NullReferenceException is thrown when opening GardenScene in URP 17.3.0 sample

How to reproduce:

1. Create a new project and select the "Universal 3D sample" template and ensure the template version is 17.3.0
2. Open the Garden scene (Assets/Scenes/Garden/GardenScene)
3. Observe the Console errors

Actual Result: NullReferenceException is thrown immediately after opening the scene
Expected Result: The scene loads successfully without any errors in the Console window

Reproducible with: 17.3.0 (6000.5.0b12, 6000.6.0a7)
Not reproducible with: 17.2.1 (6000.5.0b12, 6000.6.0a7)
Could not test with: 17.3.0 (6000.0.77f1, 6000.3.17f1, 6000.4.11f1 (different Console errors are thrown))

Reproducible on: Windows 11
Not reproducible on: No other environments tested

Note: Error message: NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object