HomeMy WebLinkAboutA- 5 Adoption of CEQA Guidelines MEMORANDUM
City of Azusa Department of
Community Development rEALE
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
HONORABLE CHAIRMAN AND REDEVELOPMENT A .. iii OF DIREC ORS
FROM: A,
ROY E.BRUCKNE'�:: CTOR OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
ROBB STEEL,INT 0,' REDEVELOPME D r 'CTOR
VIA: HENRY GARCIA,CITY ADMINISTRATO ('
DATE: SEPTEMBER 30, 1997
SUBJECT: ADOPTION OF CEQA GUIDELINES
The California Environmental Quality Act(CEQA)was adopted in 1970,and sets forth requirements
to evaluate environmental impacts of proposed projects. While State law is fairly specific regarding
the requirements for such environmental impact evaluation,local guidelines for the implementation
of CEQA are required, and must be consistent with State law.
These local guidelines are essentially detailed provisions and steps that must be followed in
implementing CEQA. Most of these steps are Staff's responsibilities to accomplish as part of their
ongoing responsibilities to evaluate proposed projects. The City of Azusa last amended its CEQA
guidelines several years ago. They are once again in need of amendment to reflect current State law,
and are attached for your review and approval.
In order to incorporate a point that recently arose, it is recommended that page 55 be amended to
include the following:
After the third paragraph, insert new paragraph....
"In the event the Lead Agency desires to extend the review period, the City Council or
Redevelopment Agency Board in case of redevelopment projects, shall make such a
determination. The number of additional days of extension shall be specified, so that the
total number days of the review period shall not exceed 90 days. The State Clearinghouse
shall be notified of the Lead Agency's action to extend the public comment period."
Recommended Action
The City Council and Redevelopment Agency Board should adopt the attached CEQA Guidelines
as amended.
A46/1//o/ /f
6-6/164-
1
Iv,N...,
B.4t
BES BE • T & KRIEGER LLP •
mous— LI O LIAS41 PARTNtRSINP INCLUDING PROFtSSONAL CORPORATION/
-Nt LAWYERS
400 MISSION SOUARE
LE+ ROGER K. CRAWFORD
B. JOHN R. PERRY 3750 UNIVERSITY AVENUE
Ap LITTLCW M• STEPHEN P. 0 SC KIM A. SYRENBNSHAWN POST OFFICE BOX 1028
W M OSWOCF - MARC R. R011
MARY C. OILSTRAP KEITH L. HIGGINS
J t0 ,AERH L. CA NTOR• OHMRROTTS • CR 9. HENRYCYNTHR M.WELLESGERMO MITCHELL L. NORTON RIVERSIDE. CALIFORNIA 92502-1028
RIC ARO ANGERS• R G. HEPIERO C. DALLARDA
J OHN O. .HAR• y DINA 0. HARRISTELEPHONE (9097 686-1450
MICHAEL . HARRIS• SCOTT B.
LA` $ . . BARON DWIGHT N. MONTGOMERY
JOHN E. BROWN• JACKIA LEWISSS. RICHARD TEGGER JAMES P. MORRIS TELECOPIERS
MICHAEL T. JURY'• BRIAN M. C. NEU KEVIN T. COLLINS (909) 886-3083 HH2'4QYL
BRADLEYU B RMACIC D DEAN R.P.
R CYE KRISTI L. GUDOSKI P
MEREDITH J.
JURY. PETER M.MORRISRSOLEAL ORE7ER .
MICHAEL GRANT• MATT H. SOMA RUBIO CARVALNO CAR7N L. CRAIG ,
FRANCIS J. BADS• JEFFREY V. DUNN JULIANN ANDERSON
0.ANNE T.T THOMAS• STEVEN C. D[BAUN PATRICIA BYARS CISNEROS OF COUNSEL
G. MARTIN NETNERY• ERIC L GARNER• JACOUELINE E. BAILEY GLEO L 3UNSELN3•
GEORGE W.M. RETES•FLOYD. DENNIS M. COTA SUSAN D. WILSON JOHN S.STEPHEN
WILLIAM HAROKEO. JR. P H W F PEARCE DAVID J. HANCO-K
GREGORY M.
