Hollister City Council
December 3, 2024

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

CULTURAL AND TRIBAL CULTURAL RESOURCES
PLACEWORKS 4.5-25
would not disturb any human remains, including those interred outside of dedicated cemeteries, and impacts would be less than significant.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

Agricultural Lands Preservation Program
The proposed Agricultural Lands Preservation Program (ALPP) is a program focused on mitigating the effects of agricultural land conversion through the dedication of eligible agricultural conservation easements at a rate of at least one acre of agricultural land for each one acre of agricultural land to be converted (1:1 ratio) for projects that would convert agricultural land to nonagricultural uses. Since the proposed ALPP does not involve any land use changes that would affect cultural resources, implementation of the proposed ALPP would not disturb any human remains, including those interred outside of dedicated cemeteries, and impacts would be less than significant.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

CUL-4 Implementation of the proposed project would not cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a TCR, defined in PRC Section 21074 as either a site, feature, place, cultural landscape that is geographically defined in terms of the size and scope of the landscape, sacred place, or object with cultural value to a California Native American Tribe, and that is: (i) Listed or eligible for listing in the California Register, or in a local register of historical resources as defined in PRC Section 5020.1(k), or (ii) A resource determined by the lead agency, in its discretion and supported by substantial evidence, to be significant pursuant to criteria set forth in subdivision (c) of PRC Section 5024.1. In applying the criteria set forth in subdivision (c) of the PRC Section 5024.1 for the purposes of this paragraph, the lead agency shall consider the significance to a California Native American tribe.

As previously described in Section 4.5.1.2, Regulatory Framework, a TCR is defined in PRC Section 21074(a) as a site, feature, place, or cultural landscape that is geographically defined in terms of size and scope, sacred place, or object with cultural value to a California Native American tribe that is either included or eligible for inclusion in the California Register or included in a local register of historical resources, or if the City of Hollister, acting as the lead agency, supported by substantial evidence, chooses at its discretion to treat the resource as a TCR.14

14 Public Resources Code Sections 21074(a)(1) and (2).

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

CULTURAL AND TRIBAL CULTURAL RESOURCES

4.5-26 JULY 2024
2040 General Plan
As described under Impact Discussions CUL-2 and CUL-3, impacts from potential future development in the EIR Study Area under the proposed 2040 General Plan could impact unknown archaeological resources, including Native American artifacts and human remains.

In addition to the goals, policies, and actions of the proposed Land Use and Community Design (LU) and Open Space and Agricultural (OS) Elements that protect archaeological resources, the proposed Natural Resource and Conservation (NRC) Element of the 2040 General Plan contains goals, policies, and actions that require local planning and development decisions to consider impacts to TCRs. The following proposed 2040 General Plan goal and policies, in addition to those listed under Impact Discussion CUL-2, would serve to minimize potential adverse impacts to TCRs:

Goal NRC-2: Protect and preserve the tribal cultural resources in the Hollister Sphere of Influence. (new)  Policy NRC-2.1: Tribal Cultural Resources. The City shall acknowledge the importance of tribal cultural resources by taking concrete steps to preserve areas that have identifiable and important tribal cultural resources. (new)
 Policy NRC-2.2: Tribal Consultation. Support the tribal consultation process, relationship building, and respect for tribal cultural resources. Consult with Native American representatives, including through early coordination, to identify locations of importance to Native Americans, including archaeological sites, sacred sites, traditional cultural properties, and other types of tribal cultural resources. Respect tribal concerns if a tribe has a religious prohibition against revealing information about specific practices or locations. (new)
 *Policy NRC-2.4: Tribal Coordination During Project Construction. Require the developer of a proposed project that could impact a tribal cultural resource to contact an appropriate tribal representative to train construction workers on appropriate avoidance and minimization measures, requirements for confidentiality and culturally appropriate treatment, other applicable regulations and consequences of violating State laws and regulations prior to construction. (new)  *Policy NRC-2.5: Preconstruction Investigations. Require project applicants to prepare preconstruction investigations of potential tribal cultural resources and on-site mitigation for all developments prior to the issuance of building permits. (new)
Because potential future development under the proposed 2040 General Plan has potential to impact TCRs, impacts from the proposed General Plan 2040 are potentially significant.

Impact CUL-4: Impacts to tribal cultural resources could occur from potential future development under the proposed 2040 General Plan.

Significance with Mitigation: Less than significant. Implementation of the proposed 2040 General Plan goals, policies, and actions would ensure that new development in the EIR Study Area reduces potential impacts to tribal cultural resources (TCRs). Specifically, proposed 2040 General Plan*Policy NRC-2.3, Protection and Preservation of Archaeological Resources, would mitigate impacts from potential future development by requiring future project applicants to comply with state and federal

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

CULTURAL AND TRIBAL CULTURAL RESOURCES
PLACEWORKS 4.5-27
standards to evaluate and mitigate impacts to archeological resources; *Policy NRC-2.4, Tribal Coordination During Project Construction, would mitigate impacts by requiring the developer of a proposed project that could impact a TCR to contact an appropriate tribal representative to train construction workers on appropriate avoidance and minimization measures, requirements for confidentiality and culturally appropriate treatment, other applicable regulations, and consequences of violating State laws and regulations; and *Policy NRC-2.5, Preconstruction Investigations, would mitigate impacts by requiring project applicants to prepare preconstruction investigations of potential TCRs and on-site mitigation for all developments. Implementation of these mitigating policies and compliance with existing federal, state, and local laws and regulations, and the proposed 2040 General Plan goals, policies, and actions listed here and under Impact Discussion CUL-2 would protect unrecorded TCRs in the EIR Study Area by providing for the early detection of potential conflicts between development and resource protection, and by preventing or minimizing the material impairment of the ability of archaeological deposits to convey their significance through excavation or preservation. Therefore, the proposed 2040 General Plan would result in a less-than-significant impact on TCRs.

Climate Action Plan
The proposed CAP is a strategic plan focused on GHG emissions reduction through recommended community-wide GHG reduction strategies and an implementation plan. Since the proposed CAP does not involve any land use changes that would affect TCRs, implementation of the proposed CAP would not cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a TCR and impacts would be less than significant.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

Agricultural Lands Preservation Program
The proposed Agricultural Lands Preservation Program (ALPP) is a program focused on mitigating the effects of agricultural land conversion through the dedication of eligible agricultural conservation easements at a rate of at least one acre of agricultural land for each one acre of agricultural land to be converted (1:1 ratio) for projects that would convert agricultural land to nonagricultural uses. Since the proposed ALPP does not involve any land use changes that would affect TCRs, implementation of the proposed ALPP would not cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a TCR and impacts would be less than significant.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

CUL-5 Implementation of the proposed project would not result in a cumulatively considerable impact to cultural and tribal cultural resources.

The impacts of potential future development under implementation of the proposed 2040 General Plan on cultural resources and TCRs tend to be site-specific, and cumulative impacts would occur when a series of actions leads to the loss of a substantial type of site, building, or resource. For example, while the loss

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

CULTURAL AND TRIBAL CULTURAL RESOURCES

4.5-28 JULY 2024
of a single historic building may not be significant to the character of a neighborhood or streetscape, continued loss of such resources on a project-by-project basis could constitute a significant cumulative effect. This is most obvious in historic districts, where destruction or alteration of a percentage of the contributing elements may lead to a loss of integrity for the district overall. For example, changes to the setting or atmosphere of an area by adding modern structures on all sides of a historically significant building, thus altering the aesthetics of the streetscape, would create a significant impact. Destruction or relocation of historic buildings would also significantly impact the setting. 2040 General Plan
While the majority of future development planned for under the proposed 2040 General Plan would be primarily located within the developed portions of the EIR Study Area, some development could occur on undeveloped land. The majority of this land has been assigned the proposed Specific Plan land use designation meaning potential future development would be subject to site-specific policies to protect resources in the Specific Plan Area. This, in conjunction with buildout of the city and the region, has the potential to cumulatively impact cultural resources and TCRs. As previously discussed, impacts to historical resources, archaeological resources, human remains, or TCRs identified within the areas of potential development in the EIR Study Area would be less than significant with implementation of the proposed 2040 General Plan goals, policies, and actions. As described in Impact Discussions CUL-1, CUL-2, CUL-3, and CUL-4, proposed 2040 General Plan *Policy LU-19.1, Historic Structure Preservation, Renovation, and Rehabilitation, *Policy LU-19.5, Historic Structure Alteration, *Policy NRC-2.3, Protection and Preservation of Archaeological Resources, *Policy NRC-2.4, Tribal Coordination During Project Construction, and *Policy NRC-2.5, Preconstruction Investigations, would mitigate impacts to cultural and tribal cultural resources. Additionally, the existing federal, state, and local regulations described throughout this chapter serve to protect cultural resources in the EIR Study Area. Continued compliance with these regulations substantially decreases potential impacts to historical resources, archaeological resources, human remains, and TCRs to the maximum extent practicable and ensures the cumulative impact would be less than significant.

