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City of Santa Ana– First American Mixed-Use Project [114 and 117 East Fifth Street] – Comments to City Council November 18, 2019 Page 5 of 13 government officials who decide to build or approve a project do so with a full understanding of the environmental consequences and, equally important, that the public is assured those consequences have been considered. For the EIR to serve these goals it must present information so that the foreseeable impacts of pursuing the project can be understood and weighed, and the public must be given an adequate opportunity to comment on that presentation before the decision to go forward is made. Communities for a Better Environment v. Richmond (2010) 184 Cal.App.4th 70, 80 (quoting Vineyard Area Citizens for Responsible Growth, Inc. v. City of Rancho Cordova (2007) 40 Cal.4th 412, 449 – 450). B. The City’s Preparation of an Addendum Instead of a Project-Specific EIR is Improper The City prepared an Addendum for the Project, tiering off of a 2010 EIR which was completed for the Transit Zoning Code adoption. As such, no project specific analysis has ever been performed in the prior 2010 EIR. Instead, the City chose to prepare project-specific analyses in an addendum, which is not intended to replace a project- specific EIR. Addenda are utilized as a method of further review under CEQA. An addendum to a previous environmental impact report or negative declaration must be prepared if minor technical changes or additions are necessary but no subsequent EIR (SEIR) or negative declaration is required. 14 Cal. Code Regs. §15164. CEQA Guidelines section 15164 provides: “(a) The lead agency or a responsible agency shall prepare an addendum to a previously certified EIR if some changes or additions are necessary but none of the conditions described in [Guideline] 15162 calling for preparation of a subsequent EIR have occurred. [¶] . . . [¶] (c) An addendum need not be circulated for public review but can be included in or attached to the final EIR . . . .” The Resources Agency’s discussion of Guideline 15164 states it was "designed to provide clear authority for an addendum as a way of making minor corrections in EIRs . . . without recirculating the EIR . . . .” 14 Cal. Code Regs. §15164(discussion)(emphasis added). The Resources Agency’s statement of reasons for initially adopting Guideline 15164 states, “The concept of an addendum to an EIR is new in the CEQA [G]uidelines, although such a device has been used by many agencies previously. This section is designed to provide clear authority for the practice