2014-028 - Approving General Plan Amendement No. 2014-01

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City of Santa Ana -Park View at Town and Country Manor Draft EIR Alternatives to the SECTION 5: ALTERNATIVES TO THE PROPOSED PROJECT 5.1 - Introduction This section focuses on alternatives to the Park View at Town and Country Manor project. Section 15126.6 of the State CEQA Guidelines, as amended, mandates that an EIR include a comparative evaluation of the proposed project with the alternatives to the project, including a No Project Alternative. The alternatives may result in new impacts that would not result from the proposed project. CEQA requires that this analysis explain why the alternatives and related mitigation measures would not be preferable to the proposed project. Key provisions of the CEQA Guidelines (Section 15126.6) pertaining to the alternatives analysis are summarized below: • The discussion of alternatives shall focus on alternatives to the proposed project or its location that are capable of avoiding or substantially lessening any significant effects of the proposed project, even if these alternatives would impede to some degree the attainment of the project objectives, or would be more costly. • The No Project Alternative shall be evaluated, along with its impacts. The no project analysis shall discuss the existing conditions at the time the notice of preparation was published, as well as what would be reasonably expected to occur in the foreseeable future if the proposed project were not approved, based on current plans and consistent with available infrastructure and community services. • The range of alternatives required in an EIR is governed by a "rule of reason"; therefore, the FIR must evaluate only those alternatives necessary to permit a reasoned choice. Alternatives shall be limited to ones that would avoid or substantially lessen any of the significant effects of the proposed project. • For alternative locations, only locations that would avoid or substantially lessen any of the significant effects of the proposed project need be considered for inclusion in the EIR. An FIR need not consider an alternative whose effects cannot be reasonably ascertained and whose implementation is remote and speculative. The range of feasible alternatives are to be selected and discussed in a manner to foster meaningful public participation and informed decision making. Among the factors that may be taken into account when addressing the feasibility of alternatives (as described in CEQA Section 15126.6[f][1]) are environmental impacts, site suitability, economic viability, social and political acceptability, technological capacity, availability of infrastructure, general plan consistency, regulatory limitations, jurisdictional boundaries, and whether the proponent could reasonably acquire, control, or otherwise have access to the alternative site. An EIR need not consider an alternative whose effects could not Michael Brandman Associates 5-1 H \Cl t (PN- RN)b327b32]003MMVB2]0030 Sec05 Altematry .s