Significance with Mitigation: Less than significant.

Climate Action Plan
The proposed CAP is a strategic plan focused on GHG emissions reduction through recommended community-wide GHG reduction strategies and an implementation plan. Since the proposed CAP does not involve any land use changes that would affect cultural or tribal cultural resources, implementation of the proposed CAP would result in a less-than-significant cumulative impact with respect to cultural resources or TCRs.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

CULTURAL AND TRIBAL CULTURAL RESOURCES
PLACEWORKS 4.5-29
Agricultural Lands Preservation Program
The proposed ALPP is a program focused on mitigating the effects of agricultural land conversion through the dedication of eligible agricultural conservation easements at a rate of at least one acre of agricultural land for each one acre of agricultural land to be converted (1:1 ratio) for projects that would convert agricultural land to nonagricultural uses. Since the proposed ALPP does not involve any land use changes that would affect cultural resources or TCRs, implementation of the proposed CAP would result in a less- than-significant cumulative impact with respect to cultural resources or TCRs.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

CULTURAL AND TRIBAL CULTURAL RESOURCES

4.5-30 JULY 2024
This page intentionally left blank.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER
ENERGY
PLACEWORKS 4.6-1

4.6 ENERGY
This chapter of the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) describes the potential energy impacts associated with the approval and implementation of the proposed project. This chapter describes the regulatory framework and existing conditions, identifies criteria used to determine impact significance, provides an analysis of the potential energy impacts, and identifies policies that could minimize any potentially significant impacts.

4.6.1 ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING

REGULATORY SETTING
Federal Regulations
Federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act
The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 was established in response to the 1973 oil crisis. The act created the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, established vehicle fuel economy standards, and prohibited the export of U.S. crude oil (with a few limited exceptions). It also created Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for passenger cars starting in model year 1978. The CAFE standards are updated periodically to account for changes in vehicle technologies, driver behavior, and/or driving conditions.

The federal government issued new CAFE standards in 2012 for model years 2017 to 2025 that required a fleet average of 54.5 miles per gallon (MPG) for model year 2025. In addition, on March 31, 2022, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration finalized new fuel standards that will increase fuel efficiency 8 percent annually for model years 2024 and 2025 and 10 percent for model year 2026. Overall, latest CAFE standards require a fleet average of 49 MPG for passenger vehicles and light trucks for model year 2026, which will be a 10 MPG increase relative to model year 2021.1 On July 28, 2023, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed new CAFE standards for passenger cars and light trucks built in model years 2027-2032, and new fuel efficiency standards for heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans built in model years 2027-2035. If finalized, the proposal would require an industry fleet-wide average of approximately 58 miles per gallon for passenger cars and light trucks in model year 2032, by increasing fuel economy by 2 percent year over year for passenger cars and by 4 percent year over year for light trucks. For heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans, the proposal would increase fuel efficiency by 10 percent year over year.2

1 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2022, April 1, USDOT Announces New Vehicle Fuel Economy Standards for Model Year 2024-2026, https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/usdot-announces-new-vehicle-fuel-economy-standards -model-year-2024-2026, accessed December 29, 2022.
2 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 2023, July 28, Corporate Average Fuel Economy, NHTSA Announces New Proposal for CAFE and HDPUV Standards, https://www.nhtsa.gov/laws-regulations/corporate-average-fuel- economy, accessed May 13, 2024.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER
ENERGY

4.6-2 JULY 2024
Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007
The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-140) seeks to provide the nation with greater energy independence and security by increasing the production of clean renewable fuels; improving vehicle fuel economy; and increasing the efficiency of products, buildings, and vehicles. It also seeks to improve the energy performance of the federal government. The act sets increased CAFE standards; the Renewable Fuel Standard; appliance energy-efficiency standards; building energy-efficiency standards; and accelerated research and development tasks on renewable energy sources (e.g., solar energy, geothermal energy, and marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy technologies), carbon capture, and sequestration.3
Energy Policy Act of 2005
Passed by Congress in July 2005, the Energy Policy Act includes a comprehensive set of provisions to address energy issues. This act includes tax incentives for energy conservation improvements in commercial and residential buildings, fossil fuel production and clean coal facilities, and construction and operation of nuclear power plants, among other things. Subsidies are also included for geothermal, wind energy, and other alternative energy producers.

National Energy Policy
Established in 2001 by the National Energy Policy Development Group, the National Energy Policy is designed to help the private sector and state and local governments promote dependable, affordable, and environmentally sound production and distribution of energy for the future. Key issues addressed by the energy policy are energy conservation, repair and expansion of energy infrastructure, and ways of increasing energy supplies while protecting the environment.

Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968
The Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968 authorizes the United States Department of Transportation to regulate pipeline transportation of flammable, toxic, or corrosive natural gas and other gases as well as the transportation and storage of liquefied natural gas. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration within the Department of Transportation develops and enforces regulations for the safe, reliable, and environmentally sound operation of the nation’s 2.6-million-mile pipeline transportation system.

3 United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2007, Summary of the Energy Independence and Security Act Public Law 110-140, https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-energy-independence-and-security-act , accessed December 29, 2022.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER
ENERGY
PLACEWORKS 4.6-3
State Regulations
Warren-Alquist Act
Established in 1974, the Warren-Alquist Act created the California Energy Commission (CEC) in response to the energy crisis of the early 1970s and the state’s unsustainable growing demand for energy resources. The CEC’s core responsibilities include advancing state energy policy, encouraging energy efficiency, certifying thermal power plants, investing in energy innovation, developing renewable energy, transforming transportation, and preparing for energy emergencies. The Warren-Alquist Act is updated annually to address current energy needs and issues, and its latest edition was in January 2022.

California Public Utilities Commission
In September 2008, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) adopted the Long-Term Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan, which provides a framework for energy efficiency in California through the year 2020 and beyond. It articulates a long-term vision, as well as goals for each economic sector, identifying specific near-term, mid-term, and long-term strategies to assist in achieving these goals. This plan sets forth the following four goals, known as Big Bold Energy Efficiency Strategies, to achieve significant reductions in energy demand:
 All new residential construction in California will be zero net energy by 2020;4  All new commercial construction in California will be zero net energy by 2030;  Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, commonly referred to as “HVAC,” will be transformed to ensure that its energy performance is optimal for California’s climate; and  All eligible low-income customers will be given the opportunity to participate in the low-income energy-efficiency program by 2020.

With respect to the commercial sector, the Long Term Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan notes that commercial buildings, which include schools, hospitals, and public buildings, consume more electricity than any other end-use sector in California. The commercial sector’s five-billion-plus square feet of space accounts for 38 percent of the state’s power use and over 25 percent of natural gas consumption.

Lighting, cooling, refrigeration, and ventilation account for 75 percent of all commercial electric use, while space heating, water heating, and cooking account for over 90 percent of gas use. In 2006, schools and colleges were in the top five facility types for electricity and gas consumption, accounting for approximately 10 percent of the state’s electricity and gas use.5 The CPUC and the CEC have adopted the following goals to achieve zero net energy (ZNE) levels by 2030 in the commercial sector:
 Goal 1: New construction will increasingly embrace zero net energy performance (including clean, distributed generation), reaching 100 percent penetration of new starts in 2030.

4 Zero net energy buildings are buildings that the total amount of energy used by the building on an annual basis is equal to or less than the amount of renewable energy created on the site. 5 California Public Utilities Commission. 2011, January. CA Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan. https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/- /media/cpuc-website/files/legacyfiles/c/5303-caenergyefficiencystrategicplan-jan2011.pdf, accessed December 9, 2022.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER
ENERGY

4.6-4 JULY 2024
 Goal 2: 50 percent of existing buildings will be retrofit to zero net energy by 2030 through achievement of deep levels of energy efficiency and with the addition of clean distributed generation.  Goal 3: Transform the commercial lighting market through technological advancement and innovative utility initiatives.

Energy-Efficiency Regulations
Appliance Efficiency Regulations
California’s Appliance Efficiency Regulations contain energy performance, energy design, water performance, and water design standards for appliances (including refrigerators, ice makers, vending machines, freezers, water heaters, fans, boilers, washing machines, dryers, air conditioners, pool equipment, and plumbing fittings) that are sold or offered for sale in California (California Code of Regulations Title 20, Parts 1600–1608). These standards are updated regularly to allow consideration of new energy-efficiency technologies and methods.6
California Building Energy Code: Title 24, Part 6, Energy Efficiency Standards Energy conservation standards for new residential and nonresidential buildings were adopted by the California Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (now the CEC) in June 1977 and were revised in 2019 and 2022 (California Code of Regulations [CCR] Title 24, Part 6). Title 24 requires the design of building shells and building components to conserve energy. The standards are updated periodically to allow for consideration and possible incorporation of new energy efficiency technologies and methods. The City of Hollister regularly adopts each new California Energy Code update under Hollister Municipal Code (HMC) Section 15.04.050, Construction Codes Adopted by Reference.

