2019-050 -Adopting Local CEQA Guidelines

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Local Guidelines for Implementing the California Environmental Quality Act (2019) ACTIVITIES EXEMPT FROM CEQA Office of Planning and Research within five (5) working days after the approval of the project. 3.14 M INOR A LTERATIONS TO F LUORIDATE W ATER U TILITIES. Minor alterations to water utilities made for the purpose of complying with the fluoridation requirements of Health and Safety Code Sections 116410 and 116415 or regulations adopted thereunder are exempt from CEQA. 3.15 B ALLOT M EASURES. The definition of project in the State CEQA Guidelines specifically excludes the submittal of proposals to a vote of the people of the state or of a particular community. This exemption does not apply to the public agency that sponsors the initiative. When a governing body makes a decision to put a measure on the ballot, that decision may be discretionary and therefore subject to CEQA. In contrast, the enactment of a qualified voter-sponsored initiative under California Constitution Art. II, Section 11(a) and Election Code Section 9214 is not a project and therefore is not subject to CEQA review. (See Local Guidelines Section 3.01.) 3.16 T RANSIT P RIORITY P ROJECT. Exemption: Transit Priority Projects (see Local Guidelines Section 11.75) that are consistent with the general use designation, density, building intensity, and applicable policies specified for the project area in either a Sustainable Community Strategy or an alternative planning strategy may be exempt from CEQA. To qualify for the exemption, the decision- making body must hold a hearing and make findings that the project meets all of Public requirements. Streamlined Review: A Transit Priority Project that has incorporated all feasible mitigation measures, performance standards or criteria set forth in a prior environmental impact report, may be eligible for streamlined environmental review. For a complete description of the requirements for this streamlined review see Public Resources Code Section 21155.2. Similarly, the environmental review for a residential or mixed use residential project may limit, or entirely omit, its discussion of growth-inducing impacts or impacts from traffic on global warming under certain limited circumstances. Note, however, that impacts from other sources of greenhouse gas emissions would still need to be analyzed. For complete requirements see Public Resources Code Section 21159.28. Note that neither the exemption nor the streamlined review will apply until: (1) the applicable Metropolitan Planning Organization prepares and adopts a Sustainable Communities Strategy or alternative planning strategy for the region; and (2) the California Air Resources Board has accepted the Metropolitan Plann Communities Strategy or the alternative planning strategy would, if implemented, achieve the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets adopted for the region. 2019 City of Santa Ana Local Guidelines 3-14 ©Best Best & Krieger LLP