Environmental Review
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) defines a General Plan Update as a “project.” The “project” includes the changes in land use proposed by the General Plan, as well as capital projects and new or modified policies relating to topics such as transportation, housing, resource management, and safety. It also includes the Draft Downtown Precise Plan. CEQA requires that an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) be prepared if the “project” could potentially have significant impacts on the environment. Thus, if the General Plan (or Precise Plan) facilitates increases in population and employment or changes to existing conditions, the impacts of the Plan on traffic, noise, wildlife, air and water quality, and similar factors must be considered.
This page has been established as the repository for all CEQA related documents pertaining to the General Plan and Precise Plan. The Project EIR consists of the Draft EIR (published in January 2021) and the Final EIR (published in May 2021).
On July 19, 2021, the City Council approved a resolution certifying the EIR.
Adoption of CEQA findings and a statement of overriding considerations is scheduled for August 2, 2021. Other key dates and deliverables are listed below, in reverse chronological order.
On June 15, 2021, the Planning Commission approved a resolution recommending Council certification of the Final EIR for the project.
The Final EIR was made available on May 23, 2021.
The Comment Period on the Draft Environmental Impact Report closed at 11:59 PM on March 9, 2021. The Planning Commission held a public hearing on the DEIR on March 9, 2021 at 7:00 PM.
The Draft EIR was posted to this site on January 7, 2021.
The Draft document may be reviewed using the links below.
- Draft EIR – Full Document, part 1 of 2
- Draft EIR – Full Document, part 2 of 2
Individual EIR Chapters
- Introduction
- Executive Summary
- Project Description
- Environmental Analysis
- (4.1) Aesthetics
- (4.2) Agriculture/ Forestry
- (4.3) Air Quality
- (4.4) Biological Resources
- (4.5) Cultural/ Tribal Resources
- (4.6) Energy
- (4.7) Geology/ Soils
- (4.8) GHG Emissions
- (4.9) Hazards/HazMats
- (4.10) Hydrology/ Water Quality
- (4.11) Land Use Planning
- (4.12) Mineral
- (4.13) Noise
- (4.14) Population/Housing
- (4.15) Public Services & Recreation
- (4.16) Transportation
- (4.17) Utilities and Service Systems
- (4.18) Wildfire
- Alternatives
- CEQA-Required Conclusions
- Acronyms-Abbreviations
Appendices
- A. NOP Scoping Comments
- B. General Plan 2040 Goals, Policies and Programs
- C. Staff-Recommended Land Use Changes
- D. Air Quality-GHG Emissions
- E. Biological Resources Data
- F. Cultural Resources Data
- Note: The report linked above was extensively revised during the DEIR review. Click here for updated information
- G. Hazardous Materials Data
- H. Noise Data
- I. Transportation Data
- J. Comment Letters (posted May 23, 2021)
Other Relevant Documents