radius surrounding the Campus,

 2       bounded roughly by LaVista Road to the north,

 3       Clairmont Road to the east, the DeKalb County

 4       border to the west, and the land south of Decatur

 5       Road to the south.  This will enable us to

 6       consider impacts to the larger community.

 7                 The DEIS discloses to the public why

 8       the action is needed, alternatives available to

 9       address the need for action, and what the impacts

10       will be from the action.

11                 It is anticipated that this DEIS will

12       be issued and available for public comment this

13       coming summer or fall 2013.  The DEIS will be

14       available for a minimum of 45 days for public

15       comment, and a public hearing will be held within

16       the comment period.  Public comments will be

17       solicited in the same manner as the scoping

18       comments.

19                 Similar to the NOI, a notice of

20       availability of the EIS will be published in the

21       same newspapers and websites, which will identify

22       where the DEIS will be made available for public

23       review, the time frame for the public comment

24       period, as well as advertise the DEIS public

25       hearing date.  At this point, we estimate that
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 1       the DEIS public hearing will be scheduled for

 2       late summer or fall 2013.

 3                 After the DEIS comment period is over,

 4       CDC and the EIS team will review all comments,

 5       address substantive issues raised, and identify a

 6       preferred alternative in a revised document.

 7       This revised document will become our Final EIS.

 8       The Final, or FEIS, will also be made available

 9       for public review within a 30-day review period,

10       currently planned for fall 2013 or winter of

11       2014.

12                 At the end of our 30-day review period,

13       CDC will issue a Record of Decision.  The Record

14       of Decision concludes the NEPA process and

15       finalizes the federal decision in terms of the

16       selected alternative that will be implemented and

17       any mitigation proposed.

18                 Thank you for attending our Scoping

19       Meeting tonight and for your continued

20       participation in the EIS process.  Now we will

21       move to the public comment section of tonight's

22       meeting.  If you wish to make comments or offer

23       information you believe CDC should consider in

24       the planning and EIS processes, you may use the

25       comment cards provided in the lobby, or you may
                                                       16




 1       make a verbal statement tonight, or you may

 2       submit electronic or mail-in comments to the

 3       addresses shown on the slide, which is also in

 4       your brochure.  Please note that scoping comments

 5       must be received on or before February 1st, 2013.

 6       All comments received will become part of the

 7       public record for this EIS.

 8                 The formal portion of the meeting

 9       tonight will be noted and transcribed by a court

10       reporter and will be available as part of the

11       Draft EIS.

12                 If you wish to make a verbal statement

13       and have not already signed up, please hold up

14       your hand, and a CDC staff member will assist you

15       with registration.  Commenters will be identified

16       from their registration sheets in no particular

17       order.  Please stand when your name is called,

18       and a CDC representative will bring a microphone

19       to you.  When you receive the microphone, please

20       clearly state your name and the organization you

21       represent or if you are speaking as a private

22       citizen to the reporter.

23                 In order to give everyone a chance to

24       speak -- actually, we won't limit comments

25       tonight.  We generally give comments for three
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 1       minutes, but -- and have your comments pertain to

 2       the issue at hand, the Roybal Campus 2015-2025

 3       Master Plan, the EIS, or an area of potential

 4       impact that we should consider.

 5                 Now let's begin with the public comment

 6       portion.

 7                 MR. BUGGA:  Thank you very much.  My

 8       name is John Bugga.  I am the president of the

 9       Mason Mill Civic Association, which is a

10       neighborhood located about half a mile northeast

11       of the CDC.

12                 I'm very happy to be here.  I'm happy

13       to be able to participate in the process.  I

14       don't have any significant questions at the

15       moment, although one just occurred to me:  One of

16       the slides, I believe, mentioned tree cover or

17       trees.  And I'm wondering what plans there are to

18       maintain the existing tree cover, such as it is,

19       and it doesn't seem to be very -- doesn't seem to

20       be sufficient, and whether there are any --

21       there's any intentions to increase it.  And I say

22       that in the context of Emory University's policy,

23       which has a policy of no loss of tree cover,

24       which has been in force for a number of years.

25       And that's my question.
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 1                 MS. KIZNER:  Natural resources will be

 2       a topic of analysis in the EIS.  Thank you for

 3       your comment.  Do we have any other comments

 4       tonight?  I'd like to thank everybody who's here

 5       tonight.  Another comment.  I'm sorry.

 6                 MR. MACGREGOR:  Thank you.  I'm also

 7       glad to be here.  I'm Bruce MacGregor.  I'm the

 8       president of the Druid Hills Civic Association,

 9       which surrounds this august organization.

