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MAY 2 4 1983
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City Council Meeting 5-24-83
Santa Monica, California
STAFF REPORT
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: City Attorney
SUBJECT: Resolution Adopting City CEQA Guidelines
The California Environmental Quality Act of 1970 ("CEQA")
requires that the City adopt local guidelines for implementation
of the law. Existing City of Santa Monica CEQA Guidelines were
adopted on April 10, 1973 and have not been amended or revised
since that date. Numerous changes in CEQA and the State CEQA
Guidelines mandate that the City CEQA Guidelines be brought into
conformity with the current state of the law. The new .guidelines
completely replace the old and outdated guidelines.
The City Attorney's Office has prepared a comprehensive
revision to the City CEQA Guidelines. On March 8, 1983, the
proposed Guidelines were submitted to the City Council. The City
Council referred the proposed Guidelines to the Planning
Commission for comments. On May 16, 1983, the Planning
Commission conducted a public hearing on the proposed Guidelines.
At the conclusion of the. hearing, the Planning Commission
commended the proposed Guidelines and recommended that they be
adopted by the City Council.
The proposed CEQA Guidelines are intended to codify
procedures to ensure compliance with CEQA. The responsibility
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for the preparation of environmental documents will be with the
Community and Economic Development Department. To the greatest
extent possible, the ultimate authority to determine the adequacy
of environmental documents will be vested in the City department
or body which has the primary decision-making or implementation
responsibility for the proposed project. This continuity of
authority will ensure that decision-making bodies will adequately
consider the foreseeable environmental impacts of a proposed
project.
The following is an article by article analysis of the
proposed CEQA Guidelines:
Article I. General. The purpose of CEQA is to enable
Decision-Making Bodies to consider the environmental .effects of a
proposed project in order to intelligently consider less adverse
alternatives or to incorporate feasible mitigation measures into
the approval of the project. The identification of adverse
environmental impacts does not require that a project be
disapproved; however, the Decision-making Body must mitigate or
avoid the significant impacts to the extent feasible.
This article designates the Community and Economic
Development Department as the City Agency with the responsibility
for the adequacy and objectivity of EIRS subject to certain
exceptions set forth in Section 9(b) This article also
designates the general responsibilities of other City departments
and officers.
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Article II. Definitions. This article adds certain terms
and amplifies upon other terms which are regularly used in the
context of complying with CEQA. Clarification of these terms is
intended to promote consistency in the orderly processing of
environmental documents.
Article III. Application to City Activities. This article
sets forth the general rule that CEQA applies to any
' discretionary activity by the City which may have a significant
effect on the environment. This article also establishes a
general exemption from CEQA when it can be seen with reasonable
certainty that an action could not possibly have a significant
effect on the environment.
The article enumerates certain actions which are exempt
from CEQA. Exemption determinations will be made by the Lead
City Agency which is charged with the authority to make
recommendations and implement decisions of the Decision-Making
Body of the City. This article establishes a procedure to make
multiproject environmental reviews including program EIRs, master
EIRs, staged EIRS, and EIRs prepared in conjunction with the
adoption of general plan elements.
Particular attention should be given to Section 2 which
describes the City's procedure for complying with CEQA.
Article IV. Initial Study. This article sets forth the
standards and procedures for the preparation of Initial Studies.
For any project that is not exempt from CEQA and which does not
clearly require the preparation of an EIR, the Lead City Agency
shall request that the Community and Economic Development
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Department prepare an Initial Study. The purpose of an Initial
Study is to determine whether a proposed project may have a
significant effect on the environment. An EIR will be prepared
in the event that the Initial Study determines that a project may
have a significant effect on the environment.
Article V. Negative Declaration. This article provides
that a negative declaration shall be prepared for a project which
could potentially have a significant effect on the environment,
but which the Initial Study has determined will not have a
significant effect on the environment. The preparation of a
proposed negative declaration commences a minimum 30 day review
period by the public and other regulatory bodies. The Negative
Declaration must be adopted by the Decision-Making Body prior to
the approval of a project.
Article VI. Preparation and Processing of EIRs. The EIR
for a project shall be prepared by the Community and Economic
Development Department or an applicant by their own efforts or by
contract. The EIR will be prepared after consultation with each
Responsible Agency and persons or organizations who are likely to
be concerned with the environmental effects of a project.
