A. Preparation
after the determination has been made that an EIR is required for
a project, the lead department shall prepare the notice of preparation
(NOP). The applicant shall submit a specified number of copies of
the project description and related exhibits to the lead department
for distribution along with the appropriate processing fee as set
forth in the land development fee schedule.
B. Contents. At a minimum, the NOP shall include a project description, a site plan, a vicinity map, the EQ, information required to comply with the P
CCP, if applicable (Section
19.10.080), the initial study and a description of the probable environmental effects of the proposed project. Upon completion of the NOP, the lead department shall compile and attach a mailing list.
C. Mailing.
The lead department shall use either certified mail or any other method
of transmittal which provides it with a record that the notice was
received to distribute the NOP to the following parties:
2. Trustee
agencies with resources affected by the project;
3. Federal
agencies involved in funding or approving the project, or a regulatory
agency with oversight responsibilities for projects that must comply
with Chapter 19, Article 19.10;
5. Other
agencies that exercise authority over resources that may be affected
by the project;
6. Transportation
planning agencies and public agencies with transportation facilities
that could be affected by the project;
7. Cities
or counties adjacent to the county that could be affected by the project;
8. All
organizations and individuals who have previously requested notice,
including any person who has filed a written request for such notice
with the lead department;.
9. The
Placer Conservation Authority for projects that must comply with Chapter
19, Article 19.10.
D. Review.
The public review period for the NOP shall be 30 days. If any entity
consulted with regard to the NOP fails to comment within the time
period, it shall be assumed that the entity has no comment to make.
E. Posting.
The NOP shall be posted in the office of the county clerk for 30 days.
F. Comments.
At the close of the comment period, the lead department shall transmit
all comments to the applicant.
(Ord. 5119-B, 2001; Ord. 5373-B, 2005; Ord.
6042-B § 1, 2020)
A. Prior
to preparation of the administrative draft EIR, a scoping meeting
shall be conducted by the lead department for any of the following:
1. A
proposed project that may affect highways or other facilities under
the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation (Caltrans) if
the meeting is requested by the department. The county lead department
shall call the scoping meeting as soon as possible but not later than
30 days after receiving the request from the Department of Transportation.
2. A
project of statewide, regional or area-wide significance.
B. The
lead department shall provide notice of the scoping meeting to all
of the following:
1. Any
adjoining county or city;
3. Any
public agency that has jurisdiction by law with respect to the project;
4. Any
organization or individual who has filed a written request for the
notice.
(Ord. 5250-B (Exh. 1) (part), 2003)
A. Public
Projects. The sponsoring department shall prepare, or cause to have
prepared, the draft and final EIR or cause the county to contract
with a qualified consultant to prepare it. The county will authorize
the preparation of an EIR on a public project with a contract between
the lead department, sponsoring department, and EIR consultant. The
county executive officer is authorized to execute such contracts on
behalf of the county when the EIR consultant is selected from the
pre-approved environmental consultant list. The maximum amount of
each contract shall not exceed the limit set forth in California Government
Code Section 25502.5.
B. Private
Projects.
1. For
all projects where an EIR is required, the applicant shall enter into
a private party contract with the county for the preparation of a
draft and final EIR. The county will authorize the preparation of
an EIR on a private project, based on a three-party agreement between
the lead department (county), developer, and EIR consultant. The county
executive officer shall be authorized to execute the agreement on
behalf of the county.
(Ord. 5119-B, 2001; Ord. 5317-B § 1, 2004)
A. Notice
of Completion. As soon as the draft EIR is published, a notice of
completion (NOC) and 15 copies of the draft EIR shall be filed by
the lead department with the State Clearinghouse.
B. Public
Notice. In addition to the NOC, the lead department shall provide
a notice of availability (NOA) of a draft EIR. Notice shall be given
in at least one of the following ways:
1. Publication
in a generally circulated newspaper of the affected region;
2. Posting
onsite and offsite in the area of the project location; or
3. Direct
mailing to owners and occupants of property contiguous with the project
area (shown from latest equalized roll).
C. Contents
of Notice. The NOA shall disclose the following:
1. A
brief description of the proposed project and its location.
2. The
starting and ending dates for the review period during which the lead
agency will receive comments. If the review period is shortened, the
notice shall disclose that fact.
3. The
date, time, and place of any scheduled public meetings or hearings
to be held by the lead agency on the proposed project when known to
the lead agency at the time of notice.
4. A
list of the significant environmental effects anticipated as a result
of the project, to the extent which such effects are known to the
lead agency at the time of the notice.
5. The
address where copies of the EIR and all documents referenced in the
EIR will be available for public review. This location shall be readily
accessible to the public during the lead agency's normal working hours.
