Environmental Review of the General Plan
An integral component of the General Plan Update is the environmental review required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) which will analyze potential environmental impacts from implementation of the updated General Plan. Because the General Plan is a long-range policy document, the associated environmental analysis will be programmatic in that it will not analyze a specific construction project, but will look at the overall impacts of the policy and land use direction provided in the General Plan.
Consistent with CEQA, the City as the lead agency must complete the appropriate environmental analysis prior to approval of a project. More specifically, the City Council must certify an Environmental Impact Report prior to the adoption of the General Plan Update.
What is an EIR?
The Environmental Impact Report (EIR) analyzes the environmental impacts of implementing the updated General Plan, including the impacts of future development patterns, infrastructure improvements, and policy changes. The EIR identifies alternatives to the proposed project and presents ways to reduce or avoid environmental damage through mitigation measures.
The EIR is intended to be a program-level document that will analyze the effects of the proposed General Plan Update. Program EIRs generally analyze broad environmental effects of the program, with the acknowledgment that site-specific environmental review may be required for future actions. The purpose of a Program EIR is to allow the lead agency to consider broad policy alternatives and program-wide mitigation measures at a time when the agency has greater flexibility to deal with basic problems or cumulative impacts.
Topics covered in the Draft EIR will include:
Aesthetics
Agriculture & Forestry
Air Quality
Biological Resources
Cultural Resources
Energy
Geology & Soils
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Hazards & Hazardous Materials
Hydrology & Water Quality
Land Use & Planning
Noise
Public Services & Recreation
Transportation
Tribal Cultural Resources
Utilities
Wildfire
Other CEQA Topics
Alternatives