Addendum to the 2009 DSP Final EIR
February 2023 | Cotati Downtown Specific Plan Amendments
ADDENDUM TO THE CITY COUNCIL CERTIFIED
DOWNTOWN SPECIFIC PLAN EIR
SCH No. 2006032072
City of Cotati
Prepared for:
City of Cotati
Contact: Noah Housh
Director of Community Development
201 West Sierra Avenue | Cotati, CA 94931
Office: (707) 665-3635
http://www.cotaticity.org/
Prepared by:
4LEAF, INC.
Contact: Bret McNulty
Principal Planner
2126 Rheem Drive | Pleasanton, California 94588
Mobile : (805)722-5585
bmcnulty @4leafinc.com | www.4leafinc.com/
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Table of Contents
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Section Page
1. ADDENDUM TO THE SPECIFIC PLAN EIR...................................................................................................1
1.1 BACKGROUND ...................................................................................................................................1
1.2 PROJECT DESCRIPTION......................................................................................................................3
2. CEQA ANALYSIS.......................................................................................................................................6
2.1 PURPOSE OF AN EIR ADDENDUM .....................................................................................................6
2.2 DOWNTOWN SPECIFIC PLAN EIR FINDINGS......................................................................................7
2.3 ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS ...........................................................................................................10
2.4 FINDINGS.........................................................................................................................................13 Table Page
TABLE 1: COTATI DOWNTOWN SPECIFICPLAN LAND USE 4
TABLE 2: TITLE 17 (LAND USES) CHAPTER 17.22 ALLOWABLE LAND USES AMENDMENTS 5
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1. ADDENDUM TO THE SPECIFIC PLAN EIR
1.1 PURPOSE
This document serves as the analysis and environmental documentation for the City’s proposed DSP Amendments required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). This addendum to the DSP Environmental Impact Report (EIR) (State Clearinghouse Number 2006032072), certified on August 8, 2012, with approval of the DSP by the City Council, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15164. The Addendum demonstrates that the analysis contained in that EIR anticipates and adequately addresses the potential physical impacts associated with implementation of the DSP Amendments. Further, none of the conditions described in CEQA Guidelines section 15162 would result from the DSP Amendments that call for the preparation of a subsequent EIR or negative declaration.
1.2 BACKGROUND
The Downtown Specific Plan Amendments
The City of Cotati (City) Downtown Specific Plan (DSP) Amendments project proposes minor changes to the DSP and Zoning Ordinance that clarify and provide technical guidance for development projects to be consistent with the City’s vision for downtown, in light of numerous changes to State housing and planning law. These Amendments serve to strike a balance between consistency with recent changes in State planning and housing law, as reflected in the City’s General Plan Housing Element Update and reaffirms the DSP direction to foster development of a vibrant, pedestrian oriented mix of retail businesses, housing for all economic segments of the community, and recreation amenities, while preserving Cotati’s historic character (DSP, page 1:14).
Downtown Specific Plan
The DSP provides the development regulations for the entire 60-acre downtown area, stretching from Henry Street on the southern end of downtown, to the Laguna De Santa Rosa at the northern City boundary (shared with Rohnert Park). The goals of the plan include providing additional public space and multi-modal street circulation throughout the downtown; ensuring mixed-use is the primary development type downtown; providing a variety of building types, shapes, and sizes to ensure architectural interest; and ensuring a mix of retail and housing types served by adequate parking. The policy direction for these goals is provided by separating the downtown into four distinct districts (Historic Core, La Plaza Park, Northern Gateway, and Commerce Avenue) and tailoring the development criteria to each of these areas in the plan.
State Housing Regulation Changes and the DSP
Over the last decade, the California Legislature has passed an increasingly complex portfolio of housing laws in a statewide response to a shortage of housing affecting persons at all economic levels. With more
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1. Addendum to the Certified Downtown Specific Plan EIR
than 40 housing bills adopted since 2017 (primarily intend to overcome the lack of affordable housing in the state), the City of Cotati is subject to provisions of California state law that have changed since the last Downtown Specific Plan was adopted in 2009. In addition, the City is currently in the final steps of the process of updating the Housing Element and any proposed modifications to the DSP and properties included within must maintain consistency with the policies and programs in the draft Housing Element.
