HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Resolution 13211 (General Plan 2020 Addendum #2)RESOLUTION NO. 13211
RESOLUTION OF THE SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL ADOPTING
ADDENDUM NO.2 TO THE CERTIFIED SAN RAFAEL GENERAL PLAN 2020 FINAL
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT (FEIR) (SCH# 2003052031) PREPARED FOR
GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT GPA11-001
(HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE, NEW SUSTAINABILITY ELEMENT, AMENDMENT
TO CONSERVATION ELEMENT POLICY CON -3, AND ELIMINATION OF PROJECT
SELECTION PROCESS) AND APPROVAL OF A
GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS REDUCTION STRATEGY
The City Council of the City of San Rafael finds and determines that:
WHEREAS, on November 15, 2004, the San Rafael City Council adopted Resolution
No. 11664, certifying the San Rafael General Plan 2020 Final Environmental Impact Report
(General Plan 2020 FEIR). The General Plan 2020 FEIR is comprised of the following:
➢ Draft EIR prepared by Nichols -Berman Environmental Consultants, February 2004;
➢ San Rafael General Plan 2020 Background Report prepared by the City of San Rafael,
April 2001 and updated August 2003;
➢ Response to Comments to Draft EIR prepared by Nichols -Berman Environmental
Consultants, August 2004; and
WHEREAS, the FEIR assessed the physical environmental impacts caused by
implementation of the San Rafael General Plan 2020. The General Plan 2020 FEIR concludes
that many of the significant environmental effects can either be substantially lessened through
adoption of feasible mitigation measures or that some of these effects would remain significant
and unavoidable despite the adoption of all feasible mitigation measures. The certification of the
General Plan 2020 FEIR was supported by the following findings:
1. The FEIR for the General Plan 2020 has been completed in compliance with CEQA;
2. The FEIR is legally sufficient, not only for approval of General Plan 2020, but for all
subsequent actions such as Rezonings, Pre -zonings, Annexations and revisions to the San
Rafael Municipal Code and regulations as necessary to implement the provisions of the
General Plan 2020;
3. The FEIR reflects the independent judgment of the City of San Rafael and the City
Council of the City of San Rafael; and
WHEREAS, subsequent to certifying the General Plan 2020 FEIR, on November 15,
2004, the San Rafael City Council adopted Resolution No. 11665 adopting the San Rafael
General Plan 2020. The adoption of the San Rafael General Plan 2020 was supported by CEQA
Findings of Fact and a Statement of Overriding Consideration (Appendix C to Resolution 11665)
and approval of a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP, Appendix B to
Resolution 11665); and
WHEREAS, since 2004, the San Rafael General Plan 2020 has been amended numerous
times. In processing and adopting many of the subsequent amendments, the City has relied on
use of the General Plan 2020 FEIR for environmental review and clearance. In 2009, the City
prepared and adopted an Addendum to the General Plan 2020 FEIR (Addendum No. 1), which
CDn A 101 5A'l.�l%���G.
assessed a General Plan Amendment to change the Plan -adopted traffic level of service (LOS)
standard a the intersection of 3`d and Union Streets; and
WHEREAS, in 2011, the City of San Rafael initiated a General Plan Amendment
(GPA11-001)which covers the following proposed activities and actions:
➢ Amending the Housing Element. California State Resources Code Section 65588
requires that local agencies periodically review and update its Housing Element. The
proposed amendment to the Housing Element represents a five-year update of this
element.
➢ Incorporating a new Sustainabilitv Element. In response to SB32 and recent revisions to
the CEQA Guidelines mandating assessment of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and as
follow-up to the adoption of a Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP), the City has
prepared a Sustainability Element. This element is supported by a Greenhouse Gas
(GHG) Emissions Reduction Strategy, serving as a technical appendix to the adopted
CCAP.
➢ Amending Conservation Element Policv CON -3. Conservation Element Policy CON -3 is
a very specific policy that discourages the filling of wetlands. Amended text is proposed
for this policy to provide better clarity for interpretation and implementation, without
compromising the primary purpose or goal, which is to avoid the filling of wetlands.
➢ Eliminating the Proiect Selection Process (PSP). The City's PSP (Project Selection
Process), a City process that allocates limited traffic capacity to new land development
projects, is proposed to be eliminated. As this process is adopted by the General Plan, the
specific policies, programs and text addressing the process are proposed to be deleted
from the Plan.
