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Local Guidelines for Implementing the California Environmental Quality Act (2019) GENERAL PROVISIONS, PURPOSE AND POLICY. 2019 City of Santa Ana Local Guidelines 1-4 ©Best Best & Krieger LLP 1.10 TIME OF PREPARATION Before granting any approval of a project subject to CEQA, the Lead Agency or Responsible Agency shall consider a Final EIR, Negative Declaration, Mitigated Negative Declaration, or another document authorized by the State CEQA Guidelines to be used in the place of an EIR or Negative Declaration. Choosing the precise time for CEQA compliance involves a balancing of competing factors. EIRs, Negative Declarations, and Mitigated Negative Declarations should be prepared as early as feasible in the planning process to enable environmental considerations to influence project program and design and yet late enough to provide meaningful information for environmental assessment. With public projects, at the earliest feasible time, project sponsors shall incorporate environmental considerations into project conceptualization, design, and planning. CEQA compliance should be completed prior to acquisition of a site for a public project. To implement the above principles, the City shall not undertake actions concerning the proposed public project that would have a significant adverse effect or limit the choice of alternatives or mitigation measures, before completion of CEQA compliance. For example, the City shall not: (A) Formally make a decision to proceed with the use of a site for facilities which would require CEQA review, regardless of whether the City has made any final purchase of the site for these facilities, except that the City may designate a preferred site for CEQA review and may enter into land acquisition agreements when the City has conditioned its future use of the site on CEQA compliance. (B) Otherwise take any action that gives impetus to a planned or foreseeable project in a manner that forecloses alternatives or mitigation measures that would ordinarily be part of CEQA review of that public project. With private projects, the City shall encourage the project proponent to incorporate environmental considerations into project conceptualization, design, and planning at the earliest feasible time. While mere interest in, or inclination to support, a project does not constitute approval, a public agency entering into preliminary agreements regarding a project prior to approval shall not, as a practical matter, commit the agency to the project. For example, the City shall not grant any vested development entitlements prior to compliance with CEQA. Further, any such pre-approval agreement should, for example: (A) Condition the agreement on compliance with CEQA; (B) Not bind any party, or commit to any definite course of action, prior to CEQA compliance; (C) Not restrict the Lead Agency from considering any feasible mitigation measures and alternatives, including the “no project” alternative; and 3 -20