A summary of this recent legislation affecting preparation of the DSP includes the following:
SB 35 (2017) requires ministerial approval of housing and mixed-use development in jurisdictions not meeting their regional housing needs goals. The City of Cotati is currently subject to SB 35 provisions for projects with at least 50% affordable housing, and the determination is reissued each year at the end of June. The 2023 Housing Element Update and the DSP Title 17 (Land Use) amendments address this requirement.
AB 2162 (2018) requires that supportive housing be a use that is permitted by right in zones where multifamily and mixed-use development is permitted. The 2023 Housing Element Update addresses this requirement.
AB 101 (2021) requires a Low Barrier Navigation Center (LBNC) be a use that is permitted by right in areas zoned for mixed-use and nonresidential zones permitting multifamily uses. The 2023 Housing Element Update addresses this requirement.
AB 2011 & SB 6 (2022) require non-discretionary, staff-level (ministerial) approval of 100% residential and mixed-use housing projects in existing commercial zones that allow office, retail, or parking as a permitted use along commercial corridors and within ½ mile of transit when certain labor and affordability requirements are met. AB 2011 & SB 6 provide two avenues for developers; AB 2011 requires higher amounts of affordable housing, and SB 6 requires higher standards for use of skilled and trained labor.
These two concurrently adopted bills go into effect on July 1, 2023. The 2023 Housing Element Update addresses these requirements.
AB 1551 (2022) added Section 65915.7 to the Government Code which requires a city to grant a concession to a commercial developer who is also including affordable housing within a project located within ½ mile of a major transit stop. The concession may include, but is not limited to, a 20% increase in density; a 20% increase in floor area; a 20% increase in height; a 20% reduction in minimum parking; a limited use elevator; and/ or an exception to a zoning or land use regulation. AB 1551 goes into effect January 1, 2023. The 2023 Housing Element Update addresses this requirement.
AB 2244 (2022) allows affordable housing development located on a religious property up to a 50% reduction of required religious-use parking spaces, as of January 1, 2023. The 2023 Housing Element Update and the DSP Title 17 (Land Use) amendments address this requirement.
SB 330 (2019) extensively amended the State Housing Accountability Act (HAA) to prohibit downzoning and other intended or unintended efforts to preclude the development of housing through 2030 (as
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amended by SB 8, 2021). The HAA defines “housing development projects” and spells out the application process and time limits for local government review. The 2023 Housing Element addresses this requirement.
1.3 PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The Proposed DSP Amendments add clarifying language, remove inconsistent policy requirements, and address the recent state law requirements that multifamily housing be allowed in the Plan area by revising allowable uses in the DSP Title 17 (Land Use) amendments to clarify that 100% multifamily and affordable housing projects may be consistent with the DSP. At the direction of the City Council, the focus of this project is to prepare amendments that would update and clarify the DSP land use regulations to ensure the City is both consistent with state housing laws and which maintain the City’s vision for downtown as expressed in the adopted DSP.
Proposed DSP Documents Revisions
The DSP Amendments include two sets of document amendments. The first will be to the Plan itself and is intended to clarify development standards and affirm the mix of residential uses consistent with the build out (units, square feet) and forms (height, setbacks, and landscaping) anticipated under the Plan and the supporting DSP EIR environmental analysis.
The second set of amendments will be to the Zoning Code, inclusive of the Objective Residential and Mixed-Use Design Standards amendments (DSP Area) and other related Municipal Code standards as necessary to address the new housing regulations. Specific development projects are not included in the DSP Amendments. All future construction projects in the DSP Area must comply with the DSP, as well as the Cotati General Plan, DSP, Zoning Ordinance, development standards, and relevant state and federal jurisdictional regulations. In addition, future discretionary actions (i.e., use permits, site plan review) require independent and project-specific environmental review by the City and compliance with the (CEQA). The specific document edits are included in Attachment A.
DSP Downtown Land Use Densities
Table 1 below provides summary of the adopted residential land use densities applicable in the DSP.
