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Local Guidelines for Implementing the California Environmental Quality Act (2019) ACTIVITIES EXEMPT FROM CEQA 2019 City of Santa Ana Local Guidelines 3-18 ©Best Best & Krieger LLP 3.19 EXEMPTION FOR INFILL PROJECTS IN TRANSIT PRIORITY AREAS A residential or mixed-use project, or a project with a floor area ratio of at least 0.75 on commercially-zoned property, including any required subdivision or zoning approvals, is exempt from CEQA if the project satisfies the following criteria: § The project is located within a transit priority area as defined in Section 11.74 below; § The project is consistent with an applicable specific plan for which an environmental impact report was certified; and § The project is consistent with the general use designation, density, building intensity, and applicable policies specified for the project area in either a sustainable communities strategy or an alternative planning strategy for which the State Air Resources Board has accepted the determination that the sustainable communities strategy or the alternative planning strategy would achieve the applicable greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. Further environmental review shall be required for a project meeting the above criteria only if one of the events specified in Section 8.04 below occurs. 3.20 EXEMPTION FOR RESIDENTIAL PROJECTS UNDERTAKEN PURSUANT TO A SPECIFIC PLAN Where a public agency has prepared an EIR for a specific plan after January 1, 1980, a residential project undertaken pursuant to and in conformity with that specific plan is generally exempt from CEQA. Residential projects covered by this section include, but are not limited to, land subdivisions, zoning changes, and residential planned unit developments. Further environmental review shall be required for a project meeting the above criteria only if, after the adoption of the specific plan, one of the events specified in Section 8.04 below occurs. In that circumstance, this exemption shall not apply until the city or county which adopted the specific plan completes a subsequent EIR or a supplement to an EIR on the specific plan. The exemption provided by this section shall again be available to residential projects after the Lead Agency has filed a Notice of Determination on the specific plan as reconsidered by the subsequent EIR or supplement to the EIR. 3.21 OTHER SPECIFIC EXEMPTIONS. CEQA and the State CEQA Guidelines exempt many other specific activities, including early activities related to thermal power plants, ongoing projects, transportation improvement programs, family day care homes, congestion management programs, railroad grade separation projects, restriping of streets or highways to relieve traffic congestion, restriping of streets in urbanized areas for bicycle lanes, adoption of bicycle transportation plans for urban areas, hazardous or volatile liquid pipelines, and the installation of solar energy systems, including, but not limited to solar panels. Specific statutory exemptions are listed in the Public Resources Code, including Sections 21080 through 21080.35, and in the State CEQA Guidelines, including Sections 15260 through 15285. In addition, other titles of the California Codes provide statutory exemptions from CEQA, including, for example, Government Code Section 12012.70.