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CAJA Environmental Services, LLC <br />9410 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Suite 101 <br />Chatsworth, CA 91311 <br />Phone 310-469-6700 Fax 310-806-9801 <br />The Environmental Analysis in the Addendum is Deficient <br />Even if an addendum were appropriate, the 51-page Addendum falls far short of appropriately analyzing <br />and disclosing impacts under CEQA. The GP PEIR is silent on STRs and the Addendum contains only a <br />cursory, superficial, and unsupported analysis of the STR ban. The analysis below and the technical <br />environmental and economic analysis provided in the reports from Ramboll, submitted concurrently with <br />this report demonstrate that there are numerous potentially significant environmental impacts that would <br />result from an STR ban in the Proposed Ordinance. These potentially significant environmental impacts <br />also mean the Proposed Ordinance is not eligible for a Class 1 exemption and that the City must prepare <br />a full EIR. <br />This is further clarified in CEQA Guidelines Section 15002(f)(1) which states: <br />(f) Environmental Impact Reports and Negative Declarations. An Environmental <br />Impact Report (EIR) is the public document used by the governmental agency to <br />analyze the significant environmental effects of a proposed project, to identify <br />alternatives, and to disclose possible ways to reduce or avoid the possible <br />environmental damage. <br />(1) An EIR is prepared when the public agency finds substantial evidence <br />that the project may have a significant effect on the environment. (See: <br />Section 15064(a)(1).) <br />Other California jurisdictions have recognized the need to prepare an EIR when proposing STR <br />restrictions. Earlier this year, for example, Monterey County completed an EIR for a proposed set of County <br />regulations for STRs that restricted but did not ban STR uses in the County. An EIR is even more warranted <br />for an ordinance proposing to ban STRs entirely. <br />For the reasons noted below, there is substantial evidence that the City's STR ban will reasonably <br />foreseeably result in direct and adverse changes to the physical environment including increases in VMT, <br />air pollutants, health consequences, GHGs, and energy use as well as reasonably foreseeable indirect <br />and cumulative impacts that may result in significant environmental effects. The City cannot rely on the <br />GP PEIR and must prepare a new EIR. In any instance, the Addendum's superficial and conclusory <br />analysis falls short of analyzing, disclosing, and proposing ways to mitigate these impacts and cannot be <br />relied upon to satisfy the City's CEQA obligations. The City must prepare a new EIR, or a new <br />Supplemental EIR to the GP PEIR, to properly analyze all areas of potential significant environmental <br />impact, a reasonable range of alternatives to the Proposed Ordinance, and mitigation of impacts to the <br />maximum extent feasible. <br />5 <br />