DONALD F. TOBIN •
KENDALLCLARK N.ALS
OVVEY C. MICHAEL COWHARET AVCS PHILIPDAVID M. S AL IV HENRY R. KRAFT.
AVIDJ.
RWIN' B. BEACH _ RI. RAST
BRUCE W. MARC T. RASION STRAND
MICHL J.EWIN• ARLENE PRATER MARGUERITE 5.
MICHAEL J. ANDELSON• OFFICES IN
DOUGLAS S. PHILLIPS JASON D. DABAREINER KARENEFFREY 3.EPLIASHMAN
GREGORY K. WILKINSON MARK A. EASTER RANCHO (6187 588-2811
WENNE S. FURTH MICHELLE OUELLETTE JEFFREY T. MELCHNOONTARMIRAGEO (BOB) 959-9394
GENE TAN AKA WILLIAM S. DAHLINO. JR. SACHT D. B.HOWIE
B ASIL ICTO T. CHAPMAN KIRK W. SMITH ZACHARYHlLEYR. TERTON RAYMOND BEST (1588-1937)
KYLE A. SNOW ME E. PETERSON SAN DIEGO (819) 325-1300
VICTOR L. WOLFWILLIAJAMES N. KRIEGER (1913-19751 VICTORVRLE (819) 245-4127
DANIELWE.B.
GOLDS BERNIEINKL.
ANOO PH MICHAELANDRA A. SCHAEFER
HOWARD KEVIN RANOOLPM SANDRA A. JACOBSON EUGENE BEST 0593'1951)
• A PROFtS IONAI CORPORATION
January 24, 1997
Roy Bruckner
Planning Director
City of Azusa
213 East Foothill Blvd.
Azusa, CA 91702-1395
Re: 1997 Revisions to Local Guidelines for Implementing the California
Environmental Quality Act
Dear Roy:
We are pleased to enclose a newly revised and updated set of"Local Guidelines for
Implementing the California Environmental Quality
Act." The enclosed Guidelines have been revised
to reflect important changes made to CEQA by the courts and the Legislature during the past three
years, as discussed in the enclosed memorandum. As an ongoing participant in our CEQA Project,
you receive annual updates to your Guidelines as well as periodic memorandums on breaking or
important CEQA issues.
The changes to CEQA are described in greater detail in the enclosed memorandum.
Also included with the packet is a suggested draft resolution which should be used to adopt these
Guidelines. If you have any questions about the Guidelines or the accompanying material, please
contact Dean Derleth or me.
Sincerely,
c(SPN•Q-----
Stephen P. Deitsch
of Best Best &Krieger LLP
Enclosures
LAW OFFICES OF
BEST BEST & KRIEGER LLP
January 24, 1997
M_FgMD-M--tatal
TO: CITY OF AZUSA
FROM: CITY ATTORNEY
RE: 1997 LOCAL GUIDELINES FOR IMPLEMENTING THE CALIFORNIA
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA)
n I ODT CTION
We are pleased to provide you with your 1997 CEQA Guidelines which we have
prepared based on our annual legal review of bills enacted by the State Legislature and court
to
rt
decisions affecting CEQA. This year's Guidelines incorporate not only the notable changes ich
CEQA from 1996, but also those changes we informed you of over the past two years
standing alone did not warrant a complete revision of your Guidelines. You will be pleased to
know that your 1997 CEQA Guidelines incorporate the changes which the State is still
"discussing" for possible inclusion in the State CEQA Guidelines to be published within the next
several years. In addition, your Guidelines are tailored to your specific needs and contain
important information you are not likely to find in the current or future edition of the State
Guidelines. As always, we strive to keep you and your Guidelines continuously updated.
