2019-050 -Adopting Local CEQA Guidelines

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Local Guidelines for Implementing the California Environmental Quality Act (2019) TYPES OF EIRS 8. TYPES OF EIRS 8.01 EIR S G ENERALLY. This chapter describes a number of examples of various EIRs tailored to different situations. All of these types of EIRs must meet the applicable requirements of Chapter 7 of these Local Guidelines. 8.02 T IERING. (a) Tiering Generally. certified broader EIR in later EIRs, Negative Declarations, or Mitigated Negative Declarations prepared for narrower projects. The later EIR, Negative Declaration, or Mitigated Negative Declaration may incorporate by reference the general discussions from the broader EIR and may concentrate solely on the issues specific to the later project. An Initial Study shall be prepared for the later project and used to determine whether a previously certified EIR may be used and whether new significant effects should be examined. Tiering does not excuse the City from adequately analyzing reasonably foreseeable significant environmental effects of a project, nor does it justify deferring analysis to a later tier EIR, Negative Declaration, or Mitigated Negative Declaration. However, the level of detail contained in a first-tier EIR need not be greater than that of the program, plan, policy, or ordinance being analyzed. When the City is using the tiering process in connection with an EIR for a large-scale planning approval, such as a general plan or component thereof (e.g., an area plan, specific plan or community plan), the development of detailed, site-specific information may not be feasible. Such site-specific information can be deferred, in many instances, until such time as the Lead Agency prepares a future environmental document in connection with a project of a more limited geographical scale, as long as deferral does not prevent adequate identification of significant effects of the planning approval at hand. (b) Identifying New Significant Impacts. When assessing whether there is a new significant cumulative effect for purposes of a subsequent tier environmental document, the Lead Agency shall consider whether the incremental effects of the project would be considerable when viewed in the context of past, present, and probable future projects. A Lead Agency may use only a valid CEQA document as a first-tier document. Accordingly, the City, in its role as Lead Agency, should carefully review the first-tier environmental document to determine whether or not the statute of limitations for challenging the document has run. If the statute of limitations has not expired, the City should use the first- tier document with caution and pay careful attention to the legal status of the document. If the first-tier document is subsequently invalidated, any later environmental document may also be defective. 2019 City of Santa Ana Local Guidelines 8-1 ©Best Best & Krieger LLP