On August 11, 2021, the CEC adopted the 2022 Building Energy Efficiency Standards, which were subsequently approved by the California Building Standards Commission in December 2021. The 2022 standards became effective and replaced the existing 2019 standards on January 1, 2023. The 2022 standards would require mixed-fuel, single-family homes to be electric-ready to accommodate replacement of gas appliances with electric appliances. In addition, the 2022 standards include prescriptive photovoltaic system and battery requirements for high-rise, multifamily buildings (i.e., more than three stories) and noncommercial buildings, such as hotels, offices, medical offices, restaurants, retail stores, schools, warehouses, theaters, and convention centers.7 In general, each new update to the standards includes improved efficiency metrics.

6 California Energy Commission, 2017, 2016 Appliance Efficiency Regulations, https://pdf4pro.com/cdn/2016-appliance- efficiency-regulations-5104f7.pdf, accessed February 20, 2022. 7 California Energy Commission, 2021, Amendments to the Building Energy Efficiency Standards (2022 Energy Code) Draft Environmental Report. CEC-400-2021-077-D.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER
ENERGY
PLACEWORKS 4.6-5
California Building Code: Title 24, Part 11, California Green Building Standards On July 17, 2008, the California Building Standards Commission adopted the nation’s first green building standards. The California Green Building Standards Code (24 CCR, Part 11, known as “CALGreen”) was adopted as part of the California Building Standards Code. It includes mandatory requirements for new residential and nonresidential buildings throughout California. CALGreen is intended to (1) reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from buildings; (2) promote environmentally responsible, cost-effective, healthier places to live and work; (3) reduce energy and water consumption; and (4) respond to directives by the Governor. The mandatory provisions of CALGreen became effective January 1, 2011, and were last updated in 2022. The 2022 CALGreen update, which was approved as part of 2022 Energy Code, became effective on January 1, 2023. The City of Hollister regularly adopts each new CALGreen Standards update under HMC Section 15.04.050, Construction Codes Adopted by Reference.

Overall, the code is established to reduce construction waste, make buildings more efficient in the use of materials and energy, and reduce environmental impact during and after construction. CALGreen contains requirements for construction site selection, stormwater control during construction, construction waste reduction, indoor water use reduction, material selection, natural resource conservation, site irrigation conservation, and more. The code provides for design options allowing the designer to determine how best to achieve compliance for a given site or building condition. The code also requires building commissioning, which is a process for verifying that all building systems (e.g., heating and cooling equipment and lighting systems) are functioning at their maximum efficiency.8 Renewable Portfolio: Carbon Neutrality Regulations
Senate Bills 1078, 107, X1-2, and Executive Order S-14-08 A major component of California’s Renewable Energy Program is the renewables portfolio standard (RPS) established under Senate Bills (SB) 1078 (Sher) and 107 (Simitian). Under the RPS, certain retail sellers of electricity were required to increase the amount of renewable energy each year by at least 1 percent to reach at least 20 percent by December 30, 2010. Executive Order (EO) S-14-08, signed in November 2008, expanded the state’s renewable energy standard to 33 percent renewable power by 2020. This standard was adopted by the legislature in 2011 (SB X1-2). Renewable sources of electricity include wind, small hydropower, solar, geothermal, biomass, and biogas. The increase in renewable sources for electricity production decreases indirect GHG emissions from development projects because electricity production from renewable sources is generally considered carbon neutral.

Senate Bill 350
SB 350 (de Leon) was signed into law in September 2015 and establishes tiered increases to the RPS—40 percent by 2024, 45 percent by 2027, and 50 percent by 2030. SB 350 also set a new goal to double the energy-efficiency savings in electricity and natural gas through energy efficiency and conservation measures.

8 California Building Standards Commission, 2022, 2022 California Code of Regulations Title 24, Part 11, https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/CAGBC2022P1 , accessed December 29, 2022.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER
ENERGY

4.6-6 JULY 2024
Senate Bill 100
On September 10, 2018, SB 100 was signed into law, which replaces the SB 350 requirements. Under SB 100, the RPS for public-owned facilities and retail sellers consist of 44 percent renewable energy by 2024, 52 percent by 2027, and 60 percent by 2030. Additionally, SB 100 also established a new RPS requirement of 50 percent by 2026. Furthermore, the bill also establishes an overall State policy that eligible renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources supply 100 percent of all retail sales of electricity to California end-use customers and 100 percent of electricity procured to serve all State agencies by December 31, 2045. Under the bill, the State cannot increase carbon emissions elsewhere in the western grid or allow resource shuffling to achieve the 100 percent carbon-free electricity target.

Senate Bill 1020
SB 1020 was signed into law on September 16, 2022. It requires renewable energy and zero-carbon resources to supply 90 percent of all retail electricity sales by 2035 and 95 percent by 2040. Additionally, SB 1020 requires all State agencies to procure 100 percent of electricity from renewable energy and zero- carbon resources by 2035.

Off-Road Equipment and Transportation-Related Regulations Assembly Bill 1493
California vehicle GHG emission standards were enacted under Assembly Bill (AB) 1493 (Pavley I). Pavley I is a clean-car standard that reduces GHG emissions from new passenger vehicles (light-duty auto to medium-duty vehicles) from 2009 through 2016 and is anticipated to reduce GHG emissions from new passenger vehicles by 30 percent in 2016. California implements the Pavley I standards through a waiver granted to California by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA ). In 2012, the EPA issued a Final Rulemaking that sets even more stringent fuel economy and GHG emissions standards for model year 2017 through 2025 light-duty vehicles (see also the previous discussion on the update to the CAFE standards under Federal). In January 2012, the California Air Resources Board approved the Pavley Advanced Clean Cars program (formerly known as Pavley II) for model years 2017 through 2025. The program combines the control of smog, soot, and global warming gases and requirements for greater numbers of zero-emission vehicles into a single package of standards. Under California’s Advanced Clean Car program, by 2025, new automobiles will emit 34 percent fewer global warming gases and 75 percent fewer smog-forming emissions.9

9 California Air Resources Board. 2017, January 18. California’s Advanced Clean Cars Midterm Review. https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2020-01/ACC%20MTR%20Summary_Ac.pdf , accessed May 16, 2022.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER
ENERGY
PLACEWORKS 4.6-7
Title 13, Chapter 9, Article 4.8, Section 2449
Section 2449 of the CCR, Title 13, Chapter 9, Article 4.8 was adopted on May 2, 2008, that limits nonessential idling of fleets to no more than five consecutive minutes at any location. This idling restriction applies to all vehicles in California with a diesel-fueled or alternative diesel-fueled off-road engine, unless a waiver provides sufficient justification that such idling is necessary.

Senate Bill 375
In 2008, SB 375, the Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act, was adopted to connect the GHG emissions-reductions targets established in the 2008 Scoping Plan for the transportation sector to local land use decisions that affect travel behavior. Its intent is to reduce GHG emissions from light-duty trucks and automobiles (excludes emissions associated with goods movement) by aligning regional long- range transportation plans, investments, and housing allocations to local land use planning to reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and vehicle trips. Specifically, SB 375 required the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to establish GHG emissions-reduction targets for each of the 18 metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs). The Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (AMBAG) is the MPO for the Monterey Bay Area, which includes Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties. Pursuant to the recommendations of the Regional Transportation Advisory Committee, CARB adopted per-capita reduction targets for each of the MPOs rather than a total magnitude reduction target.

Executive Order N-79-20
On September 23, 2020, EO N-79-20 was issued, which sets a time frame for the transition to zero- emissions (ZE) passenger vehicles and trucks in addition to off-road equipment. It directs CARB to develop and propose the following:
 Passenger vehicle and truck regulations requiring increasing volumes of new ZEVs (zero-emission vehicles) sold in the California toward the target of 100 percent of in-state sales by 2035.  Medium- and heavy-duty vehicle regulations requiring increasing volumes of new ZE trucks and buses sold and operated in California toward the target of 100 percent of the fleet transitioning to ZEVs by 2045 everywhere feasible, and for all drayage trucks to be ZE by 2035.  Strategies to achieve 100 percent zero emissions from all off-road vehicles and equipment operations in California by 2035, in cooperation with other State agencies, the EPA, and local air districts.

On August 25, 2022, CARB adopted the Advanced Clean Cars II (ACC II) regulations that codifies the EO goal of 100 percent of in-state sales of new passenger vehicles and trucks be ZE by 2035. Starting in year 2026, ACC II requires that 35 percent of new vehicles sold be ZE or plug-in hybrids.

Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation
In April 2023, CARB released the Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) regulation to accelerate the transition to zero -emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. In conjunction with the Advanced Clean Trucks regulation, the ACF regulations helps to ensure that medium- and heavy-duty ZEVs are brought to the

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER
ENERGY

4.6-8 JULY 2024
market by requiring certain fleets to purchase them. The ACF ZEV phase-in approach sets clear targets for regulated fleets to make a full conversion to ZEVs. The ACF regulations cover four main elements:
 Manufacturer sales mandate. Manufacturers may sell only zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles starting in 2036.
 Drayage fleets. Beginning January 1, 2024, trucks must be registered in the CARB Online System to conduct drayage activities in California. Non-zero-emission “legacy” drayage trucks could register in the CARB Online System through December 31, 2023. Legacy drayage trucks can continue to operate through their minimum useful life. Beginning January 1, 2024, only zero-emission drayage trucks may register in the CARB Online System. All drayage trucks entering seaports and intermodal railyards would be required to be zero-emission by 2035.
 High priority and federal fleets. High priority and federal fleets must comply with the Model Year Schedule or may elect to use the optional ZEV Milestones Option to phase-in ZEVs into their fleets:
 Model Year Schedule: Fleets must purchase only ZEVs beginning 2024 and, starting January 1, 2025, must remove internal combustion engine vehicles at the end of their useful life as specified in the regulation.
 ZEV Milestones Option (Optional): Instead of the Model Year Schedule, fleets may elect to meet ZEV targets as a percentage of the total fleet starting with vehicle types that are most suitable for electrification.
 State and local agencies. State and local government fleets, including city, county, special district, and State agency fleets, would be required to ensure 50 percent of vehicle purchases are zero-emission beginning in 2024 and 100 percent of vehicle purchases are zero-emission by 2027. Small government fleets (those with 10 or fewer vehicles) and those in designated counties would start their ZEV purchases beginning in 2027. Alternately, State and local government fleet owners may elect to meet ZEV targets using the ZEV Milestones Option. State and local government fleets may purchase either ZEVs or near-ZEVs or a combination of ZEVs and near-ZEVs until 2035. Starting in 2035, only ZEVs will meet the requirements.

The ACF regulations also establish requirements that transform the medium- and heavy-duty vehicle sector and demonstrate independent utility through achievement of the following objectives:
 Achieve criteria and GHG emissions reductions consistent with the goals identified in the State Implementation Plan Strategy and Scoping Plan.
 Provide emissions reductions in disadvantaged communities, thereby supporting the implementation of AB 617 (Garcia, C., Chapter 136, Statutes of 2017).
 Support the goals of EO N-79-20, which calls for accelerated ZEV deployment with these targets:
 100 percent ZE drayage by 2035.
 100 percent ZE trucks and buses where feasible by 2045.  Ensure requirements, such as ZEV deployment schedules and related infrastructure buildout, are technologically feasible, cost-effective, and support market conditions.  Lead the transition away from petroleum fuels and toward electric drivetrains.  Contribute towards achieving carbon neutrality in California pursuant to SB 100 and in accordance with EO B-55-18.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER
ENERGY
PLACEWORKS 4.6-9
 Mindfully set requirements to allow time for public ZE infrastructure buildout for smaller fleets or for regional haul applications who would be reliant on a regional network of public chargers.  Ensure manufacturers and fleets work together to place ZEVs in service suitably and successfully as market expands.
 Establish a fair and level playing field among fleet owners.  Craft the proposed project in a way that ensures institutional capacity for CARB to manage, implement, and enforce requirements.

Regional Regulations
Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments
AMBAG is the transportation planning, coordinating, and financing agency for the Monterey Bay Area, which, as previously stated, includes Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties. AMBAG is a federally designated MPO and is required to produce certain documents that maintain the region’s eligibility for federal transportation assistance. Among AMBAG’s many functions, it also authors the Metropolitan Transportation Plan and the Sustainable Communities Strategy (MTP/SCS) with Regional Transportation Planning Agencies, transit providers, Monterey Bay Air Resources District, state and federal governments, and organizations involved in transportation planning.

Metropolitan Transportation Plan/Sustainability Communities Strategy AMBAG adopted the 2045 MTP/SCS in June 2022 with a framework of goals and policy objectives to address the mobility and accessibility needs of the region.10 As the MPO, AMBAG updates the MTP/SCS every four years through a bottom-up process involving numerous stakeholders to develop a new growth and an updated multimodal transportation network with the available revenues.

AMBAG also recognizes the importance of advancements in technology, including energy, and overall efficiency of transportation operations. The region’s need for gasoline and diesel is projected to decline largely due to the increase in plug-in hybrids and electric vehicle adoption. Electric vehicles would help reduce GHG emissions resulting from the consumption of fossil fuels and would help achieve statewide policies aimed at reducing GHG emissions. Overall, the investments identified in the 2045 MTP/SCS are expected to result in significant benefits to the region, not only with respect to transportation and mobility, but also economic activity, air quality, safety, and social equity.

10 Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (AMBAG), 2022. 2045 Metropolitan Transportation Plan & the Sustainable Communities Strategy (MTP/SCS). https://www.ambag.org/plans/2045-metropolitan-transportation-plan- sustainable-communities-strategy, accessed November 28, 2022.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER
ENERGY

4.6-10 JULY 2024
Local Regulations
Hollister Municipal Code
The HMC includes various directives to minimize energy impacts in Hollister. The HMC is organized by title, chapter, and section. Most provisions related to energy are in Title 13, Public Services; Title 15, Buildings and Construction; and Title 17, Zoning, as follows:
 Section 13.32.010, Authorization to implement a Community Choice Aggregation Program. This section establishes that groups of counties and cities can be part of the Community Choice Aggregation Program of the Monterey Bay Community Power Authority.  Section 17.04.030, Residential general development standards. This section provides regulations for energy efficiency, such that solar access shall be maintained through the siting and orientation of buildings and two/three-story residences.
 Section 17.10.040, Industrial Zoning District performance standards. This section establishes building regulations that should be designed to conserve energy (such as passive solar, solar panels on roofs, or in the parking lot) and incorporated additive measures to incentivize reduced vehicle trips (such as shaded outdoor eating areas, Class II bicycle paths with road improvements, and integration of shade trees along sidewalk frontages).
 Section 17.12.060, Open space, park and public facilities/institution general development standards.

This section encourages the use of solar panels on roofs or in the parking lot to conserve maximum energy.
 Section 17.16.120, Solar energy development standards. This section regulates the passive heating and cooling opportunities that shall be incorporated in all new development.

EXISTING CONDITIONS
Electricity and Natural Gas
Electricity is quantified using kilowatts (kW) and kilowatt-hours (kWh), and natural gas is measured in therms. A kW is a measure of 1,000 watts of electrical power and a kWh is a measure of electrical energy equivalent to a power consumption of 1,000 watts for one hour. The kWh is commonly used as a billing unit for energy delivered to consumers by electric utilities. According to the CEC’s “Tracking Progress” regarding statewide energy demand, total electric energy usage in California was 287,826 gigawatt-hours in 2022.11 A gigawatt is equal to one million kilowatts.

11 California Energy Commission, Electricity Consumption by Planning Area, http://www.ecdms.energy.ca.gov/elecbyplan.aspx , accessed May 13, 2024.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER
ENERGY
PLACEWORKS 4.6-11
Energy Providers
Two energy providers, Central Coast Community Energy (CCCE) and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), serve the EIR Study Area, as described herein.

Central Coast Community Energy
In 2018, the CCCE was created as a joint-powers authority as part of the Community Choice Energy model implemented by the State of California. CCCE is the default electricity provider for all communities in San Benito County, including Hollister, as well as for communities in Santa Cruz, Monterey, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo Counties. CCCE provides two choices for electricity generated: 3CE Choice and 3CE Prime.

Sources of electricity sold by CCCE under the 3CE Choice plan in 2022, the latest year for which data are available, were:12
 35.8 percent renewable, consisting mostly of solar and geothermal  5.9 percent large hydroelectric
 58.3 percent unspecified power 13
Customers have the option of opting up to 3Cprime plan, which provides 100 percent renewable and carbon-free electricity.14 Conversely, customers have the option to opt out of CCCE renewable energy sources and receive their energy service from PG&E. PG&E is responsible for maintaining transmission lines, handling customer billing, and responding to new service requests and emergencies within the CCCE service area.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Electricity
PG&E is a publicly traded utility company that generates, purchases, and transmits energy and natural gas under contract with the CPUC. PG&E’s service territory is 70,000 square miles, roughly extending north to Eureka, south to Bakersfield, west to the Pacific Ocean, and east to the Sierra Nevada. PG&E’s electricity distribution system consists of 106,681 circuit-miles of electric distribution lines and 18,466 circuit-miles of interconnected transmission lines.15 PG&E owns and maintains aboveground networks of electric transmission and distribution facilities throughout the EIR Study Area.