10                 I'd like to adjunct what Mr. Bugga said

11       and also ask that you carefully consider the

12       traffic and transportation ease and to work

13       closely with Emory in terms of their carpooling

14       and mass transit and alternative transportation

15       issues.

16                 This is -- the next issue is really

17       larger than the CDC, but I'd also like for you to

18       pursue payment in lieu of taxes to local

19       governments.  We have huge numbers of

20       public-sector employers in central DeKalb and --

21       which creates infrastructure issues that don't

22       pay taxes.  I understand that in other parts of

23       the country, there are provisions for this.

24       Thank you.

25                 MS. KIZNER:  Thank you.  Do we have any
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 1       other commenters?

 2                 MS. KAJUMBA:  My name is Ntale Kajumba.

 3       I have a brief question.

 4                 You've mentioned a previous Master Plan

 5       for, I guess, the year 2000 -- that covered the

 6       year 2000 to 2009 maybe.  Is there any place that

 7       we can find that?  I know you talked about the

 8       differences between this Master Plan and the

 9       next.  But can we find the original Master Plan

10       as a reference?

11                 MS. KIZNER:  George?

12                 MR. CHANDLER:  We can find or make

13       available the 1996 Environmental Impact Statement

14       and all of the analyses that pertain to that

15       plan.  In general, the plans are not public

16       documents.  This one we're redacting to make it a

17       public document.  But we can give you access to

18       all the documentation that supported that claim,

19       the old Environmental Impact Statement that was

20       prepared in '09.  That had the transportation

21       model that was in a lot of the impact statements.

22                 MS. KAJUMBA:  One additional question:

23       Is there going to be a repository like for your

24       presentations, et cetera, that we can go look at

25       for background information to capture this
                                                       20




 1       Scoping Meeting, et cetera?

 2                 MS. KIZNER:  The presentation will be

 3       made available.  Will we be posting it online

 4       CDC?

 5                 MR. CHANDLER:  Yes, in the portal.

 6                 MS. THOMAS:  Can you go to the

 7       microphone?  I'm not able to hear your comments.

 8                 MR. CHANDLER:  Thank you.  Sorry.  Can

 9       you hear me?  Yes.  We will put all of the

10       background information available online through

11       the portal.  It will also be available in the

12       Draft Environmental Impact Statement and the

13       Final Environmental Impact Statement.

14                 MR. FOSTER:  Yes.  Thank you.  My name

15       is Hal Foster.  I'm a resident of Victoria

16       Estates, which borders on the edge right down --

17       right down Mason Mill.

18                 I was under the impression from some --

19       the grapevine in the neighborhood that there was

20       going to be a lot of building down the hill and

21       through the woods and back up, which, apparently,

22       everything I've seen, is not the case, at least

23       not with CDC.  So -- but a minute ago, you did

24       mention a 1-mile radius of -- of interest.  And

25       what I'd like to know is what exactly does that
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 1       consist of as far as your -- your interest and

 2       study and whatnot, because that does include our

 3       neighborhood.

 4                 MS. KIZNER:  Our 1-mile radius is a

 5       study area for all the topics in the analysis

 6       conducted in the Environmental Impact Statement.

 7       That area will be covered in those analyses.

 8                 MR. FOSTER:  So this will be then to

 9       come; right?

10                 MS. KIZNER:  Yes.

11                 MR. FOSTER:  Thank you.

12                 MS. KIZNER:  Thank you.

13                 MR. CHANDLER:  This is George Chandler.

14       I'd just add for clarification, CDC is not

15       considering any additional property acquisition

16       outside of the existing boundaries of Roybal

17       Campus under these alternatives.

18                 MS. KIZNER:  Do we have any other

19       comments this evening?  Thank you, everybody.

20            (Meeting adjourned at 7:56 p.m.)

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 1                   C E R T I F I C A T E

 2  STATE OF GEORGIA )

 3  COUNTY OF DEKALB )

 4            I hereby certify that the foregoing

 5       transcript was taken down, as stated in the

 6       caption, and the proceedings were reduced to

 7       typewriting under my direction and control.

 8            I further certify that the transcript is a

 9       true and correct record of the evidence given at

10       the said proceedings.

11            I further certify that I am neither a

12       relative nor employee nor attorney nor counsel to

13       any of the parties, nor financially or otherwise

14       interested in this matter.

15            This the 26th day of January 2013.

16

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18                      ________________________________
                        AUDREY MICHELLE LING, CCR-B-1752
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