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City of Santa Ana
<br /> On-call Environmental Review Services for Housing Division
<br /> Our work products will meet the requirements of the CEQA Guidelines, City-specific thresholds of significance,
<br /> State and local planning and zoning law, NEPA, and the National Historic Preservation Act.Vanessa Villanueva,
<br /> as Project Manager, and Deanna Hansen, as Principal-in-Charge, have been involved in numerous projects in
<br /> the City of Santa Ana from inception to implementation; making our Rincon team exceptionally qualified to
<br /> prepare environmental review documents for your development projects expeditiously and efficiently.
<br /> Preparing CEQA and NEPA documentation commonly involves reviewing documents,attending meetings with the
<br /> lead agency and project applicant, interacting with regulatory agencies, preparing reports, and attending public
<br /> meetings and hearings. For the CEQA process,this task typically starts with a review of the CEQA Guidelines to
<br /> assess whether a project is exempt from more detailed environmental review.Categorical Exemptions are well
<br /> defined in the CEQA Guidelines and include the categories of projects that would not likely result in significant
<br /> environmental effects (e.g., repairs or replacements of existing facilities, infill development). In non-exempt
<br /> cases, we would complete an IS checklist to determine the appropriate environmental clearance document
<br /> under CEQA. For projects where all impacts can clearly be mitigated and where there is not a strong base of
<br /> public controversy,an ND or MND is prepared.For projects that may result in a significant environmental impact,
<br /> an EIR is typically the appropriate CEQA document.When an EIR is required,we utilize the IS and scoping process
<br /> to focus the document on impacts that can potentially result in significant impacts.For NEPA,appropriate federal
<br /> agency consultation will be required. Documentation may involve Categorical Exclusions (Subject to or Not
<br /> Subject to Section 58.5), EAs,or EISs. In some cases,CEQA and NEPA apply to a project,and a joint CEQA/NEPA
<br /> document may be appropriate. In other cases, federal lead agencies prefer to process final review
<br /> documentation after the CEQA environmental review is finalized.
<br /> In addition to assisting our clients, including the City of Santa Ana, with the CEQA/NEPA processes, our
<br /> environmental planning group has regularly prepared a broad range of technical studies (e.g., quality, biology,
<br /> cultural resources,greenhouse gas[GHG]emissions,hazards,noise)to help design teams develop projects that
<br /> avoid or minimize significant environmental effects. Moreover, as described in "Technical Studies" in our
<br /> proposal, our team members have prepared many of these studies in the Orange County area, and therefore,
<br /> we are highly familiar with both local and broader agency requirements.Our environmental planning team also
<br /> supports developing and implementing MMRPs, including biological monitoring, revegetation and habitat
<br /> restoration,or archaeological monitoring,which may be required through the environmental planning process.
<br /> The scope of work for any environmental document or specialized technical study will depend upon the nature
<br /> of the project being analyzed and will vary from project to project.We have assumed that most documentation
<br /> will involve NEPA review,a lesser number will involve CEQA review, and that a range of specialized studies will
<br /> also be requested.The following briefly describes our approach to preparing typical CEQA/NEPA documents.
<br /> Approach to CEQA Document Preparation
<br /> Upon receiving an inquiry from the City on a particular project, an early step will be determining what level of
<br /> CEQA review will be required. Rincon's Project Manager, Vanessa Villanueva, will obtain a detailed project
<br /> description from the City staff members and consider the location, scale, and implementation timeframe.
<br /> Preliminary site research will be conducted, and CEQA Guidelines for all technical studies and environmental
<br /> documentation will be consulted.We are familiar with the City's certified program-level EIRs,such as the 2010
<br /> EIR for the Transit Zoning Code, which can be used for streamlining options, such as addenda or compliance
<br /> under Section 15183 of the CEQA Guidelines. Notably, Rincon has previously used the 2010 EIR for the Transit
<br /> Zoning Code to complete two separate EIR addendums for the First American Mixed-Use Project and 4th and
<br /> Mortimer Project between 2019 and 2021.As such,under this contract,we will consider all streamlining options
<br /> during our preliminary review of each project.
<br /> For projects that cannot be streamlined, the following are the typical procedures for an IS-MND and EIR. For
<br /> tasks involving City review, Rincon estimates a period of 15 days for the City to complete a round of review.
<br /> IS-MND Process
<br /> • Task 1 - Kickoff Meeting.A kickoff meeting will typically be held with one week of notice-to-proceed with
<br /> City staff to confirm study objectives and approaches,communication protocol,and schedule.
<br /> • Task 2 - Project Description.The project description will be submitted within approximately two weeks of
<br /> the kickoff meeting and receipt of information regarding the project.
<br /> • Task 3 -Administrative Draft IS-MND.The Administrative Draft IS-MND will be typically prepared between
<br /> four to six weeks,depending on the complexity of the project and technical studies required.
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