6. The
presence of the site on any of the lists of sites enumerated under
Section 65962.5 of the
Government Code including, but not limited
to, lists of hazardous waste facilities, land designated as hazardous
waste property, hazardous waste disposal sites and others, and the
information in Hazardous Waste and Substances Statement required under
subsection (f) of that section.
D. Distribution
of Notice. The NOA shall be mailed to the following parties:
2. Trustee
agencies with resources affected by the project;
3. Federal
agencies involved in funding or approving the project or a regulatory
agency with oversight responsibilities for projects that must comply
with Chapter 19, Article 19.10;
4. The
State Clearinghouse, if one or more state agencies is a responsible
or trustee agency;
5. Other
agencies which exercise authority over resources which may be affected
by the project;
6. Transportation
planning agencies and public agencies with transportation facilities
that could be affected by the project;
7. Cities
or counties adjacent to the county that could be affected by the project;
8. All
organizations and individuals who have previously requested notice,
including any person who has filed a written request for such notice
with the lead department, and all those participating in the EIR scoping
meeting (oral and written commenters);
9. The
Placer Conservation Authority for projects that must comply with Chapter
19, Article 19.10.
E. Posting
of Notices. The NOA shall be posted in the county clerk's office for
30 days.
F. Distribution
of Draft EIRS. At a minimum the draft EIR shall be mailed to the following
parties:
1. The
State Clearinghouse (15 copies) with a copy of the NOC, if one or
more state agencies is a responsible or trustee agency, or if the
project is of statewide, regional, or area wide significance (as defined
in CEQA Guidelines Section 15206);
2. Public
libraries serving the project area;
3. Any
public or private agency that would provide services (water, wastewater,
schools, law enforcement, fire protection, parks and recreation, solid
waste collection, gas, and electricity);
4. Any
city or county adjacent to the county that could be affected by the
project;
5. Any
organizations and individuals who have previously requested the draft
EIR, including any person who has filed a written request for the
EIR with the lead department;
G. Review
Period for Draft EIRS.
1. For
projects of statewide, regional, or area wide significance, the minimum
public review period for draft EIRs shall be 45 days, unless the county
requests a shorter review period of at least 30 days and the State
Clearinghouse grants this request. The maximum public review period
shall not exceed 120 days.
2. For
all other projects, the minimum public review period for draft EIRs
shall be 30 days.
3. If
any entity consulted with regard to a draft EIR fails to comment within
the time period set forth in subsection (G)(1) of this section, it
shall be assumed that the entity has no comment to make. The County
need not respond to later comments, but may choose to respond to some
or all late comments at its discretion.
4. To
the extent permitted by law, testimony at public hearings held on
the project after the close of the comment period may be limited to
those comments raised orally at the ERC hearing and those comments
received in writing by the close of the comment period.
H. Recirculation
of Draft EIR. If, following initial public review, new information
of substantial importance is added to the EIR, it shall be recirculated
prior to preparation of a final EIR. Recirculation shall be required
if any of the conditions defined in Section 15088.5 of the State CEQA
Guidelines are present. Such recirculations are subject to the same
minimum and maximum time periods as specified for the first circulation.
(Ord. 5119-B, 2001; Ord. 5250-B (Exh. 1), 2003; Ord. 6042-B § 1, 2020)
A. Contents
of Final EIR.
1. The
draft EIR or a revision thereof;
2. Comments
received on the draft EIR either verbatim or in summary;
3. A
list of persons, organizations, and public agencies commenting on
the draft EIR;
4. The
responses to comments which address significant environmental issues
received on the draft EIR during the public review period;
5. Final
mitigation monitoring and reporting plan.
B. Format
of Final EIR.
1. The
response to comments section of the final EIR should make a reference
to the location in the text of the draft EIR where changes are to
be made. These changes would actually appear in the reprinted draft
EIR in the form of bolded text where additions have been made and
where deletions have occurred, the text shall be struck out.
2. The comments and responses to comments will be forwarded to only those agencies and individuals who commented on the draft EIR as per Section
18.20.060(E).
3. If
the project is a general plan, specific plan, community plan, or master
use permit (i.e., subsequent discretionary approvals required), the
draft EIR text shall be revised after the final certification hearing
such that the revised text has been removed with the final language
remaining. The CEQA findings adopted as part of the project's approval
shall also be included.
4. All
other projects can be filed following EIR certification with the bold
and struck out text remaining intact.
C. County
Review of Final EIR.
1. The
lead department shall independently review the administrative final
EIR to determine whether it conforms with the provisions of CEQA,
the State CEQA Guidelines, and this chapter.
2. If
the administrative final EIR is not in compliance with the above,
it shall immediately be returned to the consultant with a written
specification as to why it does not comply, and with suggested revisions
to assure compliance.
3. Once
the administrative final EIR has been determined to be in conformance
with CEQA, the ERC lead department shall approve it for public release
as the county's final EIR. The applicant shall be notified of such
approval.