PG&E electricity is generated by a combination of sources, such as nuclear power plants and hydro- electric dams, as well as newer sources of energy, such as wind turbines and photovoltaic plants, also

12 Central Coast Community Energy, 2023, September, 2022 Power Content Label, https://3cenergy.org/wp- content/uploads/2023/09/PCL-Postcard-2023Sep-final-web.pdf, accessed May 13, 2024. 13 Unspecified power is electricity that has been purchased through open market transactions and is not traceable to a specific generation source.
14 Central Coast Community Energy, 2023, September, 2022 Power Content Label, https://3cenergy.org/wp- content/uploads/2023/09/PCL-Postcard-2023Sep-final-web.pdf, accessed May 13, 2024. 15 Pacific Gas and Electric Company, 2022, Company profile, https://www.pge.com/en_US/about-pge/company- information/profile/profile.page, accessed December 19, 2022.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER
ENERGY

4.6-12 JULY 2024
known as solar farms. The bulk electric grid (collectively referred to as “The Grid”), is a network of high- voltage transmission lines, linked to power plants within the PG&E system. The distribution system, made up of lower voltage secondary lines, is at the street and neighborhood level, and consists of overhead or underground distribution lines, transformers, and individual service “drops” that connect to the individual customer.

Natural Gas
PG&E gas transmission pipeline systems serve approximately 4.5 million gas customers in northern and central California.16 The system is operated under an inspection and monitoring program. The system operates in real time on a 24-hour basis, and includes leak inspections, surveys, and patrols of the pipelines. PG&E also adopted the Pipeline 2020 program, which aims to modernize critical pipeline infrastructure, expand the use of automatic or remotely operated shut-off valves, catalyze development of next-generation inspection technologies, develop industry-leading best practices, and enhance public safety partnerships with local communities, public officials, and first responders. Total natural gas consumption in PG&E’s service area was 4,449,195,887 kilo-BTU (KBTU) for 2022.17

EXISTING ELECTRICITY AND NATURAL GAS DEMAND
The existing electricity and natural gas use demand in the City of Hollister is shown in Table 4.6-1, Estimated Existing Electricity and Natural Gas Demand.

TABLE 4.6-1 ESTIMATED EXISTING ELECTRICITY AND NATURAL GAS DEMAND Land Use in EIR Study Area
Electricity Usage
(kWh/year) a
Natural Gas Usage
(Therms/year)
Residential 45,457,260 4,764,190
Nonresidential 96,596,130 2,042,550
Total 142,053,390 6,806,740
Note:
a. Based on energy and natural gas usage inventory as part of the development for the proposed Climate Action Plan.

Source: See Appendix B, Revised Air Quality and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data, of this Revised Draft EIR.

EXISTING TRANSPORTATION FUELS
Table 4.6-2, Existing Operation-Related Annual Fuel Usage, shows the fuel usage associated with VMT currently generated under existing baseline conditions based on fuel usage data obtained from EMFAC2021, Version 1.0.2, and VMT data provided by Kimley-Horn (see Appendix F, Revised Transportation Data, of this Revised Draft EIR). VMT is based on vehicle trips beginning and ending in the city boundaries and from external/internal trips (i.e., trips that either begin or end in the city).

16 Pacific Gas and Electric Company, 2022, Company profile, https://www.pge.com/en_US/about-pge/company- information/profile/profile.page, accessed December 29, 2022. 17 California Energy Commission, 2022, Gas Consumption by Planning Area, http://www.ecdms.energy.ca.gov/gasbyplan.aspx , accessed May 13, 2024.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER
ENERGY
PLACEWORKS 4.6-13
TABLE 4.6-2 EXISTING OPERATION -RELATED ANNUAL FUEL USAGE Gas Diesel Compressed Natural Gas Electricity
VMT a Gallons VMT a Gallons VMT a Gallons VMT a kWh
234,198,448 10,656,038 60,022,434 8,510,509 143,879 21,189 1,894,030 648,746 Note:
a. Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) based on daily VMT provided by Kimley-Horn, 2024. VMT per year based on a conversion of VMT x 347 days per year to account for less travel on weekend, consistent with California Air Resources Board statewide greenhouse gas emissions inventory methodology.

Source: EMFAC2021, version 1.0.2. See Appendix B, Revised Air Quality and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data, of this Revised Draft EIR.

4.6.2 STANDARDS OF SIGNIFICANCE
Implementation of the proposed project would result in a significant energy impact if it would:

1. Result in potentially significant environmental impact due to wasteful, inefficient, or unnecessary consumption of energy resources, during project construction or operation.

2. Conflict with or obstruct a state or local plan for renewable energy or energy efficiency.

3. In combination with past, present, and reasonably foreseeable projects, result in a cumulative impact with respect to energy.

The analysis also uses considerations identified in Appendix F, Energy Conservation, of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, as appropriate, to assist in answering the Appendix G, Environmental Checklist, of the CEQA Guidelines, questions. The factors to evaluate energy impacts under standard one listed previously include:
 The project’s energy requirements and its energy-use efficiencies by amount and fuel type for each stage of the project, including construction, operation, maintenance, and/or removal. If appropriate, the energy intensiveness of materials may be discussed.  The effects of the project on local and regional energy supplies and on requirements for additional capacity.
 The effects of the project on peak and base period demands for electricity and other forms of energy.  The degree to which the project complies with existing energy standards.  The effects of the project on energy resources.
 The project’s projected transportation energy use requirements and its overall use of efficient transportation alternatives

METHODOLOGY
The energy and fuel usage information provided in this section are based on the following:
 Energy (Natural Gas and Electricity): Energy use for residential and nonresidential land uses in the city were modeled using electricity and natural gas data provided by PG&E and CCCE. Residential energy and nonresidential energy forecasts are adjusted for increases in households and employment, respectively.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER
ENERGY

4.6-14 JULY 2024
 On-Road Fuel Use: Fuel use was based on Origin-Destination Method VMT provided by Kimley-Horn (see Chapter 4.16, Transportation, of this Revised Draft EIR), and modeled using CARB’s EMFAC2021 v.1.0.2 web database and calendar year 2019 (existing) and 2040 fuel usage rates.

4.6.3 IMPACT DISCUSSION
As described in Chapter 4, Environmental Analysis, of this Revised Draft EIR, some proposed 2040 General Plan policies and actions are required as means to mitigate environmental impacts under CEQA. These policies and actions are fully enforceable at the discretion of the decision-maker through permit conditions, agreements, or other legally binding instruments. These mitigating policies and actions use the imperative “shall,” include performance criteria, and are marked with an asterisk (*).

ENE-1 Implementation of the proposed project would not result in a potentially significant environmental impact due to wasteful, inefficient, or unnecessary consumption of energy resources during project construction or operation.
2040 General Plan
Short-Term Construction Impacts
Future development projects under the proposed 2040 General Plan would create temporary demands for electricity. Natural gas is not generally required to power construction equipment, and therefore is not anticipated during construction phases. Electricity use would fluctuate according to the phase of construction. Additionally, it is anticipated that most electric-powered construction equipment would be hand tools (e.g., power drills, table saws, compressors) and lighting, which would result in minimal electricity usage during construction activities.

Future development projects would also temporarily increase demands for energy associated with transportation. Transportation energy use depends on the type and number of trips, VMT, fuel efficiency of vehicles, and travel mode. Energy use during construction would come from the transport and use of construction equipment, delivery vehicles and haul trucks, and construction employee vehicles that would use diesel fuel or gasoline. The use of energy resources by these vehicles would fluctuate according to the phase of construction and would be temporary. It is anticipated that most off-road construction equipment, such as those used during demolition and grading, would be gas or diesel powered. In addition, all operation of construction equipment would cease upon completion of project construction.

Furthermore, the construction contractors would be required to minimize nonessential idling of construction equipment during construction in accordance with CCR Title 13, Chapter 9, Article 4.8, Section 2449. Such required practices would limit wasteful and unnecessary energy consumption. Also, future projects within the EIR Study Area would be similar to projects currently in development within the City of Hollister. Overall, there would be no unusual project characteristics anticipated that would necessitate the use of construction equipment that would be less energy efficient than at comparable construction sites in other parts of California. Therefore, short-term construction activities that occur as a

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER
ENERGY
PLACEWORKS 4.6-15
result of implementation of the proposed project would not result in inefficient, wasteful, or unnecessary fuel consumption.

Long-Term Impacts During Operation
Operation of potential future development accommodated under the proposed 2040 General Plan would create additional demands for electricity and natural gas compared to existing conditions. Operational use of electricity and natural gas would include heating, cooling, and ventilation of buildings; water heating; operation of electrical systems; use of on-site equipment and appliances; lighting; and charging electric vehicles. Land uses accommodated under the proposed 2040 General Plan would also result in additional demands for transportation fuels (e.g., gasoline, diesel, compressed natural gas, and electricity) associated with on-road vehicles.

Nontransportation Energy
Electrical service to the EIR Study Area is provided by PG&E and CCCE through connections to existing off- site electrical lines and new on-site infrastructure. As shown in Table 4.6-3, Year 2040 Forecast Electricity Consumption, by year 2040, electricity use in the EIR Study Area would increase by 35,817,170 kWh/year with implementation of state actions (approximately 25 percent from existing conditions) and increase by 116,650,220 kWh/year with implementation of state actions and CAP measures (approximately 82 percent from existing conditions).