In addition to discussing in some detail the statutes and case law from 1996, this
memorandum will briefly review the changes to CEQA made in 1994 and 1995. As you may
recall, the 1994 changes were not significant enough for a complete revision to your Guidelines,
but we provided you with several amended sections to supplement your Guidelines. The 1995
modifications to CEQA were also modest enough that we sent you a memorandum summarizing
RVPUBVPM\17448
LAW OFFICES OF
BEST BEST & KRIEGER LLP •
the changes, indicating that they would be incorporated in this year's revisions. Thus, before you
is a final compilation of three years of statutory and judicial changes to CEQA.
In this memorandum, we once again address only the statutes and case law we
believe are necessary for proper CEQA compliance and would be of interest to you. We have
omitted mentioning many cases and statutes since they deal with technical legal points or
procedures impacting CEQA litigation which are mostly of interest to attorneys. However, if
you are interested in a particular case or statute we have not addressed, we would be happy to
discuss it with you, or provide you with a short summary.
Your Guidelines are intended to supply you with a road map for assessing and
analyzing the environmental implications of a project prior to approval. We still recommend
that you consult with legal counsel when you have specific questions on major, controversial,
or unusual CEQA projects.
1996 CEQA LEGISLATION
During the 1996 legislative session, twelve bills which effect CEQA were
signed into law by Governor Wilson. Only four of the measures, however, merit changes in
your Guidelines and are discussed in this memorandum. Assembly Bill 1930 (Sweeney,
Chapter 808) revises the deadlines for approving or disapproving CEQA projects subject to the
Permit Streamlining Act, revises the deadlines for completing and approving a Negative
Declaration/Mitigated Negative Declaration, and eliminates the time period for executing a
contract with a consultant to prepare a Negative Declaration. Senate Bill 1566 (Monteith,
Chapter 617) requires that if a proposed redevelopment project area includes land that is in
agricultural use, the redevelopment agency must send a copy of the Draft EIR to certain public
agencies and agricultural groups. Assembly Bill 2963 (Firestone, Chapter 825) exempts from
CEQA review emergency projects undertaken to maintain, repair, or restore an existing
-2-
RVPUBUPM\17448
LAW OFFICES OF
BEST BEST 61 KRIEGER LLP
highway damaged by a natural disaster. Assembly Bill 298 (Rainey, Chapter 547) exempts
from CEQA review the development of a congestion management program.
94 l 's' • • • • r' • _ sr I. • •
One of the purposes of Assembly Bill 1930 ("AB 1930") was to reduce
confusion by standardizing certain CEQA deadlines. Prior to this year, for "private projects" a
Negative Declaration/Mitigated Negative Declaration had to be completed within 105 days
after the project application had been accepted. AB 1930 extends the time for completing this
document to 180 days. In addition, as lead agency for a "development project" subject to the
Permit Streamlining Act, you previously had to approve or disapprove the project within 6
months of EIR certification, or within 3 months of a Negative Declaration or exemption
determination. AB 1930 restates these approval deadlines in terms of days, and shortens the
approval deadline for Negative Declarations and exemption determinations. Development
projects must now be approved within 180 days of EIR certification, or within 30 days of
adopting a Negative Declaration or determination of exemption.
AB 1930 also revises the law regarding contracts to prepare CEQA documents.
You may recall that our 1995 CEQA memorandum discussed Assembly Bill 314 which
requires that contracts with consultants to prepare an EIR or Negative Declaration must be
executed within 45 days of determining the need for such documents, although the time period
can be extended if there are compelling circumstances. AB 1930 eliminates the time period
for execution of contracts to prepare Negative Declarations. A contract to prepare a Negative
Declaration can now be executed at anytime as long as the Negative Declaration is completed
within 105 days after the project application is accepted. For contracts to prepare an EIR, AB
1930 also eliminates the need for "compelling circumstances" to extend the 45-day deadline.
