2002-096 - Certifying the Environmental Impact Report for the Grand Avenue Street Widening Project

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Grand Avenue Widening Focused Environmental Impact Report Statement of Overriding Considerations STATEMENT OF OVERRIDING CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE PROPOSED GRAND AVENUE WIDENING PROJECT INTRODUCTION The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a public agency to balance the benefits of a proposed project against its unavoidable adverse environmental impacts in determining whether to approve the project. Section 15093 of the CEQA Guidelines provides: (a) CEQA requires the decision-making agency to balance, as applicable, the economic, legal, social, technological or other benefits of a proposed project against its unavoidable environmental dsks when determining whether to approve the project. If the specific economic, legal, social, technological or other benefits of a proposed project outweigh the unavoidable adverse environmental effects, the adverse environmental effects may be considered acceptable. (b) Where the decision of the public agency allows the occurrence of significant effects which are identified in the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) but are not avoided or substantially lessened, the agency shall state in writing the specific reasons to support its actions based on the Final EIR and/or other information in the record. This statement may be necessary if the agency also makes a finding under Section 15091 (a)(2) or (a)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines. SIGNIFICANT ADVERSE IMPACTS OF THE PROPOSED GRAND AVENUE WIDENING PROJECT As discussed in the Findinos and Facts in SuDDOrt of Findinas for Potentially Significant Adverse Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Grand Avenue Widening Project, this project will result in significant adverse impacts which cannot be mitigated to below a level of significance. These impacts are inherent to the implementation of this project and cannot feasibly be mitigated to below a level of significance. Neither of the project alternatives provides further abatement of these unavoidable adverse impacts, compared to the other build alternative. Only the No Project Alternative avoids these significant adverse impacts. The EIR identified the following impacts as unavoidable significant adverse impacts of the proposed Grand Avenue widening project: · Adverse impacts as a result of the removal of existing uses and the physical disruption of the established community on both sides of Grand Avenue. Resolution No. 2002-096 Page 17 of 19