TABLE 4.6-3 YEAR 2040 FORECAST ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION
Land Use
Electricity Usage (kWh/year) a
Existing Conditions
Proposed 2040
General Plan without
CAP Measures
Net Change from
Existing
Proposed 2040
General Plan with
CAP Measures
Net Change from
Existing
City
Residential 43,082,470 54,684,210 11,601,740 228,959,060 185,876,590 Nonresidential 94,633,440 118,093,150 23,459,710 19,975,690 -74,657,750 SOI
Residential 2,374,790 3,050,560 675,770 9,486,980 7,112,190 Nonresidential 1,962,690 2,042,640 79,950 281,880 -1,680,810 Total 142,053,390 177,870,560 35,817,170 258,703,610 116,650,220 Note: CAP = Climate Action Plan
a. Residential energy and nonresidential energy forecasts do not account for reductions due to increase in energy efficiency from compliance with the Building Energy Efficiency Standards and CALGreen.

Source: See Appendix B, Revised Air Quality and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data, of this Revised Draft EIR.

As shown in Table 4.6-4, Year 2040 Forecast Natural Gas Consumption, natural gas use in the EIR Study Area would increase by 2,498,450 therms annually with implementation of state actions (approximately 37 percent from existing conditions) and decrease by 4,661,100 therms annually with implementation of state actions and CAP measures (approximately 68 percent from existing conditions).

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER
ENERGY

4.6-16 JULY 2024
TABLE 4.6-4 YEAR 2040 FORECAST NATURAL GAS CONSUMPTION
Land Use
Natural Gas Usage (Therms per year) a
Existing Conditions
Proposed 2040
General Plan without
CAP Measures
Net Change from
Existing
Proposed 2040
General Plan with
CAP Measures
Net Change from
Existing
City
Residential 4,515,300 6,140,110 1,624,810 1,302,640 -3,212,660 Nonresidential 2,001,050 2,778,490 777,440 750,170 -1,250,880 SOI
Residential 248,890 342,320 93,430 81,200 -167,690
Nonresidential 41,500 44,270 2,770 11,630 -29,870
Total 6,806,740 9,305,190 2,498,450 2,145,640 -4,661,100 Note: CAP = Climate Action Plan
a. Residential energy and nonresidential energy forecasts do not account for reductions due to increase in energy efficiency from compliance with the Building Energy Efficiency Standards and CALGreen.

Source: See Appendix B, Revised Air Quality and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data, of this Revised Draft EIR.

While the potential future development in the project’s EIR Study Area would increase electricity demand compared to existing conditions without implementation of CAP measures, potential future development would be required to comply with the current and future updates to the Building Energy Efficiency Standards (CCR, Title 24, Part 6) and the California Green Building Code or CALGreen (CCR, Title 24, Part 11), which would contribute to reducing the energy demands. New buildings would also use new energy- efficient appliances and equipment, pursuant to the Appliance Efficiency Regulations (Title 20, CCR, Sections 1601 through 1609), which would ensure the use of efficient and non-wasteful electricity and natural gas consumption. New and replacement buildings in compliance with these standards would generally have greater energy efficiency than existing buildings. It is anticipated that each update to the Building Energy Efficiency Standards and CALGreen will result in greater building energy efficiency and move closer toward buildings achieving ZNE.

Furthermore, although electricity demand would increase from implementation of the proposed 2040 General Plan and the proposed CAP, natural gas demand would result in a net decrease overall compared to existing conditions. The reduction in natural gas demand would be due in part to switching natural gas- powered appliances and systems to appliances and systems powered by electricity. Conversion to electric- powered systems would further the reach of systems powered by renewable energy. The current 2022 Building Energy Efficiency Standards require installation of solar photovoltaic systems for single-family homes and multifamily buildings of three stories or fewer. Additionally, the 2022 Standards also include prescriptive photovoltaic system and battery requirements for high-rise, multifamily buildings (i.e., more than three stories) and noncommercial buildings such as hotels, offices, medical offices, restaurants, retail stores, schools, warehouses, theaters, and convention centers. Moreover, electricity drawn from the grid would increasingly be generated from renewable sources in compliance with the State’s RPS program, which establishes renewable electricity requirements of 40 percent by 2024 (SB 350), 50 percent by 2026 (SB 100), 60 percent by 2030 (SB 100), 90 percent by 2035 (SB 1020), 95 percent by 2040 (SB 1020), and 100 percent by 2045 (SB 100).

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER
ENERGY
PLACEWORKS 4.6-17
Under the 2022 Standards, a project may instead demonstrate compliance using the mandatory requirements and performance pathway without including all prescribed features, such as solar or battery storage. However, that building design must match or exceed the energy efficiency performance of the standard design building, which represents the energy-efficiency performance of that building if it included all prescribed features (e.g., solar, battery storage) under the mandatory requirements and prescriptive requirements. In other words, if a project would be required to include solar and battery storage under the prescriptive requirements, it can choose to demonstrate compliance using the performance pathway and not include solar and battery storage so long as it can show that it would achieve the same overall energy efficiency performance as if solar and battery storage were included.

Aside from state regulations such as the 2022 Building Energy Efficiency Standards, the proposed Natural Resource and Conservation (NRC), Community Services and Facilities (CSF) and Health and Safety (HS) Elements of the 2040 General Plan contain goals, policies, and actions that require local planning and development decisions to address efficient use of energy and energy conservation. The following proposed 2040 General Plan goals, policies, and actions would further limit wasteful and unnecessary energy consumption:

Goal NRC-4: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Hollister to meet or exceed State targets. (new)  Policy NRC-4.3: Energy Use. Reduce energy use through use of energy-efficient appliances, lighting, and materials in our homes, businesses, and City facilities and use education and incentives to promote and sustain energy-conserving design and practices. (new)  Policy NRC-4.8: Carbon Free Energy. Promote carbon-free energy sources in new and existing developments. (new)
 Action NRC-4.2: Building Standards Code Efficiency Amendments. Conduct a study to explore opportunities to amend the Hollister Building Standards Code to improve building energy efficiency, transition to carbon-free energy sources, increase renewable energy supplies, and promote greater electric vehicle adoption. (new)
Goal CSF-4: Promote the development of a clean energy supply, and use of energy-efficient technology that benefits all members of the community. (new)
 Policy CSF-4.1: Resource Efficiency in Site Development. Encourage site planning and development practices that reduce energy demand and incorporate resource- and energy-efficient infrastructure. (Policy NRC3.3)
 Policy CSF-4.2: Resource-Efficient Building Design. Promote and encourage residents and businesses to be resource and energy efficient by creating incentives and removing obstacles to promote their use. Require those proposing new development to incorporate energy conservation measures in the design and construction of all proposed residential, commercial, industrial, and public buildings. This would include:
 Shading of parking lots and summertime shading of south-facing windows  Requiring those proposing new development to design all proposed commercial, office, and industrial structures with high-efficiency heating-ventilation-air conditioning (HVAC) systems for maximum energy efficiency

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER
ENERGY

4.6-18 JULY 2024
 Requiring those proposing new development to design all window systems to reduce thermal gain during warm weather and heat loss during cool weather
 Encouraging the use of domestic solar energy. (Policy NRC 3.4 & Implementation Measures NRC.S)  Policy CSF-4.3: Energy Efficiency in Government. Promote and serve as an effective leader in implementing conservation practices and incorporating resource-efficient alternatives in government facilities and services. (Policy NRC3.5)
 Policy CSF-4.4: Title 24 Requirements. Require new development projects to meet or exceed Title 24 energy conservation requirements, and, where possible, require structural and landscaping design to make use of natural heating and cooling. Encourage the use of solar and alternative energy technologies to meet or exceed Title 24 requirements. (Implementation Measures NRC.J)  Policy CSF-4.5: LEED Program. Encourage developers to use Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards. (Implementation Measures NRC.O)
 Policy CSF-4.6: Solar Design. Promote the use of solar energy and develop design standards relating to solar orientation, including landscaping, and appropriate impervious surfaces. (Implementation Measures NRC.P)
 Policy CSF-4.7: Distributed Energy Systems. Encourage the development of distributed energy systems for new construction, such as rooftop solar panels, customer-owned battery backup systems, fuel cell technologies, backup generators, and combined heat and power systems. (new)  Policy CSF-4.8: Building Energy Load Reduction. Reduce the energy load per building by using energy- saving techniques, such as upgrading insulation, reducing electricity loads from lighting and appliances, and revising building design guidelines. (new)  Policy CSF-4.10: Battery Energy Storage Systems. Encourage the installation of battery energy storage systems (BESS) for commercial and industrial users to meet short-term peak power needs. (new)  Policy CSF-4.12: On-site Renewable Energy Sources. Require the installation of on-site renewable energy sources, such as solar photovoltaic, for new commercial and office buildings greater than 45,000 square feet and new industrial buildings greater than 99,000 square feet. (new)  Policy CSF-4.13: Energy Providers Assistance. Obtain the assistance of the Pacific Gas and Electric Company and Central Coast Community Energy in reviewing proposals for commercial buildings and major subdivisions of more than 25 units during the design and approval process to ensure the incorporation of energy-efficiency recommendations into the plans. (Implementation Measures NRC.C)
 Policy CSF-4.14: PG&E Coordination on Energy Technology. Coordinate with Pacific Gas and Electric Company in the development of smart grid technology, demand management programs, and battery storage systems. (new)
 Action CSF-4.2: “Green” Building Standards. Adopt a “Green Building Program” to encourage the use of green building materials and energy conservation. Provide a resource list of local suppliers and builders that promote green building materials and practices. (Implementation Measures NRC.E)

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER
ENERGY
PLACEWORKS 4.6-19
Goal HS-2: Develop a resilient community with the ability to adapt to climate change hazards.  Policy HS-2.5: Sustainability Features. Encourage new developments and existing property owners to incorporate sustainable, energy-efficient, and environmentally regenerative features into their facilities, landscapes, and structures to reduce energy demands and improve on-site resilience.