The time period can now be extended for any reason as long as you and the project applicant
mutually agree.
-3-
RVPUBVPM\17448
LAW OFFICES OF
BEST BEST & KRIEGER LLP
To address these statutory changes, Sections 4.04, 4.05, 6.03, and 7.03 of your
Guidelines are amended, and a new Section 7.02 is added to your Guidelines.
B. Redevelopment Projects: Additional CEQA Notification
Senate Bill 1566 ("SB 1-566") imposes additional notification requirements for
EIRs in redevelopment project areas. SB 1566 requires that if a proposed redevelopment
project area includes land that is in agricultural use, the redevelopment agency must send a
copy of the Draft EIR to the Department of Conservation, the county agricultural
commissioner, the county Farm Bureau, the California Farm Bureau Federation, and any other
agricultural groups that request copies of the Draft EIR. The aforementioned groups are
entitled to receive the Draft EIR only if they send a separate written notice for each proposed
redevelopment plan or amendment.
Section 7.18 of your Guidelines is revised to incorporate this new requirement.
C. CEQA Exemptions: Emergency Road Repair Projects: Congestion Management
programs
As you know, the state Legislature has passed numerous statutes which exempt
particular projects or activities from CEQA review. We have not included all of these exemptions
in your Guidelines as many of them are inapplicable to your actions, or to projects for which you
might act as lead agency. We do include those exemptions we believe are applicable.
Assembly Bill 2963 ("AB 2963") exempts from CEQA review emergency
projects undertaken to maintain, repair, or restore an existing highway damaged by a natural
disaster. This exemption would apply to any emergency repair project of a street, alley, road,
highway, or other right-of-way as defined in Section 360 of the California Vehicle Code.
RVPUBVPM\17448 -4-
• LAW OFFICES OF
BEST BEST 6. KRIEGER LLP
There are several limitations, however, to this CEQA exemption. First, the highway must
have been damaged as a result of a natural disaster, and repairs must be completed within one
year of the damage. Secondly, the exemption only applies to repairs which take place within
the existing right-of-way for the highway. Any part of the project which expands, widens, or
enlarges the highway is not exempt from CEQA review. Finally, this exemption doesot
apply to any highway designated as an official State Scenic Highway under Section 262 of the
California Streets and Highways Code.-
Assembly Bill 298 ("AB 298") also creates a new statutory exemption which we
believe might be of interest to you. AB 298 exempts from CEQA review projects for the
development of a congestion management program. Although cities are not responsible for
developing their own congestion management programs, they usually are members of, or work
with the entity that develops the regional congestion management program. We felt it would be
helpful if cities were aware of this exemption.
The two new statutory exemptions are incorporated into Sections 3.08 and 3.14 of
your Guidelines.
t 996 CEQA CASELW
Of the numerous interesting and contentious CEQA cases decided last year, most
dealt with issues particular to CEQA litigation or were very fact specific and thus not generally
applicable. Since your Guidelines set forth procedures for administrative compliance with CEQA
and do not address the CEQA litigation process which is of principal interest to us as your legal
counsel, we have not addressed those cases here. We would, however, like to make you aware of
a few cases which resulted in alterations to your Guidelines.
-5-
RvpUBVIW17448
• LAW OFFICES OF
BEST BEST & KRIEGER LLP
A. Proper Tiering of EIRs
In Stanislaus Natural Heritage Project v. County of Stanislaus(August, 1996), the County
certified an EIR for a proposed specific plan to create a 29,500 acre destination resort and
residential community. The Project was to be developed in four phases and was anticipated to
take 25 years to complete. Phase 1 was to be completed in 15 years.
The EIR for Phase 1 admitted that off-site water must be obtained for both
residential and commercial purposes, and listed the unavailability of water as a"significant
unavoidable impact." The EIR stated that a firm water supply had not yet been established
beyond the first five years of development. Moreover, even though the applicant was pursuing
several water sources and had established a water district, until a secure water source was
established, the EIR treated future water shortage as a significant impact.