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1. Addendum to the Certified Downtown Specific Plan EIR
Zoning Code Text Amendments
Table 1: Cotati Downtown Specific Plan Land Use
Cotati DSP
Zone District
Buildout Density
(Less Rights of
Way1)
Non-Residential2 Buildout
(Less Open Space3)
Residential
Buildout
(119 existing +331
new=450 units)
Total Buildout
Density
Residential
12.5 upa
Non-Residential
8,570 sf/acre
Commerce Avenue-CA CA Zone Total
6.5 acres
ROW 1.6 acres
4.9 acres
Non-Residential Square
Feet (sf): 42,000 sf
Non-Residential
8,570 sf/acre
61 Dwelling Units
4.9 acres
12.5 units
per acre (upa) Open Space: N/A
Residential units
8.7 upa
Non-Residential
8,282 sf/acre
Northern Gateway-NG NG Zone Total
36.2 acres
-ROW 9.1 acres
=27.1 acres
Open Space (OS):
-0.86 acres=26.2 acres
Non-Residential
217,000 sf
8,282 sf/acre
229 dwellings
26.2 acres
8.7 upa
Open Space:
.86 acre
Residential
19.0 upa
Non-Residential
25,376 sf/acre
La Plaza–(LP) LP Zone Total
11.3 acres
-ROW 2.9 acres
8.4 acres
OS: 3.75 acres
=4.7 acres
Non-Residential
118,000 sf
25,376 sf/acre
89 dwellings
4.7 acres
19.0 upa
Open Space:
3.75 acres
Residential
11.7 upa
Non-Residential
10,037 sf/acre
Historic Core-HC HC Zone Total
5.5 acres
-ROW 1.4 acres
4.1 acres
Non-Residential
41,150 sf
10,037sf/acre
71 dwellings
4.1 acre
11.7 upa
Open Space: 0 acres
Residential
10.2 (upa)
Non-Residential
Totals 10,503 sf/acre
Plan Area
59.5 acres
-ROW 15.0
acres=
44.5 acres
Open Space: 4.61 acres
Residential: 39.9 acres
Non-Residential:
419,050sf
&
10,503sf/acre
450 dwellings
44.5 acres
10.2 upa
Open Space:
4.61 acres
Source: 2009 Cotati Downtown Specific Plan, Environmental Impact Report (DSP EIR) Table 3.0-5 (City of Cotati). 1: DSP EIR Right of Way (streets, sidewalks), DSP EIR Appendices 3.0-B and 4.7-B 2: Non-Residential includes office, civic, retail, and services and includes 419,050 sf at buildout (assumes 182,000 sf existing and 237,050 sf new construction)
3: Open Space: Includes public parks and natural areas along watersheds.
4. Residential buildout includes 450 residential units (comprised of 119 existing residential units and 331 potential new units construction in the DSP).
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Minor changes are proposed to be made to the text of several categories throughout the Cotati Zoning Code. These categories include Purpose of DSP Zone Districts; Allowed Land Uses and Permit Requirements for the DSP Districts; Special Purpose Zone and Overlay Zone Standards; Objective design standards; Mixed-use standards; Density Bonuses; Parking Requirements and Definitions as detailed in underline and strike-through text in Attachment B of the staff report.
Public Outreach
In order to involve members of the Cotati community and help refine the City Council’s direction, this project included the following public outreach activities to gain public input on the DSP Amendments.
1. Public Surveys. January 2023
The City, in coordination with its consultant, has developed a concise survey and will distribute the survey via multiple channels to ensure a robust response. Staff highlighted the survey’s availability at the workshop event described below.
2. Workshop Event- In Person Outreach. January 2023
City staff hosted an informational presentation and workshop at a joint meeting of the City Council and Planning Commission on the DSP Amendments on January 17, 2023. Staff introduced the community to the project, informed them about the issues being addressed, and sought input from residents, businessowners and both the Commissioners and Council Members.
3. Downtown Plan Amendments Website
The Cotati Planning Department posted the Draft DSP Amendments on the Community Development Department website to serve as the public clearinghouse of information on the project, that includes:
• Access to draft documents.
• Provides a portal to the project survey and its results. • Agenda notices, staff reports and materials for public hearings by the Planning Commission and City Council are available in advance.
4. Public Hearings
The Planning Commission will conducting a public hearing to allow interested citizens in the community to provide additional input on the project, EIR Addendum and the legislative framework that has been provided by the State. A range of comments received on the DSP Amendments in the public survey, during the Public Workshop at the Joint Planning Commission and City Council Meeting, and during the noticing periods prior to the public meeting has been included for discussion and will be considered by the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission will consider recommending that the City Council certify the EIR addendum and approve of the DSP Amendments. The Planning Commission recommendations will be considered by the City Council along with the entirety of the public record prior to a final decision on the DSP Amendments.
