Item 37 - EIR No. 2020-03 and GPA No.2020-06 Santa Ana General Plan Update

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EIR No. 2020-03 and GPA No.2020-06 Santa Ana General Plan Update February 15, 2022 Page 13 detailed Response to Comments, revisions to the Draft documents including clarifications and/or corrections to typographical errors, and a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP). The MMRP contains mitigation measures to address impacts to air quality, cultural resources, geology and soils, greenhouse gas emissions, noise, tribal cultural resources, and recreation. The response to comments, MMRP and Final PEIR were published on November 2, 2021 for public review. The Draft PEIR (August 2020) and Draft Recirculated PEIR (August 2021) responses to comments document, revisions to the Draft PEIR, and the MMRP constitute the Final PEIR for the project. The Final Recirculated PEIR identifies six significant and unavoidable impacts associated with this project, which pertain to Air Quality, Cultural Resources, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Noise, Population and Housing, and Recreation. City of Santa Ana is within the South Coast Air Basin (Basin). Air quality in the Basin is already significantly impacted and even without any new projects, air quality issues are beyond mitigation. The impact to air quality as a result of General Plan implementation falls into two categories: Operational Emissions impacts which are project specific and cumulative; and Localized Criterial Pollutant and Toxic Air Contaminants JAC) Impacts which are related to increased density and proximity of residential land uses to transit and commercial centers. Cultural Resource impacts result from the proposed General Plan allowing development in areas that have historic resources identified by previous cultural resource surveys, with development in these areas potentially causing the disturbance of historic resources in the plan area. Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) impacts are project specific and cumulative. They are attributed to ongoing operational impacts of potential future businesses. The threshold for GHG would exceed established ratios thresholds under Executive Order S-03-05. Noise impacts are also project specific and cumulative. They are attributed to ongoing operational impacts of potential future businesses, as well as the location of sensitive receptors in relationship to noise generating activities. Further, buildout of the General Plan update would expose residents to projects generating traffic noise. Population and housing impacts associated with the General Plan buildout related to the anticipated growth both in population and housing units would exceed the Orange County Council of Government projections by up to 38 percent, with no feasible mitigation measure to address the issue. Finally, Recreation impacts from the proposed General Plan may result in substantial physical deterioration of recreational resources and the need to construct or expand City's public parks and recreational facilities to address existing and future demand.