In attempting to"mitigate" this significant unavoidable impact, the County stated
that no development requiring more than 1,200 acre-feet per year would be permitted unless
adequate water supplies were secured and an EIR was approved for those water sources. In
essence, the County was approving a 25-year project when no water had been assured beyond the
first 5 years, and it was deferring CEQA review of additional water sources until either the actual
acquisition of water occurred or a specific project was submitted. -
The court rejected the County's argument that the"tiering" provisions of CEQA
allowed them to defer analysis of potential impacts of the project's long-term water supply. The
court held that a decision to "tier" environmental review does not excuse a lead agency from
complying with CEQA's mandate to prepare an EIR which includes a detailed statement setting
forth all significant effects of the proposed project. The court stated further that"tiering is not a
device for deferring the identification of significant environmental impacts that the adoption of a
specific plan can be expected to cause. . . . [i]ndeed, the environmental consequences of supplying
RVPUBVPM17448 -6-
• LAW OFFICES OF
BEST BEST E. KRIEGER LLP
water to this Project would appear to be one of the fundamental and `general matters' to be
addressed in a first tier EIR."
To reflect the court's vigilance in assuring that"tiering" of EIRs is not used to
defer review of potential environmental impacts, new language is added to Section 8.05 of your
Guidelines.
B. andato Findin• o i• i scant sect- " umulativel onsiderable" sect
CEQA requires an EIR to be prepared if the Initial Study determines that the
project may have a"significant effect" on the environment. A"finding of significant effect" is
mandatory if the incremental impacts of an individual project, when viewed in connection with the
effects of past, current, and probable future projects, are determined to be"cumulatively
considerable."
In . ... ' • . . /Wil•lif- I- - -n - v. • n • .ni la (January
1996), the court sought to clarify the standard for determining a"cumulatively considerable"
effect on the environment. In this case, Stanislaus County adopted a Mitigated Negative
Declaration for a project to extract 600,000 tons of gravel from the Tuolumne River over a ten-
year period. In upholding the Mitigated Negative Declaration determination, the courtdiscussed
the proper standard for determining whether a project has a"cumulatively considerable" effect
which would mandate the preparation of an EIR.
The court noted that there is a difference between the"cumulative impacts"
analysis required in an EIR(see your Guidelines, Section 7.12(j)) and the Initial Study analysis of
whether a project's impacts are"cumulatively considerable" such that an EIR must be prepared in
the first place (see your Guidelines, Section 5.08). For the Initial Study analysis, the court held
that the agency should determine whether the incremental impacts of a project are"cumulatively
considerable" by evaluating them against the backdrop of the environmental effects of other
-7-
RvpUBVPM\17448
LAW OFFICES OF
BEST BEST & KRIEGER LLP
projects. The question is not whether an overall significant cumulative impact will result when the
project's impacts are combined with impacts from other activities in the area. Instead, the proper
analysis is whether the project's individual effects are themselves cumulatively considerable in
light of the effects of other activities in the area.
The court rejected the contention that before adopting a Mitigated Negative
Declaration the County had to perform.a full-blown analysis of all purported environmental
impacts of any past, present, or future gravel projects along the Tuolumne River. The court
stated that the County was not required to conduct a study of the impacts of other area activities
before determining whether or not an EIR must be prepared for the proposed project.
New language is added to Section 5.08 of your Guidelines to help refine the
"cumulatively considerable" analysis conducted in an Initial Study.
C. Adequacy of Project Description:Modification of Prior Approved Project
In a case successfully argued by Best Best &Krieger, Temecula Band of Luisenjo
Mission Indians v. Rancho California Water District (March 1996), the court addressed two
issues we believe may be of interest to you. The case involved the redesign of a small section of a
water supply storage project approved in 1984. In approving the redesign, the District adopted a
Negative Declaration.
