Item 22 - Resolution Adopting Local CEQA Guidelines Resolution

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Local Guidelines for Implementing the California Environmental Quality Act (2023) NEGATIVE DECLARATION 2023 City of Santa Ana Local Guidelines 6-9 ©Best Best & Krieger LLP 6.10 POSTING AND PUBLICATION OF NEGATIVE DECLARATION OR MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION. The City shall have a copy of the Notice of Intent to Adopt, the Negative Declaration or Mitigated Negative Declaration, and the Initial Study posted at the City’s offices and on the City’s website, if any, and shall make these documents available for public inspection. The Notice must be provided either twenty (20) or thirty (30) days prior to final adoption of the Negative Declaration or Mitigated Negative Declaration. The public review period for a Negative Declaration or Mitigated Negative Declaration prepared for a project subject to state agency review, as set forth in Local Guidelines Section 6.11, must be circulated for at least as long as the review period established by the State Clearinghouse, usually no less than thirty (30) days. Under certain circumstances, a shortened review period of at least twenty (20) days may be approved by the State Clearinghouse as provided for in State CEQA Guidelines section 15105. See the Shortened Review Request Form “P.” The state review period will commence on the date the State Clearinghouse distributes the document to state agencies. The State Clearinghouse will distribute the document within three (3) days of receipt if the Negative Declaration or Mitigated Negative Declaration is deemed complete. The Notice must also be posted in the office of the Clerk in each county in which the project is located and must remain posted throughout the public review period. The County Clerk is required to post the Notice within twenty-four (24) hours of receiving it. Notice shall be provided as stated in Local Guidelines Section 6.04. In addition, Notice of the Intent to Adopt shall be given to the last known name and address of all organizations and individuals who have previously requested notice; by posting the notice on the website of the lead agency; and by at least one of the following procedures: (a) Publication at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the area affected by the proposed project. If more than one area will be affected, the notice shall be published in the newspaper of largest circulation from among the newspapers of general circulation in those areas; (b) Posting of notice on and off site in the area where the project is to be located; or (c) Direct mailing to owners and occupants of property contiguous to the project, as shown on the latest equalized assessment roll. The City, when acting as Lead Agency, shall consider all comments received during the public review period for the Negative Declaration or Mitigated Negative Declaration. For a Negative Declaration or Mitigated Negative Declaration, the City is not required to respond in writing to comments it receives either during or after the public review period. However, the City may provide a written response to all comments if it will not delay action on the Negative Declaration or Mitigated Negative Declaration, since any comment received prior to final action on the Negative Declaration or Mitigated Negative Declaration can form the basis of a legal challenge. A written response that refutes the comment or adequately explains the City’s action in light of the comment will assist the City in defending against a legal challenge. The City shall notify any public agency that comments on a Negative Declaration or Mitigated Negative Declaration of the public hearing or hearings, if any, on the project for which the Negative Declaration or Mitigated Negative Declaration was prepared.