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Orange County Employees Retirement System HQ City of Santa Ana Class 2 Exemption 1 1. INTRODUCTION The Project Applicant is requesting approval from the City of Santa Ana for a Minor Exception and a Development Site Review to demolish an existing two-story 30,299 square feet (SF) professional service building and construct a three-story, approximately 65,768 SF professional office building with parking, landscaping, and access improvements (proposed Project). The City of Santa Ana is the Lead Agency for the proposed Project and will utilize this document as evidence that the proposed Project qualifies for the Class 2 Replacement or Reconstruction Project Exemption, which is further described below. 1.1. PURPOSE OF THE EXEMPTION Article 19 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines includes, as required by Public Resources Code Section 21084, a list of classes of projects which have been determined not to have a significant effect on the environment. This document demonstrates that the proposed Project qualifies for a CEQA Exemption as a Replacement or Reconstruction Project (Class 2), consistent with the provisions of CEQA Guidelines Sections 15302 and 15300.2 and provides information for City decision-makers to find that the proposed Project is exempt under CEQA. Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15302 (Cal. Code Regs. tit. 14 § 15302), Class 2 consists of replacement or reconstruction of existing structures and facilities where the new structure will be located on the same site as the structure replaced and will have substantially the same purpose and capacity as the structure replaced, including but not limited to: a. Replacement or reconstruction of existing schools and hospitals to provide earthquake resistant structures which do not increase capacity more than 50 percent; b. Replacement of a commercial structure with a new structure of substantially the same size, purpose, and capacity. c. Replacement or reconstruction of existing utility systems and/or facilities involving negligible or no expansion of capacity. d. Conversion of overhead electric utility distribution system facilities to underground including connection to existing overhead electric utility distribution lines where the surface is restored to the condition existing prior to the undergrounding. In addition to meeting the requirements stated above, CEQA Guidelines Section 15300.2 provides specific instances where exceptions apply to a project that would otherwise meet the requirements for an exemption. These exceptions are: a. Location: Classes 3, 4, 5, 6, and 11 are qualified by consideration of where the project is to be located – a project that is ordinarily insignificant in its impact on the environment may in a particularly sensitive environment be significant. Therefore, these classes are considered to apply in all instances, except where the project may impact on an environmental resource of hazardous or critical concern where designated, precisely mapped, and officially adopted pursuant to law by federal, State, or local agencies. b. Cumulative Impact: All exemptions for these classes are inapplicable when the cumulative impact of successive projects of the same type in the same place, over time is significant. c. Significant Effects: A categorical exemption shall not be used for an activity where there is a reasonable possibility that the activity will have a significant effect on the environment due to unusual circumstances. d. Scenic Highways: A categorical exemption shall not be used for a project which may result in damage to scenic resources, including but not limited to, trees, historic buildings, rock outcroppings, or similar