Plaintiffs challenged the District's adoption of a Negative Declaration on grounds
that it failed to properly consider the "cumulative effects" of both the proposed modification and
the entire 1984 water supply project, and that a Supplemental EIR was required. Representing
Rancho California Water District, we demonstrated to the court that the Plaintiffs' claims were
unfounded. The court agreed, holding that the District was required to consider only the
incremental effects of the proposed modification which were not evaluated when the entire project
was approved in 1984. Critical to the court's holding was the District's treatment of the project
RVPUB'JPM17448 -8-
• LAW OFFICES OF
BEST BEST & KRIEGER LLP
application as a request for modification of an already permitted project. Accordingly, the court
found, (1) that pursuant to the proposed "modification" the District properly considered whether
a Supplemental EIR was needed by limiting its analysis to environmental effects not considered in
connection with the initial project, and (2) the District's determination that the proposed
modification was not a substantial change to the 1984 project, and that a Supplemental EIR was
not necessary, was correct.
Plaintiffs also alleged that the District's adoption of the Negative Declaration was
procedurally defective because the project description failed to mention that the project was a
modification of the 1984 project. The court rejected this argument stating that the project
description was not fatally defective because plaintiffs were made aware at the public hearing that
the project was a modification of the 1984 project. Plaintiffs, therefore, had an opportunity to
object to the adequacy of the project description at the hearing, but having failed to do so, were
barred from raising the issue before the court.
Based on the court's decision in this case, we recommend that for projects which
involve only modifications to a prior permitted project or program, you should make clear the
proposed action is only a modification of a prior approved project.
1995 CEQA STATUTORY AND CASE LAW CHANGES
As you recall, in January 1996 we sent a detailed memorandum explaining the
relevant 1995 statutory and case law changes to CEQA. The 1995 changes to CEQA, however,
did not warrant the cost of republishing your Guidelines. With the issuance of this year's
Guidelines, we felt it might be helpful to briefly review those changes and note for you the
appropriate revisions to your Guidelines:
RVPLB JPM17448 -9-
LAW OFFICES OF
BEST BEST & KRIEGER LLP
❑ Assembly Bill 1860 ("AB 1860")rectified a problem created by the Legislature
when it enacted a provision allowing potential petitioners to extend the statute of
limitations on a CEQA challenge by requesting written copies of the Notice of
Determination ("NOD") or Notice of Exemption ("NOE"). As you may know, a
very short statute of limitations begins to run when the County Clerk or Clerk
of the Board of Supervisors posts these notices. AB 1860 requires you to mail a
copy of your NOD or NOE within five days of your final decision on a project.
Notice must be provided to anyone who requests a copy before you make your
final decision, but the date of mailing does not affect the statute of limitations.
Sections 3.05, 6.12, and 7.30 of your Guidelines are revised accordingly.
❑ Senate Bill 901 ("SB 901") enacted new requirements to address the water
supply needs of certain projects when cities or counties prepare an EIR for a
new specific plan or amend the land use element of their general plan. Section
7.06 is added to your Guidelines to reflect this new CEQA requirement.
1994 CEQA STATUTORY AND CASE LAW CHANGES
In January 1995 we sent you a detailed memorandum explaining the relevant 1994
statutory and case law changes to CEQA. Again, we felt that the 1994 changes to CEQA did not
warrant the cost of republishing your Guidelines. With the issuance of this year's Guidelines, we
wanted to briefly review the 1994 changes and note for you the appropriate revisions to your
Guidelines:
❑ Assembly Bill 314 ("AB 314") requires that measures to mitigate or avoid
significant effects on the environment be enforced through any permits,
conditions, agreements, or other exactions attached to the project. Sections
6.08 and 6.10 are revised accordingly.
RVPUBUPW17448 -10-
LAW OFFICES OF
BEST BEST & KRIEGER LLP
❑ AB 314 also prohibits the use of a Master EIR unless certain conditions are met,
and authorizes the use of a Master EIR for a regional transportation plan or
congestion management plan. Section 8.10 is revised to reflect these changes.