WHEREAS, as required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
Guidelines, General Plan Amendment GPAI 1-001 and the supportive GHG Emissions Reduction
Strategy is defined as a `project' and is therefore subject to environmental review. Given the
components and scope of this project, it was determined that "tiering" from the General Plan
2020 FEIR is appropriate and consistent with the CEQA Guidelines Section 15152 in that:
1. The four components of the project and their respective environmental topic areas are
broadly covered and analyzed in the General Plan 2020 FEIR. While study of GHG
emissions is a relatively new issue, it is related and responsive to air quality impacts,
which are analyzed in detail in the General Plan 2020 FEIR.
2. The project proposes a General Plan Amendment that is not site-specific or project -
specific; it addresses amendments to current policies and proposes a new plan element
and policies (Sustainability Element) that are applicable to the entire San Rafael Planning
Area. The level of detailed contained in this tier need not be greater than the program,
plan or policy being analyzed.
WHEREAS, to further support "tiering" from the General Plan 2020 FEIR, in June 2011
Initial Study has been prepared utilizing the most current CEQA Guidelines environmental
checklist (updated 2010), which incorporates the required assessment of greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions. An Initial Study was prepared considering the following factors that constitute the
"baseline" for review:
None of the components of the project result in any changes to land use assumptions or
projections currently presented in the San Rafael General Plan 2020 and analyzed in the
General Plan EIR. No changes are proposed to land use designations or their respective
density and intensity parameters, nor are any changes proposed to adopted land use
designations for individual sites/properties. Further, the project proposes no changes to
circulation (transportation/traffic) projections, policies or implementing programs that
would result in changes to level of service conditions at intersections or along arterials.
2. The Sustainability Element component of the project and the supportive GHG Emissions
Reduction Strategy are intended to address climate change and present policies and
implementing measures to reduce, among others, GHG emissions, carbon footprint,
reliance on non-renewable fossil fuels, vehicle miles traveled, energy consumption and
solid waste generation. While the ultimate, physical implementation of proposed
policies, programs and measures on a site-specific or project -specific basis may result in
individual impacts on the environment, the current project is at a policy level that is
applicable citywide.
3. The proposed amendment to Conservation Element Policy CON -3 would not change how
wetlands are defined or protected. Rather, the amendment is intended to provide clarity
in how the policy is interpreted and to appropriately reference the US Army Corps of
Engineers as the agency with oversight on the jurisdiction of wetlands.
4. The proposed amendment to selective policies and programs to eliminate the City's PSP
would have no environmental impacts. The PSP does not grant a land use entitlement to
develop or build, nor is this process subject to environmental review under the CEQA
Guidelines; and
WHEREAS, in preparing the Initial Study, the project was reviewed against impacts
identified and mitigation measures included in the certified General Plan 2020 FEIR (2004). The
purpose of this review was to determine if the project would result in: new significant impacts; an
increase in the severity of impacts; or new or expanded mitigation measures from those analyzed
and determined in the General Plan EIR; and
WHEREAS, the project and the findings of the Initial Study were assessed to determine
whether an Addendum to the EIR, Supplemental EIR or Subsequent EIR would be appropriate to
address environmental review for General Plan Amendment GPA 11-001 and the GHG Emissions
Reduction Strategy. Public Resources Code Section 21166 and CEQA Guidelines Section 15162
set forth limited situations in which a Supplemental EIR or Subsequent EIR is required once an
FEIR has been certified. Further, CEQA Guidelines Section 15164 provides for preparation of an
Addendum EIR if no Supplemental EIR or Subsequent EIR is required;.and
WHEREAS, as demonstrated in the preparation of an Initial Study and comparing the
project activities and actions against the impacts identified and mitigation measures included in
the General Plan 2020 FEIR, none of the conditions analyzed under the General Plan 2020 FEIR
have changed, nor does the proposed project, including the GHG Emissions Reduction Strategy
serving as an implementing tool of the CCAP and General Plan, meet the criteria for preparing a
Subsequent EIR or Supplemental EIR. Further, the project will not result in one or more
significant effects not discussed in the General Plan EIR, nor does the project create substantially
more severe significant effects than previously examined in the General Plan EIR. Therefore, the
Initial Study supports and recommends an Addendum versus the preparation of a Subsequent EIR
