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Comments RE Caribou Industries Mixed -Use Project <br />November 17, 2020 <br />Page 8 of 9 <br />F. THE DENSITY BONUS ERRORS AND PLAN INCONSISTENCIES VIOLATE THE SAMC AND CEOA <br />Under CEQA, an EIR must fully identify, analyze, and mitigate any inconsistencies between a <br />proposed project and the general, specific, regional, and other plans that apply to the project (See <br />e.g., CEQA Guidelines § 15125(d); Pfeiffer v. City of Sunnyvale City Council (2011) 200 Cal.AppAth <br />1552, 1566; Friends of the Eel River v. Sonoma County Water Agency (2003) 108 Cal.AppAth 859, <br />881.) There does not need to be a direct conflict to trigger this requirement; even if a project is <br />"incompatible" with the "goals and policies" of a land -use plan, the EIR must assess the divergence <br />between the project and the plan, and mitigate any adverse effects of the inconsistencies. (Napa <br />CitizensforHonest Government y. Napa CountyBd. of Supervisors (2001) 91 Cal.AppAth 342, 378-79; <br />see also Pocket Protectors v. City of Sacramento (2004) 124 Cal.AppAth 903 [holding under CEQA <br />that a significant impact exists where project conflicts with local land -use policies]; Friends of "B" <br />Street v. City of Hayward (1980) 106 Cal.App.3d 988, 998 [citing Gov. Code § 65302, held county <br />development and infrastructure improvements must be consistent with adopted general plans].) <br />Here, the fact that the hotel can be converted to residential is never identified in the CEQA <br />addendum - it is not the same project and has new, significant land use inconsistencies not <br />identified or analyzed in the addendum. <br />So too, an "'accurate, stable and finite project description is the sine qua non of an <br />informative and legally sufficient EIR."' (San Joaquin Raptor Rescue Ctr. v. Cnty. of Merced (2007) <br />149 Cal.AppAth 645, 654-655 [quoting Cnty. oflnyo v. City of Los Angeles (1977) 71 Cal.App.3d 185, <br />199] [emphasis in original].) As one court explained, "only through an accurate view of the project <br />may affected outsiders and public decision -makers balance the proposal's benefit against its <br />environmental cost, consider mitigation measures, assess the advantage of terminating the <br />proposal (i.e., the 'no project' alternative), and weigh other alternatives in the balance." (Citizens for <br />a Sustainable Treasure Island v. City& Cnty. of San Francisco (2014) 227 Cal.AppAth 1036, 1052.) <br />Hence, an accurate project description is an "indispensable component of a valid EIR." (Western <br />Placer Citizens for an Agr. and Rural Env't v. Cnty. of Placer (2006) 144 Cal.AppAth 890, 898.) The <br />hotel conversion option - unmentioned in the CEQA document - violates these CEQA stable project <br />description rules. The Project before the Council now, therefore, is different than analyzed in the <br />CEQA addendum, and with new, significant impacts. Pub. Res. Code § 15162 is triggered and the <br />addendum must be updated and reconsidered. (Ventura Foothill Neighbors v. County of Ventura <br />(2014) 232 Cal.AppAth 429, 436 [changes in project from approved CEQA document required new <br />CEQA review].) <br />The density bonus shell game, parking impacts of the unanalyzed hotel conversion option <br />and the obvious land use inconsistencies they present are not identified or properly analyzed in the <br />land use or CEQA findings. As a result, required findings on land use consistency and CEQA <br />pursuant to SAMC 41-1607 and Pub. Res. Code § 15162 cannot be made, including findings on <br />provision of affordable housing opportunities in economically balanced communities, consistency <br />with the purpose of the underlying zone or applicable designation in the general plan land use <br />element, that the deviations are necessary to make it economically feasible for the Applicant to <br />utilize a density bonus, and whether substantial changes are proposed in the Project which will <br />require major revisions of the previous EIR or negative declaration due to the involvement of new <br />significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified <br />significant effects. So too, the CEQA document and land use findings do not come to terms with the <br />out -of -scale Project's undisclosed conflicts with the Santa Ana General Plan Land Use Element <br />including: Policy 2.10 (Support new development which is harmonious in scale and character with <br />q�;: <br />