❑ Senate Bill 749 ("SB 749") permits a Lead Agency to focus the discussion in an
EIR on those potential environmental impacts which the Lead Agency has
determined are significant. SB 749 also clarifies the required contents of EIRs.
Amendments to Section 7.12 include these changes.
❑ SB 749 exempts from CEQA any "development project" for the construction,
conversion, or use of qualified low and moderate income housing, if less than
45 units are involved. This exemption is added to your Guidelines in Section
3.12.
❑ SB 749 also requires a Lead Agency to specify the location and custodian of the
documents or other materials which constitute the record of proceedings on
which its CEQA determination is based. This change is added to Sections 6.10
and 7.29, and the Notice of Determination Form (Form "F") is also amended.
❑ Laurel Heights Improvement Assn. v. Regents of University of California
(December, 1993) requires that an EIR be recirculated for public comment
when "significant new information" is added to the EIR. The court held that if
an EIR was not recirculated in this instance, the public would be deprived of a
meaningful opportunity to comment on the project. Section 7.23 is amended to
reflect this new standard.
❑ Amendments to the State CEQA Guidelines were adopted in 1994 necessitating
changes to your Guidelines. Language is added to Section 7.13 to clarify the
new alternatives analysis required in an EIR, and Sections 6.13 and 6.14 are
RVPUs\PM\17448 -11-
LAW OFFICES OF
BEST BEST & KRIEGER LLP
added to allow for the preparation a Subsequent Negative Declaration or
Addedum to a Negative Declaration under certain circumstances. The
Environmental Checklist Form (Form "J") is also updated per the amended
State CEQA Guidelines.
CONCLUSION
Please let us know if you have any questions about the changes in CEQA law or
our revisions to your CEQA Guidelines. We suggest you keep this memorandum filed with your
1997 Guidelines for future reference.
DEAN DERLETH
JAMES P. MORRIS
MICHELLE OUELLETTE
RVPUBVPJf,17448 -12-
RESOLUTION NO. 9 7-C1 4 5
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AZUSA,
CALIFORNIA, AMENDING AND ADOPTING LOCAL GUIDELINES FOR
IMPLEMENTING THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT
("CEQA")
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AZUSA DOES HEREBY RESOLVE AS
FOLLOWS:
WHEREAS,the California Legislature has amended the California Environmental Quality Act
("CEQA") and the California courts have interpreted specific provisions of CEQA; and
WHEREAS, Section 21082 of CEQA requires all public agencies to adopt objectives,criteria
and procedures for the evaluation of public and private projects undertaken or approved by such
public agencies,and the preparation,if required,of environmental impact reports in connections with
that evaluation; and
WHEREAS, on August 27, 1997, the Azusa Planning Commission reviewed the proposed
local CEQA Guidelines and recommended that the City Council approve them; and
WHEREAS,the Azusa City Council must revise its local guidelines for implementing CEQA
to make them consistent with the current provisions and interpretations of CEQA;
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AZUSA CALIFORNIA,
DOES HEREBY RESOLVE, DETERMINE AND ORDER AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1: Adoption of Local CEQA Guidelines. The City Council hereby adopts
"Local Guidelines for Implementing the California Environmental Quality Act(1997 Revision)," as
amended as follows:
after the third paragraph on page 55 of the document, insert:
"In the event the Lead Agency desires to extend the review period, the City Council or
Redevelopment Agency Board in case of redevelopment projects, shall make such a
determination. The number of additional days of extension shall be specified, so that the total
number of days of the review period shall not exceed 90 days. The State Clearinghouse shall be
notified of the Lead Agency's action to extend the public comment period"
A copy of the"Local Guidelines for Implementation of the California Environmental Quality
Act (1997 Revision) is on file at the offices of the City and is available for inspection by the public.
