2020-093 - Denying Appeal Application No. 2020-02

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Project EIR. Nothing in State CEQA Guidelines section 15152 (describing the process for utilizing a Supplemental or Subsequent EIR or negative declaration) prohibits use of an addendum where none of the conditions of Public Resources Code section 21166 or State CEQA Guidelines section 15162 are present. Nothing in State CEQA Guidelines sections 15162 or 15164 prohibit use of an addendum where the original EIR is a Program, and not a Project, EIR. As established in these sections of the Public Resources Code and the State CEQA Guidelines, one of the circumstances described in Public Resources Code section 21166 or State CEQA Guidelines section 15162 must be present before either a Subsequent or Supplemental EIR is required. Here, none of those conditions are present. These conditions are: Substantial changes are proposed which will require major revisions of the previous EIR due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects; ii, Substantial changes occur with respect to the circumstances under which the project is undertaken which will require major revisions of the previous EIR due to the involvement of new significant effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects; or iii. New information has come to light showing new impacts, substantially more severe impacts, that mitigation measures or alternatives previously found to be infeasible would actually be feasible, or that mitigation measures or alternatives previously not identified would reduce impacts. This is also consistent with CEQA Guidelines section 15152(f), which the Appellant incorrectly claims prohibits use of addenda when the original EIR is a Program EIR. Section 15152(f) states, "A later EIR shall be required when the initial study or other analysis finds that the later project may cause significant effects on the environment that were not adequately addressed in the prior EIR." For the subject project, the "other analysis" (including technical studies and the text of the Addendum) found that no additional significant effects would occur beyond those already addressed in the 2010 EIR. An addendum is therefore the appropriate CEQA document. That the City has complied with the Housing Opportunity Ordinance (HOO) requirements. The HOO does not apply to the project because the project does not exceed the residential density permitted in the General Plan. As recently amended, the HOO only applies when a project requires a General Plan Amendment. Resolution No. 2020-093 Page 3 of 7