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2. CEQA Analysis
2.1 PURPOSE OF A CEQA ADDENDUM
According to CEQA Guidelines Section 15164(a), an addendum shall be prepared if some changes or additions to a previously adopted EIR are necessary, but none of the conditions enumerated in CEQA Guidelines Sections 15162(a)(1) through (3) calling for the preparation of a subsequent EIR have occurred.
As stated in CEQA Guidelines Section 15162 (Subsequent EIRs and Negative Declarations):
“When an EIR has been certified or negative declaration adopted for a project, no subsequent EIR shall be prepared for that project unless the lead agency determines, on the basis of substantial evidence in the light of the whole record, one or more of the following:
(1) Substantial changes are proposed in the project which will require major revisions of the previous EIR or negative declaration due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects.
(2) Substantial changes occur with respect to the circumstances under which the project is undertaken which will require major revisions of the previous EIR or negative declaration due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects; or (3) New information of substantial importance, which was not known and could not have been known with the exercise of reasonable diligence at the time the previous EIR was certified as complete or negative declaration was adopted, shows any of the following:
(a) The project will have one or more significant effects not discussed in the previous EIR or negative declaration.
(b)Significant effects previously examined will be substantially more severe than shown in the previous EIR;
(c) 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
(d)Mitigation measures or alternatives which are considerably different from those analyzed in the previous EIR would substantially reduce one or more significant effects on the environment, but the project proponents decline to adopt the mitigation measure or alternative.”
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As stated in CEQA Guidelines Section 15164 (Addendum to an EIR):
(a) “The lead agency or responsible agency shall prepare an addendum to a previously certified EIR if some changes or additions are necessary but none of the conditions described in Section 15162 calling for preparation of a subsequent EIR have occurred. (b)An addendum to an adopted negative declaration may be prepared if only minor technical changes or additions are necessary or none of the conditions described in Section 15162 calling for the preparation of a subsequent EIR or negative declaration have occurred.
(c) An addendum need not be circulated for public review but can be included in or attached to the final EIR or adopted negative declaration. (d)The decision-making body shall consider the addendum with the final EIR or adopted negative declaration prior to making a decision on the project. (e)A brief explanation of the decision not to prepare a subsequent EIR pursuant to Section 15162 should be included in an addendum to an EIR, the lead agency’s findings on the project, or elsewhere in the record. The explanation must be supported by substantial evidence.”
2.2 2009 DOWNTOWN SPECIFIC PLAN EIR
The DSP was adopted August 26, 2009, after years of public engagement and input on proposed changes to the downtown land use regulations. This plan sought to counter the traditional "sprawl" development pattern by intensifying and combining land uses within the core of the City. While maintaining the City's small-town character has always been a strong value governing development, significant concessions were made to allow much more intensive development and a variety of architectural styles in the downtown area. These concessions support the development of new commercial and residential uses affordable to a range of economic levels, and mixed-use neighborhoods in a variety of building styles and sizes, served by a well-connected, multimodal downtown street network and multiple public spaces. The DSP maintains compatibility with the surrounding neighborhoods by dividing the downtown into four separate districts and creating specific development regulations for each. In many instances, these regulations are "form based" providing more direction on the appearance and presentation of the buildings than the type, level and intensity of their future uses.
The DSP EIR Certified by the City Council found that the DSP incorporated policies and programs which would reduce potential impacts to the following resources: aesthetics, hazards, and hazardous materials, land use planning, population and housing, public services and recreation, utilities and service systems, and water supply. Therefore, no mitigation would be required.