D. Filing
and Mailing. One copy of the final EIR shall be placed on file within
the community development/resource agency and either a copy of the
final EIR or the response to comments shall be mailed to each person,
organization, or public agency who submitted comments in writing.
E. Supplemental
Entitlement Detail. Following the lead department's acceptance of
the final EIR, the applicant shall submit the supplemental entitlement
detail form(s) applicable for the specific land use entitlements required/requested
by the project. This form(s) shall be accompanied by the appropriate
entitlement review fee(s) as set forth in the land development fee
schedule and shall be submitted within 30 days of the lead department's
acceptance of the administrative final EIR.
F. Review
Period for Final EIRs. The minimum period that a final EIR shall be
available to the public in advance of a public hearing on the project
shall be 10 days.
G. Certification.
The final EIR shall be presented to the approving authority, who shall
certify that: (1) the final EIR has been completed in compliance with
CEQA, the State CEQA Guidelines, and this chapter; (2) that the final
EIR was presented to the approving authority, who reviewed and considered
the information in the final EIR prior to project approval; and (3)
the final EIR reflects the lead agency's independent judgment and
analysis.
(Ord. 5119-B, 2001; Ord. 5373-B, 2005)
A private project shall be approved or denied, not later than
180 days after certification of the final EIR. For a tentative subdivision
map for which an EIR is prepared, a project decision shall be made
within 45 days of final EIR certification by the appointing authority.
(Ord. 5119-B, 2001)
A. An
addendum to a previously certified EIR shall be prepared if some changes
or additions are necessary but none of the conditions for requiring
preparation of a subsequent EIR have occurred.
B. An
addendum need not be circulated for public review.
C. The
special finding required for approving projects with an addendum EIR
is as follows:
The previous (name) Environmental Impact Report, certified by
the (hearing body) on (date) and Addendum EIR (EQ #____) for (project
name) have been considered prior to approval of the project. Together
they are determined to be adequate to serve as the environmental documentation
for this project and satisfy all the requirements of CEQA. The Addendum
to the EIR did not raise important new issues about the significant
effects on the environment.
(Ord. 5119-B, 2001; Ord. 5373-B, 2005)
The lead department shall encourage the tiering of EIRs whenever
feasible. EIRs of broad scope shall be prepared for broad plans, policies,
and programs. Later EIRs shall incorporate by reference the general
discussions contained in broader EIRs, and focus on significant effects
not examined in the broader EIR and on site-specific issues. The project
initial study shall be used to determine the extent to which the broader
EIR is sufficient for the narrower project under consideration.
(Ord. 5119-B, 2001)
There may be other types of EIRs consistent with this chapter
and the State CEQA Guidelines that meet the needs of other circumstances
(e.g., staged EIRs, program EIRs). (See CEQA Guidelines Article II).
(Ord. 5119-B, 2001)
Special, abbreviated procedures set forth in CEQA and the State
CEQA Guidelines may be employed in the following situations:
A. Redevelopment
Projects. See CEQA Guidelines Section 15180.
B. Housing
and Neighborhood Commercial Facilities in Urbanized Areas. See CEQA
Guidelines Section 15181.
C. Residential Projects Pursuant to a Specific Plan Adopted by Ordinance. (See CEQA Guidelines Section 15182). Where an EIR has been previously certified a specific plan adopted by ordinance, no further environmental review nor initial study is required for a later project that is found to be consistent with the specific plan and where no substantial changes have occurred per Section
18.20.100 that would require the preparation of a subsequent EIR.
Prior to approval of any later projects defined above, the decision-maker
shall make a finding that, "the proposed project is exempt from CEQA
per Guidelines Section 15182, 'Residential Projects Pursuant to a
specific Plan.' The proposed project is within the scope of impacts
addressed in the previously-certified EIR and no new effects will
occur nor are new mitigation measures required for the later project."
D. Projects
Consistent with a Community Plan, General Plan Zoning, or Specific
Plan Adopted by Resolution (see CEQA Guidelines, Section 15183). Where
an EIR has been previously certified for a community plan, general
plan, zoning or specific plan adopted by resolution, an initial study
shall be conducted to determine if the later project is consistent
with the development intensity established by these plan policies.
In this case, no further environmental review is required except to:
1) evaluate project-specific impacts, 2) demonstrate how the proposed
project is within the prior EIR's scope of impacts, and 3) implement
the mitigation measures adopted in the previously certified EIR pursuant
to CEQA Guidelines Section 15183.
E. State-Mandated
Local Projects. See CEQA Guidelines Section 15184.
F. Streamlined
Environmental Review (Master EIR). See CEQA Statute Section 21157.
(Ord. 5119-B, 2001; Ord. 5250-B (Exh. 1), 2003)