2017-046 - Approving Addendum Nos. 1 and 2

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Santa Ana/Garden Grove Fixed Guideway Project Addendum INTRODUCTION This Environmental re-evaluation and Addendum to the Santa Ana/Garden Grove Fixed Guideway Project (Project) Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) has been prepared to address design modifications to the Project resulting from the completion of preliminary engineering (30%) design. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires that if there are minor technical changes or additions to a project and no new or substantially more severe significant effects result, an Addendum to an approved EIR must be prepared. This Addendum describes design modifications that Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) is proposing for the Project and summarizes the findings and conclusions of the evaluation of how these changes affect the previous environmental analysis contained in the EIR. Section 15164(a) of the CEQA Guidelines states that "the lead agency or a responsible agency shall prepare an addendum to a previously certified EIR if some changes or additions are necessary but none of the conditions described in Section 15162 calling for preparation of a subsequent EIR have occurred." Pursuant to Section 15162(a) of the State CEQA Guidelines, a subsequent EIR or Negative Declaration is only required when: (1) Substantial changes are proposed in the project which will require major revisions of the previous EIR or negative declaration due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects, (2) Substantial changes occur with respect to the circumstances under which the project is undertaken which will require major revisions of the previous EIR or Negative Declaration due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects, or (3) New information of substantial importance, which was not known and could not have been known with the exercise of reasonable diligence at the time the previous EIR was certified as complete or the Negative Declaration was adopted, shows any of the following: (A) The project will have one or more significant effects not discussed in the previous EIR or negative declaration; (8) Significant effects previously examined will be substantially more severe than shown in the previous EIR, (C) Mitigation measures or alternatives previously found not to be feasible would in fact be feasible, and would substantially reduce one or more significant effects of the project, but the project proponents decline to adopt the mitigation measure or alternative; or (D) Mitigation measures or alternatives which are considerably different from those analyzed in the previous EIR would substantially reduce one or more significant effects on the environment, but the project proponents decline to adopt the mitigation measure or alternative. If major revisions of the EIR are not necessary and none of the conditions described in State CEQA Guidelines Section 15162 calling for the preparation of a subsequent EIR have occurred, CEQA mandates that an addendum be prepared. 2. BACKGROUND The Project is a proposed as an approximately 4 -route mile modern streetcar line that will connect the Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center (SARTC) to Downtown Santa Ana and a new transportation hub located near the intersection of Harbor Boulevard and Westminster Avenue in Garden Grove. 1 I age 1170726.1