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The DSP EIR found that implementation of the DSP would result in potentially significant impacts to the following resources: air quality, biological resources, geological resources, hydrology and water quality, noise, and traffic. The DSP EIR systematically identified potentially significant impacts as well as mitigating policies and actions that address and reduce related environmental impacts to a threshold of less than significant. These DSP EIR mitigation measures are required to be implemented through development standards applied to individual project proposals in the DSP area. Further, the DSP EIR found that the impacts below were mitigated to less than significant with mitigation implemented and monitored, as summarized below:
• Air Quality
o Impact AQ-1: Construction-emissions.
o Impact AQ-2: Increased toxic air contaminants from vehicle and truck traffic and prohibits sensitive uses from being located with 135 feet of Highway 101. • Biological Resources
o Impact BIO-1: Impact to California tiger salamander, listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act.
o Impact BIO 2: Impacts to the Pallid bat due to renovation or destruction of older, unoccupied buildings.
o Impact BIO-3: Impacts to nesting raptors.
o Impact BIO-4: Impacts to western burrowing owl.
o Impact BIO-5 Impacts to other nesting birds, including special status birds, such as the loggerhead shrike.
o Impact BIO-6: Impact from development in the vicinity of Cotai Creek and Laguna de Santa Rosa watercourses, riparian areas, and water quality.
o Impact BIO-7: Impacts to the waters of the United States and State (including wetlands. o Impact BIO-8: Impacts to native trees located outside of watercourses and riparian zones. o Impact BIO-9: Cumulative loss of non-native annual grassland resulting in the loss of foraging/nesting /denning habitat for many species, forcing them to move into other species territories.
o Impact BIO-10: Cumulative impacts to waters of the United States, Regional Water Quality Control Board, and the California Department of Fish and Game. • Cultural Resources
o Impact CULT-2: Potential to unearth archaeological significant resources, including human remains.
• Geological Resources
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o Impact GEO-1: Implementation will result in development and population that would be subject to seismic hazards.
o Impact GEO-2: Implementation could expose soils to erosion as specific projects are developed.
• Noise
o Impact NOISE-1: Construction could result in short-term noise and vibration impacts on existing residential properties and noise sensitive land uses. o Impact NOISE-2: Buildout would potentially introduce sensitive land uses in areas to noise levels above acceptable levels.
o Impact NOISE-3: Noise from retail components of mixed use projects may adversely impact the residential component.
• Traffic
o Impact TRAN-1: Significantly affect the operations of three intersections in the year 2025. o Impact TRAN-2: Northbound vehicular queuing could extend substantially along Old Redwood Highway south of La Plaza.
o Impact TRAN-3: Peak traffic may affect streets adjacent to La Plaza. o Impact TRAN-4: Relocation of the fire station egress could affect response times. o Impact TRAN-5: Multi-use pathways in LA Plaza could create conflicts between motorized and non-motorized users.
o Impact TRAN-6: La Plaza design would result in slow moving traffic, high level right turns, and bicyclist safety might be affected.
• Greenhouse Gas/Climate Change
o Impact AQ-3: Cumulatively considerable contribution to the significant cumulative impact on global climate change if the DSP would obstruct implementation of greenhouse gas reduction measures.
The DSP EIR found that with the implementation of policies and programs from the DSP, would result in potentially significant unavoidable impacts with feasible mitigation implemented to the following environmental topic area, and therefore a finding of significant and unavoidable impacts would occur with mitigation implemented:
• Cultural Resources
o Impact CULT-1 and CULT-Cumulative: Removal or alteration of buildings that have the potential to be historic resources or may result in development that may be incompatible
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with adjacent historic structures; or remove or permanently alter historic structures in the DSP area.
2.3 ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
As discussed above, the DSP Amendments serve to strike a balance between consistency with recent changes in State planning and housing law, as reflected in the City’s General Plan Housing Element Update.
Specifically, the DSP Amendments reaffirm the DSP’s direction to foster development of a vibrant, pedestrian oriented mix of retail businesses, provide housing for all economic segments of the community, and increase recreation amenities in the DSP area, while preserving Cotati’s historic character. The DSP Amendments, therefore, will serve to refine and simplify DSP and Zoning Code permit requirements, applicable development standards, and integrate into the DSP, the City’s objective design review process for housing projects, as required under recent State legislation.
The allowable density identified in Table 1-above represents minor changes to the DSP consistent with directives in state law regarding allowable housing and housing density and consistent with the City of Cotati Housing Element Update. These changes ensure modification of existing policy to either streamline development that is already allowed or make the code consistent with state law. The modified programs would affect sites currently designated for development in the DSP, so there would be no change in the physical impacts associated with future development. Therefore, policies and action items identified in the General Plan EIR to reduce physical environmental effects would continue to apply to future development and would reduce impacts to the same significance level as identified in the General Plan EIR. the project would not result in new or more severe impacts than disclosed in the General Plan EIR.
