Item 24 - Amendment Application No. 2023-04 and Zoning Ordinance Amendment No. 2023-03

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Ordinance No. NS-XXXX Page 3 of 16 zoning district is found to be consistent with the General Plan of the City of Santa Ana and otherwise justified by the public necessity, convenience, and general welfare. Section 2. The recitals above are each incorporated by reference and adopted as findings by the City Council. Section 3. The City Council has reviewed and considered the information contained in the analysis performed pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (Environmental Review No. 2023-40). In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the CEQA Guidelines, the project is categorically exempt from further review per Section 15301 (Class 1 – Existing Facilities) of the CEQA Guidelines. Class 1 exemption applies to the operation, repair maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of existing or former use. The subject project is proposing the change of use of an existing industrial building that was previously used for an auto repair business to be used for administrative office purposes. Additionally, the project is exempt from further review pursuant to Public Resources Code section 21083.3 and CEQA Guidelines Section 15183, the Project is exempt from further review. This type of exemption analysis evaluates whether the potential environmental impacts of the proposed change of use for the existing 5,837-square-foot building from auto-repair to administrative office and site improvements that include new landscape, façade remodel, and new outdoor areas for the office and the school are addressed in the City of Santa Ana General Plan Update Final Recirculated Program Environmental Impact Report (GPU EIR). A rezoning that is consistent with an adopted general plan falls within this exemption. (A) As set forth in CEQA Guidelines Section 15183(a), projects that are “consistent with the development density established by the existing zoning, community plan or general plan policies for which an EIR was certified shall not require additional environmental review, except as might be necessary to examine whether there are project-specific significant effects which are peculiar to the project or its site.” The CEQA Guidelines further state that “[i]f an impact is not peculiar to the parcel or to the project, has been addressed as a significant effect in the prior EIR, or can be substantially mitigated by the imposition of uniformly applied development policies or standards . . . then an additional EIR need not be prepared for the project solely on the basis of that impact.” CEQA Guidelines Section 15183(c). (B) The GPU was adopted, and the GPU EIR certified, in April 2022 (State Clearinghouse Number 2020029087); the GPU went into effect on May 26, 2022. Any decision by the City affecting land use and development must be consistent with the GPU. The GPU EIR evaluates the potential environmental effects associated with implementation of the GPU and addresses appropriate and feasible mitigation measures that would minimize or eliminate these impacts. A project is consistent with the GPU if its development density is the same or less than the standard expressed for the involved parcel in the general plan for which an EIR has been certified, and the project complies with the density-related standards contained in that plan. CEQA Guidelines section 15183(i)(2). Development density standards can include the number of dwelling units per