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or Supplemental EIR. Lastly, the Sustainability Element component and supportive GHG
Emissions Reduction Strategy have been analyzed consistent with the provisions of State CEQA
Guidelines Section 15183.5. As a result, an addendum to the certified General Plan 2020 FEIR
(Addendum) was prepared; and
WHEREAS, on June 7, 2011, Addendum (No. 2) to the San Rafael General Plan 2020
FEIR prepared for General Plan Amendment GPA11-001 and the GHG Emissions Reduction
Strategy was published; and
WHEREAS, on June 28, 2011, the Planning Commission reviewed and considered the
Addendum No. 2 for General Plan Amendment GPA 11-001, along with the previously certified
General Plan 2020 FEIR and all applicable mitigation measures therein. On a 4-0-2 vote
(Commissioners Sonnet and Lang absent), the Planning Commission adopted Resolution No. 1I-
07 recommending to the City Council the adoption of Addendum No. 2; and
WHEREAS, on July 18, 2011, the City Council reviewed and considered the Addendum
No. 2 for General Plan Amendment GPA 11-001, along with the previously certified General Plan
2020 FEIR and all applicable mitigation measures therein; and
WHEREAS, the custodian of documents which constitute the record of proceedings
upon which this decision is based, is the Community Development Department.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council adopts Addendum
No. 2 to San Rafael General Plan 2020 FEIR for the General Plan Amendment GPA 11-001 and
the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Plan based on the following findings, and hereby
reaffirms the findings made by the City in adopting Resolution No. 11664 (listed above)
certifying the General Plan 2020 FEIR:
1. CEQA Section 21166 and its corresponding CEQA Guidelines Sections 15162 and
15163, provide that once an EIR has been prepared, no subsequent or supplemental EIR
shall be required by the lead agency unless: (a) substantial changes are proposed in the
project, requiring major revisions in the EIR due to the involvement of new significant
environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified
significant effects; (b) substantial changes arise in the circumstances of the project's
undertaking, requiring major revisions in the EIR due to the involvement of new
significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously
identified significant effects; or (c) new information, which was not known and could not
have been known at the time the EIR was certified, shows any of the following:
➢ The project will have one or more significant effects not discussed in the previous
EIR;
➢ Significant effects previously examined will be substantially more severe than shown
in the previous EIR;
➢ Mitigation measures or alternatives previously found not to be feasible would in fact
be feasible, and would substantially reduce one or more significant effects of the
project, but the project proponents decline to adopt the mitigation measure or
alternative; or
➢ Mitigation measures or alternatives which are considerably different from those
analyzed in the previous EIR would substantially reduce one or mover significant
effects on the environment, but the project proponents decline the mitigation measure
or alternative.
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CEQA Guidelines Section 15164(a) provides that a lead agency shall prepare an
Addendum to a previously certified General Plan 2020 FEIR if some changes or
additions to the certified EIR are necessary but none of the conditions calling for the
preparation of a supplemental EIR have occurred. Based on the analysis and
documentation in Addendum No. 2 and the supportive Initial Study environmental
checklist prepared for the proposed project, none of the situations described in CEQA
Section 21166 and CEQA Guidelines Sections 15162 and 15163 apply here. Based on
the results of the supportive Initial Study environmental checklist, the City has concluded
that the proposed project would not result in new significant adverse impacts nor an
increase in the severity of impacts identified and studied in the certified General Plan
2020 FEIR. None of the conditions requiring a supplemental or subsequent EIR exists
and the Addendum has been prepared in compliance with CEQA.
3. The Addendum has been prepared in accordance with CEQA, the CEQA Guidelines, and
the provisions of the City of San Rafael Environmental Assessment Procedures Manual.
4. The Addendum has been presented to the Planning Commission and City Council, who
have reviewed and considered the information in the Addendum and the certified General
Plan 2020 FEIR prior to action on the project.
5. The Addendum No. 2 and the certified General Plan 2020 FEIR reflect the City's
independent judgment and analysis.
I, Esther C. Beirne, Clerk of the City of San Rafael, hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution
was duly and regularly introduced and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the
City of San Rafael, held on Monday, the 18`h of July, 2011, by the following vote, to wit:
AYES:
Councilmembers:
Brockbank, Connolly, Heller, Levine & Mayor Boro
NOES:
Councilmembers:
None
ABSENT:
Councilmembers:
None
/SS�alz G . R-e-Ile"e
ESTHER C. BEIRNE, City Clerk
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