As previously described in Section 2.2, the DSP EIR addresses significant impacts related to l air quality, biological resources, geological resources, hydrology and water quality, noise, and traffic.
A brief summary of the retained DSP guiding goals and policies is provided below with a discussion of their compatibility with the City of Cotati General Plan and the primary purposes of recent State housing and planning legislation.
Goal 1: Enhance Old Redwood Highway as the downtown, mixed-use center of Cotati community life. • Existing Plan-Wide Policies SP-1 through SP-4 have been retained as they include programs to create Great Public Places and Streets designs, and promote mixed commercial and residential uses for all economic levels downtown, and retain a variety of building types and uses have been which remain consistent with changes to State housing and planning laws (DSP pages 1:1, 1:13 and 1:14).
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Goal 2: Maintain the historic character which makes Cotati unique and achieve a high level of design quality to reinforce this character.
• Existing Plan-Wide Policies SP-4, SP-6, and Policy 11.3.5, as well as the 1.7 Historic Cotati. DSP Objectives for use and preserving existing structures with designated value have been retained as they include programs to create a variety of buildings would, pedestrian friendly, and protect the historic character of the community (DSP pages 1:1, 1:9, 1:13 and 1:14).
Goal 3: Improve the walking and bicycling system through downtown Cotati as well as the Interconnections between Cotati and the region; and
Goal 4: Promote a street system that is safe for all modes of transportation within a successful commercial mixed-use environment.
• As discussed in Goal 1 above and on DSP page 1:1, Plan Wide Goals 3 & 4 and implanting policies and Key General Plan Community Development policies supporting safe alternative transportation, pedestrian access, and parking within the Plan area will remain unchanged as they are consistent with the DSP and compatible with changes to State housing and planning law. (DSP pages DSP pages 1:1, 1:13 and 1:14).
Goal 5: Design housing to accommodate a diversity or Income levels, ages, and needs. • Existing Plan-Wide Policy SP5 has been retained as it ensures a mix of housing types to serve all economic segments of the community and create a variety of housing choices throughout the Plan area. In addition, Quality of Life Policy IP 2.2.2 to increase the amount of developable high density residential land has been retained as it is consistent with changes to state housing and planning laws.
Goal 6: Encourage development that Is sustainable: energy efficient and conserves resources. • The City of Cotai implements the energy efficiency standards Title 24 of the California Building Code, and all relevant updates, and would therefore ensure that all new development incorporates energy and water efficient standards, and remain consistent with state housing and planning laws.
New development resulting from changes required by State legislation would occur on land already designated for housing development for all economic segments in the DSP. Furthermore, all future development in the city would be required to comply with local regulations, including the General Plan, the DSP Zoning Code, and subdivision standards. These local regulations guide future development and would address physical impacts resulting from development. Moreover, the City’s Zoning Code contains a list of permitted uses for each respective zoning district. The DSP EIR anticipated physical impacts
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associated with the permitted uses in the City’s Zoning Code, and the proposed project would, therefore, result in no new impact as part of development. The policies and action items in the DSP EIR to reduce physical environmental effects would continue to apply to all development.
Therefore, development of housing as considered in this Addendum is consistent with what was analyzed in the DSP EIR The DSP relied on policies from various elements of the General Plan, as well as implementation of federal and state laws and the City zoning ordinance and development standards to address the physical impacts of future development. The proposed project does not change these policies.
Further, based on review of the DSP, the Cotati General Plan, and consideration that the DSP Amendments: All future development in the city would be required to comply with local regulations, including the General Plan, Zoning Ordinance, and subdivision standards. These local regulations guide future development and would address potential physical impacts resulting from development.
Moreover, the City’s Zoning Ordinance contains a list of permitted uses for each respective zoning district.
The DSP EIR evaluated permitted uses and anticipated physical impacts associated with development of these uses would therefore result in no new impact as part of development. As the proposed project does not change the permitted uses allowed by the Zoning Ordinance, there would be no new impact. Building regulations are applied as part of the building permit process and are independent of CEQA.
