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Local Guidelines for Implementing the California Environmental Quality Act (2019) TIME LIMITATIONS 2019 City of Santa Ana Local Guidelines 4-1 ©Best Best & Krieger LLP 4. TIME LIMITATIONS 4.01 REVIEW OF PRIVATE PROJECT APPLICATIONS. Staff shall determine whether the application for a private project is complete within thirty (30) days of receipt of the application. No application may be deemed incomplete based on an applicant’s refusal to waive the time limitations set forth in Local Guidelines Sections 4.03 and 4.04. Accepting an application as complete does not limit the authority of the City, acting as Lead Agency or Responsible Agency, to require the applicant to submit additional information needed for environmental evaluation of the project. Requiring such additional information after the application is complete does not change the status of the application. 4.02 DETERMINATION OF TYPE OF ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENT. Except as provided in Local Guidelines Sections 4.05 and 4.06, Staff’s initial determination as to whether a Negative Declaration, Mitigated Negative Declaration or an EIR should be prepared shall be made within thirty (30) days from the date on which an application for a project is accepted as complete by the City. This period may be extended fifteen (15) days with consent of the applicant and the City. 4.03 COMPLETION AND ADOPTION OF NEGATIVE DECLARATION. For private projects involving the issuance of a lease, permit, license, certificate, or other entitlement for use by one or more public agencies, the Negative Declaration/Mitigated Negative Declaration shall be completed and approved within one hundred eighty (180) days from the date when the City accepted the application as complete. In the event that compelling circumstances justify additional time and the project applicant and Lead Agency consent thereto, Staff may provide that the 180-day time limit may be extended once for a period of not more than 90 days. 4.04 COMPLETION AND CERTIFICATION OF FINAL EIR. For private projects, the Final EIR shall be completed and certified by the City within one (1) year after the date the City accepted the application as complete. In the event that compelling circumstances justify additional time and the project applicant consents thereto, the City may provide a one-time extension up to ninety (90) days for completing and certifying the EIR. 4.05 PROJECTS SUBJECT TO THE PERMIT STREAMLINING ACT. The Permit Streamlining Act requires agencies to make decisions on certain development project approvals within specified time limits. If a project is subject to the Permit Streamlining Act, the City cannot require the project applicant to submit the informational equivalent of an EIR or prove compliance with CEQA as a prerequisite to determining whether the project application is complete. In addition, if requested by the project applicant, the City must begin processing the project application prior to final CEQA action, provided the information necessary to begin the process is available.