Support financing efforts to increase community access to these features. (new) Transportation Energy
The growth accommodated under the proposed 2040 General Plan would consume transportation energy in the EIR Study Area from the use of motor vehicles (e.g., gasoline, diesel, compressed natural gas, and electricity). Table 4.6-5, Operation-Related Annual Fuel Usage: Net Change from Existing Conditions, shows the net change in VMT, fuel usage, and fuel efficiency of the proposed project compared to the existing conditions.

TABLE 4.6-5 OPERATION-RELATED ANNUAL FUEL USAGE: NET CHANGE FROM EXISTING CONDITIONS Land Use Existing Conditions
Year 2040 without
CAP Measures/State
Actions
Net Change from
Existing
Year 2040 with CAP
Measures/State
Actions
Net Change from
Existing
Gasoline
VMT a 234,198,448 443,143,757 208,945,310 308,535,676 74,337,229 Gallons 10,656,038 20,163,057 9,507,019 9,627,377 -1,028,661 Miles Per Gallon 21.98 21.98 0.00 32.05 10.07
Diesel
VMT a 60,022,434 113,572,772 53,550,338 62,866,762 2,844,328 Gallons 8,510,509 16,103,348 7,592,838 8,020,830 -489,679 Miles Per Gallon 7.05 7.05 0.00 7.84 0.79
Compressed
Natural Gas
VMT a 143,879 272,243 128,365 132,375 -11,504
Gallons 21,189 40,094 18,904 21,784 594
Miles Per Gallon 6.79 6.79 0.00 6.08 -0.71
Electricity
VMT a 1,894,030 3,583,830 1,689,800 36,039,306 34,145,277 kWh 648,746 1,227,538 578,793 15,121,550 14,472,805
Miles Per kWh 2.92 2.92 0.00 2.38 -0.54
Total VMT 296,258,790 560,572,602 264,313,813 407,574,120 111,315,330 Note: CAP = Climate Action Plan
a. Based on daily vehicle miles traveled (VMT) provided by Kimley-Horn, 2024. VMT per year based on a conversion of VMT x 347 days per year to account for less travel on weekend, consistent with California Air Resources Board (CARB) statewide greenhouse gas emissions inventory methodology (CARB, October 2008, Climate Change Proposed Scoping Plan: A Framework for Change.) Source: EMFAC2021. Version 1.0.2. See Appendix B, Revised Air Quality and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data, of this Revised Draft EIR.

As shown in Table 4.6-5, implementation of the proposed CAP measures and state actions would help reduce the overall increase in annual VMT for gasoline, diesel, and compressed natural gas (CNG)- powered vehicles than without the proposed CAP and state actions. It would also lead to a reduction in

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER
ENERGY

4.6-20 JULY 2024
fuel usage for gasoline-, diesel-, and compressed natural gas-powered vehicles. When compared to existing conditions, implementation of the proposed project would still result in an overall increase in annual VMT and increase in fuel usage for gasoline-, diesel-, and electric-powered vehicles. The increase would primarily be caused by the increase in population growth as shown in Table 4.14-4, Regional Growth Projections for Hollister, 2019 to 2040, in Chapter 4.14, Population and Housing, of this Revised Draft EIR. As discussed in Chapter 4.16, Transportation, of this Revised Draft EIR, the proposed project would result in a significant VMT impact for exceeding the City's VMT threshold of significance for VMT per Capita (Residential) and Retail VMT. An increase in VMT per Capita for residential and regional retail projects indicates more vehicle trips and/or longer trip distances associated with these type of land uses in the city. Factors that can aid in decreasing in VMT per Capita include better jobs-housing ratio and the proposed policies listed in Impact Discussion TRANS-2.

While VMT for gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles would increase from implementation of the proposed 2040 General Plan, there would be a decrease in total gasoline and diesel fuel demands as stated and overall fuel efficiency for gasoline and diesel-powered on-road vehicles would increase and improve over time. The improvement in fuel efficiency would be attributable to regulatory compliance (e.g., CAFE standards), resulting in new cars that are more fuel efficient and the attrition of older, less fuel- efficient vehicles. The CAFE standards are not directly applicable to residents or land use development projects, but to car manufacturers. Thus, residents and employees of Hollister do not have direct control in determining the fuel efficiency of vehicles manufactured and that are made available. However, compliance with the CAFE standards by car manufacturers would ensure that vehicles produced in future years have greater fuel efficiency and would generally result in an overall benefit of reducing fuel usage by providing the population of the city more fuel-efficient vehicle options. Furthermore, while the demand in electricity would increase under the proposed project, in conjunction with the regulatory (i.e., Renewables Portfolio Standard, SB 350, and SB 100) and general trend toward increasing the supply and production of energy from renewable sources, it is anticipated that a greater share of electricity used to power electric vehicles would be from renewable sources in future years (e.g., individual photovoltaic systems, purchased electricity from CCCE, and/or purchased electricity from PG&E that is generated from renewable sources). Although there would be an increase in CNG demand by 3 percent and a decrease in efficiency by 10.5 percent, CNG demand generally comprises a small proportion of fuel demands compared to gasoline and diesel as VMT from CNG-powered vehicle would comprise of only 0.03 percent of total VMT. Gasoline and diesel-powered on -road vehicles would generate 76 percent and 15 percent of total VMT, respectively, under horizon year 2040 conditions with implementation of the proposed 2040 General Plan and the proposed CAP. Thus, the decrease in diesel and gasoline demands would still be an overall energy benefit.

In addition to regulatory compliance that would contribute to more fuel-efficient vehicles and less demand in fuels, the proposed 2040 General Plan includes goals, policies, and actions listed previously that would contribute to efficient energy and fuel use. Because transportation is a leading source of energy use in Hollister, many policies in the Land Use and Community Design (LU) and Circulation (C) Elements of the proposed 2040 General Plan also promote energy conservation from the transportation sector by increasing safe and sufficient transit, bicycle, and pedestrian facilities to reduce automobile use and VMT. In addition, the proposed policies in these elements focus on minimizing VMT through land use and transportation planning efforts that work in conjunction with one another. The following are the applicable proposed 2040 General Plan goals, policies, and actions:

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER
ENERGY
PLACEWORKS 4.6-21
Goal LU-4: Encourage mixed-use development projects that create vibrant, walkable districts and contain residential and community-serving commercial uses. (new)  Policy LU-4.1: Mix of Uses. Require commercial uses on mixed-use properties to provide community- supporting services, retail, restaurants, and other amenities for residents and visitors and to promote pedestrian activity and reduce the need to drive to other areas in the city. (rewrite of L-2.3) Goal C-1: Provide for a healthy, active community based on complete streets, reflecting a balanced, safe, multimodal transportation system for all users, where pedestrian, bicycle, and transit facilities will be emphasized along with vehicular facilities. (new)
 Policy C-1.1: Sustainable Transportation. Reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transportation by increasing mode shares for sustainable travel modes, such as walking, bicycling, and public transit. (new)
 *Policy C-1.5: Transportation Demand Management. Require new development to reduce single- occupant vehicle usage using Transportation Demand Management strategies prior to project approval. (new)
 Policy C-1.6: Public Transit Regional Coordination. Cooperatively work with Council of San Benito County Governments, Caltrans, and San Benito County to develop, implement, and maintain public transit services and to encourage the implementation of “green transit” that uses alternative fuels or is powered by electricity. (Policy C4.2)
 Policy C-1.7: Public Transit Improvements. Promote public realm improvements that support increased use of public transit, including inviting sidewalks, ADA-compliant curb ramps, signal priorities, and amenities such as sidewalks, benches, bus stop shelters, signage, street lighting, and real-time schedule systems on key routes. (new)
 Action C-1.1: Performance and Monitoring. Require the monitoring of the City’s mode split progress on reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and reducing GHG emissions from VMT, as data is available (new)
Goal C-3: Build and maintain a safe, connected, and equitable pedestrian, bicycle, and micromobility network that provides access to community destinations such as employment centers, transit, schools, shopping, and recreation. (new)
 Policy C-3.1: Pedestrian and Bicycle Network. Create and maintain a pedestrian- and bike-friendly environment in Hollister and increase the number of people who choose to walk and bike. (new)  Policy C-3.2: Pedestrian and Bicycle Connections. Work with local businesses, private developers, and public agencies to ensure provision of safe pedestrian pathways and bicycle connections to major public facilities, schools, and employment centers. Require new development to provide internal pedestrian connections and linkages to adjacent neighborhoods and community facilities. (Policy C2.3)
 Policy C-3.3: Pedestrian Right-of-Way Improvements. Require new developments to construct or contribute to improvements that enhance the pedestrian experience, including human-scale lighting, streetscaping, crosswalk striping, crossing lights, wayfinding signage, and accessible sidewalks adjacent to the site. (new)

