BOSTON — The city of Boston has found that a plan to replace the West End branch of the Boston Public Library with a 14-story building of affordable apartments over a larger library will have no significant impact on the environment, according to a notice the Mayor's Office of Housing issued Thursday.

The finding means a full environmental impact statement under the National Environmental Policy Act is not required, the notice said. It also opens a public comment period before the city asks the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to release federal money for the project.

The project, on Cambridge Street, would replace the existing one-story library with a building of about 176,517 square feet: 12 stories of housing above a two-story library of about 19,065 square feet, which the city said would be more than double the size of the current branch. Plans also call for an outdoor plaza.

The building would have about 119 income-restricted apartments for households earning less than 80% of the area median income, ranging from studios to three-bedroom units, and is expected to house about 200 to 300 people, the city said. No one would be displaced because the site has no housing now, according to the notice.

The developer is Preservation of Affordable Housing Inc. The city put the total cost at about $153.8 million, including up to $6 million in federal HOME Program funds from Boston.

The Boston Housing Authority will separately seek HUD approval to make 32 of the apartments new public housing units supported by a federal operating subsidy, estimated at $28.87 million over a 20-year contract, the notice said.

Written comments on the environmental review may be sent to [email protected] and are due by Dec. 1. The city expects to submit its funding request to HUD on or about Dec. 2.

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