Within 30 days after acceptance of an application as complete, the ERC shall complete the initial study, make a determination as to whether an EIR is required or a negative declaration is to be prepared, and provide written communication of this determination to the applicant.
(Ord. 5119-B, 2001)
When preparing an initial study, the lead department must consult informally with all responsible and trustee agencies, and formally with California Native American tribes that requested consultation under CEQA, to obtain recommendations, within that agency's jurisdiction or area of expertise, as to whether an EIR or negative declaration should be prepared.
(Ord. 5119-B, 2001; Ord. 6042-B § 1, 2020)
Following preliminary review, the ERC shall prepare an initial study for nonexempt projects to determine if the project may have a significant effect on the environment.
(Ord. 5119-B, 2001)
A. 
The initial study shall contain, in brief form: a project description, a description of the environmental setting, an identification of environmental effects, a discussion of mitigation measures for any significant environmental effects, an analysis of project consistency with applicable land use regulations, and an identification of parties who participated in preparing the initial study. The initial study shall disclose the persons, the source, and the contents of information used in reaching conclusions regarding the significance of a project's environmental effects. Following independent review of the EQ, the initial study may append and incorporate the EQ by reference.
B. 
The specific location of recorded archaeological sites shall not be disclosed to the public in the text of a report nor on an exhibit. This information shall be provided to the planning department or community development/resource agency and shall be kept confidential in the EQ file or other location determined by the community development/resource agency.
(Ord. 5119-B, 2001; Ord. 5373-B, 2005)
A. 
Mandatory Findings of Significance. A project may be found to have a significant effect on the environment if any of the following findings are made by the ERC (see CEQA Guidelines Code Section 15065):
1. 
The project has the potential to substantially degrade the quality of the environment, substantially reduce the habitat of a fish or wildlife species, cause a fish or wildlife population to drop below self-sustaining levels, threaten to eliminate a plant or animal community, reduce the number or restrict the range of a rare or endangered plant or animal, eliminate important examples of the major periods of California history or prehistory, or cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a tribal cultural resource.
2. 
The project has the potential to achieve short-term environmental goals to the disadvantage of long-term environmental goals.
3. 
The project has possible environmental effects which are individually limited but cumulatively considerable. "Cumulatively considerable" means that the incremental effects of an individual project are considerable when viewed in connection with the effects of past projects, the effects of other current projects, and the effects of probable future projects, as defined in CEQA Guidelines, Section 15130.
4. 
The environmental effects of a project will cause substantial adverse effects on human beings, either directly or indirectly.
B. 
Environmental Thresholds. The county may establish quantitative or qualitative thresholds for determining impact significance.
C. 
Baseline for Threshold Decision. In assessing whether the effects of changes in land use designations (e.g., general plan amendments or rezonings) are significant, impacts shall be determined by comparing the proposed land uses to existing preproject environmental conditions. Future environmental conditions under the existing (adopted) land use designations shall not be used as a baseline.
(Ord. 5119-B, 2001; Ord. 5470-B § 1, 2007; Ord. 6042-B § 1, 2020)