CORRESPONDANCE - 60A - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Honorable Mayor Pulido Santa Ana City Council November 19, 2019 Page 5 Here, the Project proposes a large-scale planned residential development that violates the General Plan as discussed in detail in our letter regarding the same, dated November 18, 2019, Moreover, under the terms of the existing entitlements and the existing Project description in the FEIR, the Project is capable of a much higher maximum density than that being considered in the environmental review. As such, the Project description may be inaccurate because it fails to identify, and thus properly consider, changes to the existing land use designations and the maximum allowable density based on the proposed entitlements to the same. 3. THE FEIR MAY IMPROPERLY ASSUME A POST -DEVELOPMENT BASELINE. The idea of a "baseline" in the context of the FEIR is fundamental to its legitimacy. As a general matter, a baseline is important in part because it operates as the starting point by which all future comparisons are made. It follows that an EIR, like the FEIR here, which purports to report the environmental impacts of a proposed project, must start at the beginning. In other words, the baseline used as the yardstick by which relative change is measured must, itself, be a sound source for comparison. Experts explain the concept of a false baseline as the shifting "waistline" problem. For many of the same reasons, it would be difficult to determine weight loss if the starting scale measured you 30 pounds underweight. An EIR is likewise of little value if potential impacts, alternatives, and mitigation measures are evaluated relative to a false or shifting starting point. CEQA acknowledges this by defining how a project must determine its baseline. According to Title 14 Section 15125(a), a baseline condition must reflect the existing conditions, applicable plan designations, and zoning for the Project area in effect. Yet, the FEIR's impact analyses and conclusions are often based on the assumed approval of the underlying entitlements it purports to evaluate. Similar issues exist throughout the FEIR, as well as just in the Project description. Separately, the Project fails to properly consider its impacts relative to the applicable general, regional, and specific plans. (14 Cal. Code Regs., §15125, subd. (d).) Ultimately, CEQA requires an evaluation of the Project in its existing environmental and regulatory setting —not in a vacuum. Accordingly, an EIR must discuss and evaluate inconsistencies between the proposed Project and its applicable general, specific, and regional plans. (Ibid. ["applicable" plans have been adopted and legally apply to a proposed project].) Here, existing land use designations allow for a much lower maximum density for the entire Project area. This lower density is consistent with the applicable general, regional, and specific plans, but entirely inconsistent with the high -density development proposed by this Project. Thus, because the FEIR evaluates the Project against a false or shifting baseline that is inconsistent with existing baseline conditions, the resulting analyses likewise fail, likely rendering the FEIR legally insufficient. 3917.101 / 8509864.1