2016-012 - California Environmental Quality Act

Home Browse Search

Statement of Overriding Considerations The following Statement of Overriding Considerations is made in connection with the approval of the Heritage Mixed Use project (project). CEQA requires the decision - making agency to balance the economic, legal, social, technological or other benefits of a project against its unavoidable environmental risks when determining whether to approve a project (CEQA Guidelines Section 15091). If the benefits of the project outweigh the unavoidable adverse effects, those effects may be considered acceptable. CEQA requires the agency to provide written findings supporting the specific reasons for considering a project acceptable when significant impacts are unavoidable. Such reasons must be based on substantial evidence in the E1R or elsewhere in the administrative record. The reasons for proceeding with this project despite the adverse environmental impacts that may result are provided in this Statement of Overriding Considerations CEQA Guidelines Section 15093). The City Council finds that the economic, social and other benefits of the proj ect outweigh the significant and unavoidable impacts to operational and cumulative air quality and operational and cumulative traffic. In making this finding, the City Council has balanced the benefits of the project against its unavoidable impacts and has indicated its willingness to accept those adverse impacts. The City Council finds that each one of the following benefits of the project, independent of the other benefits, would warrant approval of the project notwithstanding the unavoidable environmental impacts of the project; A, The City Council finds that all feasible mitigation measures have been imposed to either lessen project impacts to less than significant or to the extent feasible, and furthermore, that alternatives to the project are infeasible because they generally have similar or greater impacts, or they do not meet the project objectives, or are otherwise infeasible as fully described in the Statement of Facts and Findings. B. The project strikes a proper balance of land uses between commercial and office development that focuses on economic activity, and high- quality residential development with open space and recreation facilities, that emphasizes a mixed -use envirornnent in which residents benefit from nearby employment opporturvties. C. The project will rehabilitate an underutilized property, encourage increased levels of capital investment, and enhance the City's economic and fiscal viability pursuant to the City of Santa Ana Strategic Plan. The Heritage Mixad Use Project t ESA 1140730 Statement of Overriding Conslderetlons September 2015