Item 26 - Public Hearing Vista Heritage Charter School (601 North Fairview Street)

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Vista Charter Public Schools District Office and Outdoor Space Project CEQA Exemption 15183 a) The project is consistent with the development density established by existing zoning, community plan or general plan policies for which an EIR was certified. b) There are no project specific effects which are peculiar to the project or its site. c) There are no project specific impacts which the prior EIR failed to analyze as significant effects. d) There are no potentially significant off -site and/or cumulative impacts which the prior EIR failed to evaluate. e) There is no substantial new information which results in more severe impacts than anticipated by the prior EIR. It is the intention of the City to pursue an exemption for the proposed project. The environmental review contained in Section 4 has been prepared to assess the potential for the proposed project to result in environmental effects and whether the proposed project qualifies for an exemption under CEQA Guidelines Section 15183. The previously certified GPU EIR serves as the primary environmental compliance document for the project, and the text, standards of conditions, and applicable mitigation measures are incorporated by reference. Per the CEQA Guidelines, the exemption does not need to be circulated for public review but can be included in the staff report prior to making a decision on the project. 4. Environmental Review This section includes an assessment, by issue area, of the proposed project's potential effects on the environment. 4.1 Aesthetics 4.1.1 GPU EIR Findings The GPU EIR concluded that while buildout of the General Plan Update would result in greater density and intensity in the five focus areas, aesthetic impacts would be less than significant with implementation of GPU EIR Regulatory Requirements (RR) AE-1 through AE-3. RR AE-1 requires the City to enforce adherence with the California Building Code, including provisions of the Building Energy Efficiency Standards related to lighting. RR AE-2 requires the City to enforce development standards and other general provisions as detailed in the Zoning Code (Municipal Code Chapter 41, Zoning) to ensure consistency between the General Plan and proposed development projects. Last, RR AE-3 requires the City to enforce the development standards and guidelines of adopted specific plans. The GPU EIR also states that visual resources in the City include views from public places of the Santiago Creek along the northern portion of the City and the Santa Ana River along the western portion of the City. There are no State -designated scenic highways in Santa Ana. 4.1.2 Project Analysis The project site is located along North Fairview Street and is currently developed with one existing building formerly occupied by automobile repair businesses and associated surface parking. Due to intervening topography and ornamental vegetation, the Santa Ana River and Santiago Creek are not visible from the project site. The proposed project would renovate a former automotive repair building as the Vista Charter Public Schools district office. Although the proposed project Dec i y ouncil 26 — 68 1/16/20 9e 8