2.4 FINDINGS
The discussion in this addendum to the DSP EIR confirms that the proposed project has been evaluated for significant impacts pursuant to CEQA as part of the City of Cotati City Council Certified EIR prepared for the DSP. Below the requirements identified under CEQA Sections 15162, 15163, 15164 whereby a new CEQA analysis would be triggered are restated. The summary language below each demonstrates how the project will not create such a new or unmitigated impact, and therefore none of these cases occurs and therefore an Addendum to the original EIR is appropriate.
1. No substantial changes are proposed in the project which would require major revisions of the EIR due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects.
As the proposed DSP Amendments do not change any land use designation or zoning district, the impacts of the proposed project would be no more substantial than analyzed in the DSP EIR.
Substantial changes are, therefore, not proposed as part of the DSP amendments which will require major revisions of the previous DSP EIR due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects.
2. The project will have one or more significant effects not discussed in the previous EIR.
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The DSP Amendments propose minor, insubstantial changes in the circumstances that were present during the prior DSP EIR analysis of the DSP. Further, the DSP Amendments described above would not result in new significant environmental effects or an increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects. Based on the analysis above, no major revision of the previous DSP EIR is necessitated by the DSP Amendments.
3. Significant effects previously examined will be substantially more severe than shown in the previous EIR.
This addendum analysis did not identify new information that could not have been known at the time of the adoption, or of substantial importance that was not known or diligently analyzed in the previously certified DSP EIR. The DSP Amendments would not, therefore, result in any more significant effects not previously addressed in the DSP EIR. mitigation measures or alternatives that would reduce the impacts of the DSP, as it was developed with mitigating policies as discussed above that addressed known environmental issues. As detailed above, no significant effects previously examined will become substantially more severe than those previously examined in the DSP EIR. As such, no mitigation or alternative reviewed as part of the environmental analysis in this addendum substantiated a determination that mitigation or an alternative would substantially reduce significant effects that were not addressed in the City certified DSP EIR.
4. 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.
The proposed project includes policy-and implementation changes that are limited to complying with state law and does not result in physical changes to the environment. As discussed above, the proposed project would not create new impacts or the need for additional mitigation measures. As with the existing DSP evaluated in the DSP EIR, as well as the General Plan Update EIR, the proposed changes to the DSP would not result in significant environmental impacts that would require new mitigation measures.
5. Mitigation measures or alternatives which are considerably different from those analyzed in the previous EIR would substantially reduce one or more significant effects on the environment, but the project proponents decline to adopt the mitigation measure or alternative.
The proposed project would have the same impacts as identified in the previously certified DSP EIR, and all associated policies identified in the DSP to reduce physical environmental effects would continue to apply. As stated in the response to Standard 3, there are no new significant impacts resulting from adoption of the DSP Amendments therefore, there is no need for new mitigation measures or alternatives to the proposed project.
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6. Significant effects previously examined will be substantially more severe than shown in the previous EIR.
The proposed project includes changes to clarify that 100% housing projects are consistent with the Goals and Policies in the DSP and that are limited to complying with state law and would not result in physical changes to the environment that were not disclosed in the DSP EIR. Moreover, the DSP Amendments do not propose specific projects which would result in new impacts or the need for additional mitigation measures. The mitigating development standards identified in the DSP EIR to reduce physical environmental effects remain applicable to the DSP and DSP Amendments. The policies and action items in the DSP and City development standards would continue to apply to the DSP Amendments. The City is required to ensure its Plans do not conflict with State housing and planning laws. As the existing DSP evaluated potential impacts to the community from DSP area uses including housing and population the proposed Housing Element would not result in significant environmental impacts that are substantially more severe than shown in the previous DSP EIR.
7. The DSP Amendments would not result in the conditions outlined in CEQA Guidelines Sections 15162(a)(1) through (3)
As detailed in the environmental analysis and findings above, and because the minor changes required by recent changes to State law, the DSP Amendments are would not result in new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects requiring major revisions to the DSP EIR. Accordingly, this environmental analysis provides the substantial evidence required by CEQA Guidelines Section 15164(e) to support the finding that a subsequent EIR is not required and an Addendum to the Downtown Specific Plan EIR is the appropriate environmental document to address changes to the DSP.
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Downtown Specific Plan and Zoning (Title 17) Amendments SEE ATTACHMENTS A and B.