A Draft EIR will be prepared which analyzes each possible
environmental effect identified in the Initial Study. When the
Draft EIR is completed, a Notice of Completion must be filed with
the Secretary of Resources. The filing of the Notice of
Completion commences a public review period which must exceed 30
days. Other interested regulatory agencies shall be notified and
their comments considered. A public hearing will be conducted
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for large or complex projects or if there is a significant degree
of public interest in the proposed project.
A Final EIR will include the Draft EIR, a list of persons,
organizations and public agencies commenting on the draft EIR and
a brief summary of the significant information contained in the
EIR. The Final EIR will also include an evaluation of all
relevant comments received during the review period.
The Lead City Agency shall make recommendations to the
Decision-Making Body regarding the following:
1. Feasible mitigation measures which may be incorporated
as a condition of approval of a project.
2. whether their are reasonable alternatives to the
project which would significantly reduce adverse environmental
impacts.
3. whether the project should be approved.
The Final EIR must be certified by the Decision-Making Body
as complying with CEQA and the State and City CEQA Guidelines.
The Decision-Making Body has a duty to mitigate or avoid adverse
environmental effects when feasible. No project shall be
approved unless the Decision-Making Body makes one of the
following three findings for each significant environmental
effect identified in the Final EIR:
1. Changes or alteration have been required, or
incorporated into, the project which mitigate or avoid the
significant environmental effects thereof as identified in the
Final EIR.
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2. Such changes or alteration are within the
responsibility and jurisdiction of another public agency and not
the City of Santa Monica-and such changes have been adopted by
such other agency or can and should be adopted by such other
agency.
3. Specific economic, social, or other considerations make
infeasible the mitigation measures or project alternatives
identified in the Final EIR.
In conjunction with Finding Number 3, the Decision-Making
Body must adopt a Statement of Overriding Considerations which
contains a finding which enumerates the social, economic, or
other environmental benefits which outweigh the environmental
costs identified in the Final EIR.
Article VII. Categorical Exemptions This article codifies
various categorical exemptions. There are 27 classes of
Categorical Exemptions. The most significant of these classes of
exemptions are as follows:
Class 1. Existing Facilities: This category provides an
exemption for maintenance, repair or minor alteration of existing
public or private facilities.
Class 2. Replacement or Reconstruction: This category
provides an exemption for the replacement or reconstruction of
existing facilities and structures where the new structure will
be situated on the same site and will have substantially the same
purpose and capacity as the structure replaced.
Class 3. New Construction of Small Structures: This
categorical exemption includes construction of single family
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residences, less than 5 unit apartments, stores, offices and
similar small commercial structures (subject to clear
limitations), and related services.
Class 4. Minor Alteration to Land: This categorical
exemption encompasses minor public or private alteration to the
condition of land, water, or vegetation which do not involve the
removal of mature, scenic trees.
Class ~. Alterations in Land Use Limitations: This
category includes minor land use limitations which do not result
in any changes in land use or density. Examples included within
this category are minor lot line adjustments, side yard and
setback variances, and conveyances of easements.
Class 6. Information Collection: Data collection and
resource evaluation is exempt from CEQA.
Article VIII. Additional Environmental Assessment. This
article provides for a supplemental environmental review in the
event that subsequent changes occur in a project after approval
or substantial changes in the environment occur after the
preparation of the original environmental documents.
Article IX. City as a Responsible Agency. This article
sets forth the procedures for complying with CEQA when the City
is acting as a Responsible Agency. A Responsible Agency either
proposes to carry out or has approval power over a project, but
is not the Lead Agency. A Responsible Agency complies with CEQA
by considering environmental documents prepared by the Lead
Agency and rendering its own determination as to whether and how
to approve the project involved.
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Article X. Time Limitations for Complying With CEQA. As a
general rule, an Initial Study will be completed within 45 days
after an application for a project is complete; a Negative
Declaration will be certified within 105 days after an
application is complete; and an EIR will be certified no later
than one year after an application is complete.
RECOMMENDATION
It is respectfully recommended that the City Council adopt
the accompanying resolution approving the City CEQA Guidelines.
PREPARED BYc Robert M. Myers, City Attorney
Jonathan S. Horne, Deputy City Attorney
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