SECTION 2: Prior Actions Repealed. All prior actions of the City Council enacting earlier
guidelines are hereby repealed.
SECTION 3: Effective Date. This Resolution shall become effective upon its adoption.
CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION NO.97-C145
PAGE 2 OF 2
SECTION 4: The City Clerk shall certify the adoption of this resolution.
ADOPTED AND APPROVED this 6th day of October
/ /
1.
C' ""''AC. MADRID MA •R
ATTEST:
/
/ Adift Ae AGO
CITY 'RK
I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing Resolution NcO7-Cl45was duly adopted by the
City Council of the City of Azusa at a regular meeting thereof, held on the 6th day of
October 1997, by the following vote of Council:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: HARDISON, STANFORD, ROCHA, BEEBE, MADRID
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: NO
jed
CITY CLERK
(L:CCRES\CEQA)
RESOLUTION NO. 9 7-R 4 7-A
A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE AZUSA
REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY AMENDING AND ADOPTING LOCAL
GUIDELINES FOR IMPLEMENTING THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL
QUALITY ACT ("CEQA")
THE REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY OF THE CITY OF AZUSA DOES HEREBY
RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
WHEREAS,the California Legislature has amended the California Environmental Quality Act
("CEQA") and the California courts have interpreted specific provisions of CEQA; and
WHEREAS, Section 21082 of CEQA requires all public agencies to adopt objectives,criteria
and procedures for the evaluation of public and private projects undertaken or approved by such
public agencies,and the preparation,if required,of environmental impact reports in connections with
that evaluation; and
WHEREAS, on August 27, 1997, the Azusa Planning Commission reviewed the proposed
local CEQA Guidelines and recommended that the City Council approve them; and
WHEREAS, the Azusa Redevelopment Agency must revise its local guidelines for
implementing CEQA to make them consistent with the current provisions and interpretations of
CEQA;
NOW, THEREFORE, THE REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY OF THE CITY OF AZUSA
CALIFORNIA, DOES HEREBY RESOLVE,DETERMINE AND ORDER AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1: Adoption of Local CEQA Guidelines. The Azusa Redevelopment Agency
hereby adopts "Local Guidelines for Implementing the California Environmental Quality Act(1997
Revision)," as amended as follows:
after the third paragraph on page 55 of the document, insert:
"In the event the Lead Agency desires to extend the review period, the City Council or
Redevelopment Agency Board in case of redevelopment projects, shall make such a
determination. The number of additional days of extension shall be specified, so that the total
number of days of the review period shall not exceed 90 days. The State Clearinghouse shall be
notified of the Lead Agency's action to extend the public comment period"
A copy of the"Local Guidelines for Implementation of the California Environmental Quality
Act (1997 Revision)is on file at the offices of the City and is available for inspection by the public.
SECTION 2: Prior Actions Repealed. All prior actions of the Azusa Redevelopment
Agency enacting earlier guidelines are hereby repealed.
SECTION 3: Effective Date. This Resolution shall become effective upon its adoption.
AZUSA REDEVELOPMENT RESOLUTION NO. 97-R47
PAGE 2 OF 2
SECTION 4: The Board Secretary shall certify the adoption of this resolution.
ADOPTED AND APPROVED this 6th day of October .
el
sy
4 A C. MADRID, CHAIRPERSON
ATTEST:
/ /
,J 1 i
, )//
B• ' • 0 SECRETARY
I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing Resolution No.9 7-R 4 7 was duly adopted by the
Azusa Redevelopment Agency of the City of Azusa at a regular meeting thereof, held on the
6th day of October , 1997, by the following vote of Agency Board:
AYES: DIRECTORS: HARDISON, STANFORD, ROCIiA, BEEBE, MADRID.
NOES: DIRECTORS: NONE
ABSENT: DIRECTORS: NONE
i
if
/ BO' " II SECRETARY '
(L:REDE-RES\CEQA)