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER
ENERGY

4.6-22 JULY 2024
 Policy C-3.5: Bicycle Improvements. Require new developments to construct or contribute to improvements that enhance the cyclist experience, including bike lanes and bicycle parking. (new)  Policy C-3.6: Bicycle Facilities. Cooperatively work with Council of San Benito County Governments, Caltrans, and San Benito County to develop, implement, and maintain bicycle facilities providing direct access to major public facilities, schools, and employment centers, as described in the San Benito County Bikeway and Pedestrian Master Plan. (Policy C2.1)  Action C-3.1: Pedestrian Master Plan . Prepare and adopt a Pedestrian Master Plan that identifies citywide pedestrian network improvements. (new)
 Action C-3.3: Bicycle Master Plan. Prepare and adopt a Bicycle Master Plan that identifies citywide bicycle network improvements. (new)
 Action C-3.4: Pedestrian and Bicycle Improvement Implementations. Prioritize implementation of goals, programs, and projects that improve the comfort, safety, and connectivity of the pedestrian and bicycle network. (new)
 Action C-3.5: Pedestrian and Bicycle Trails and Routes Awareness. Increase awareness of existing pedestrian and bicycle trails and routes by working with outside agencies and developers to promote these amenities to residents. Collaborate with the County on development of the trail network. (new) Goal C-4: Implement a uniform set of standards for Hollister’s transportation system, including standard rights-of-way and typical sections. These standards may be amended as necessary in response to changes in technology and industry design standards. (Goal C-4)  *Policy C-4.6: Transportation Demand Management Requirements. Require new or existing developments that meet specific size, capacity, and/or context conditions to implement Transportation Demand Management strategies and other single vehicle occupancy reduction methodologies. Require new developments to comply with tiered trip reduction and VMT reduction targets and monitoring that are consistent with the targets of the City’s VMT CEQA thresholds prior to project approval. (new)
Collectively, the goals, policies, and actions listed would contribute to minimizing overall VMT, and thus fuel usage associated with potential future development under the proposed 2040 General Plan.

Furthermore, development would likely occur in the form of infill development on urbanized sites in the surrounding cities and Hollister region, thus contributing to reduced energy use from the transportation sector. Placing residential and nonresidential uses near each other to create self-sustaining communities and neighborhoods and offering mixed-used developments, could result in shorter distances traveled between where people work and live and to amenities. The shorter distances reduce VMT by reducing the average vehicle trip distance traveled. It also encourages people to forego vehicle travel altogether and either bike, walk, or take public transportation, which would also contribute to minimizing VMT.

Summary
Overall, compliance with federal, state, and local regulations (e.g., Building Energy Efficiency Standards, CALGreen, Renewables Portfolio Standard, and CAFE standards) would increase building energy efficiency and vehicle fuel efficiency and reduce building energy demand and transportation-related fuel usage.

Additionally, the proposed 2040 General Plan includes goals, policies, and actions related to land use and

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER
ENERGY
PLACEWORKS 4.6-23
transportation planning and design, energy efficiency, public and active transit, and renewable energy generation that will contribute to minimizing building and transportation-related energy demands overall and demands on nonrenewable sources of energy. Implementation of proposed 2040 General Plan goals, policies, and actions, in conjunction with and complementary to regulatory requirements, would ensure that energy demand associated with growth under the proposed 2040 General Plan would not be inefficient, wasteful, or unnecessary. Therefore, energy impacts associated with implementation and operation of land uses accommodated under the proposed 2040 General Plan would be less than significant.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

Climate Action Plan
The proposed Climate Action Plan (CAP) is a strategic plan focused on GHG emissions reduction through recommended community-wide GHG reduction strategies and an implementation plan and does not involve any land use changes. The proposed CAP would help reduce GHG emissions generated by existing and proposed land uses in the EIR Study Area. Transportation measures that reduce VMT (e.g., Strategies 10, 11, 13, and 16) would result in a reduction of transportation-related fuel usage. Likewise, energy- efficiency improvements (e.g., Strategies 1, 2, 3, and 4) would reduce the heating and cooling requirements for buildings. These measures for increasing energy efficiency and conservation and increasing water efficiency (Strategies 21 and 22)would contribute to minimizing energy demand and energy sector emissions. As discussed above for the proposed 2040 General Plan, although the proposed CAP would result in an increase in electricity demand, it would also result in a decrease in natural gas demand. Additionally, future electricity demand would be increasingly offset by renewable electricity either generated onsite or from the grid. The proposed CAP includes Strategies 5 through 7 that would support onsite renewable energy generation. Thus, implementation of the proposed CAP would result in beneficial impacts to energy. Because the proposed CAP does not involve any land uses changes that would result in indirect growth or change in building density and intensity, implementation of the proposed project would not result in a potentially significant environmental impact due to wasteful, inefficient, or unnecessary consumption of energy resources during project construction or operation and impacts would be less than significant.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

Agricultural Lands Preservation Program
The proposed Agricultural Lands Preservation Program (ALPP) is a program focused on mitigating the effects of agricultural land conversion to nonagricultural uses through the dedication of eligible agricultural conservation easements at a rate of at least one acre of agricultural land for each one acre of agricultural land to be converted (1:1 ratio) for projects that would convert agricultural land to nonagricultural uses. Since the proposed ALPP does not involve any land use changes that would affect energy, implementation of the proposed ALPP would not result in a potentially significant environmental

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER
ENERGY

4.6-24 JULY 2024
impact due to wasteful, inefficient, or unnecessary consumption of energy resources, during project construction or operation, and impacts would be less than significant.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

ENE-2 Implementation of the proposed project would not conflict with or obstruct a State or local plan for renewable energy or energy efficiency. 2040 General Plan
The state’s electricity grid is transitioning to renewable energy under California’s RPS Program. Renewable sources of electricity include wind, small hydropower, solar, geothermal, biomass, and biogas. In general, California has RPS requirements of 33 percent renewable energy by 2020 (SB X1-2), 40 percent by 2024 (SB 350), 50 percent by 2026 (SB 100), 60 percent by 2030 (SB 100), 90 percent by 2035 (SB 1020), 95 percent by 2040 (SB 1020), and 100 percent by 2045 (SB 100). SB 100 also establishes RPS requirements for publicly owned utilities that consist of 44 percent renewable energy by 2024, 52 percent by 2027, and 60 percent by 2030. Additionally, SB 1020 requires all state agencies to procure 100 percent of electricity from renewable energy and zero-carbon resources by 2035.

The statewide RPS requirements do not directly apply to individual development projects, but to utilities and energy providers such as PG&E and CCCE, whose compliance with RPS requirements would contribute to the State of California objective of transitioning to renewable energy. In addition, customers are automatically enrolled in the CCCE’s 3Cchoice program, which uses approximately 36 percent renewable energy and will reach 60 percent clean and renewable energy by 2025 and 100 percent by 2030.18 Even if customers in the proposed project’s EIR Study Area were to opt out of the 3Cchoice program, and therefore receive all their electricity from PG&E, 34 percent of PG&E’s electricity is generated from eligible-renewable sources.19 By 2030, PG&E is set to meet the State’s new 60 percent renewable energy mandate set forth in SB 100.

The land uses accommodated under the proposed 2040 General Plan would be required to comply with the current and future iterations of the Building Energy Efficiency Standards and CALGreen. Furthermore, as described under Impact Discussion ENE-1, the proposed 2040 General Plan includes goals, policies, and actions that would support the statewide goal of transitioning the electricity grid to renewable sources.

Therefore, implementation of the proposed project would not conflict with or obstruct implementation of California’s RPS program, and impacts would be less than significant.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

18 Central Coast Community Energy, Enrollment, https://3cenergy.org/about-us/understanding-clean-energy/ , accessed May 13, 2024.
19 Pacific Gas and Electric Company, April 22, 2024, News & Events: PG&E's Customers' Electricity 100% Greenhouse Gas- Free in 2023, https://investor.pgecorp.com/news-events/press-releases/press-release-details/2024/PGE-Customers-Electricity- 100-Greenhouse-Gas-Free-in-
2023/default.aspx#:~:text=In%202023%2C%2034%25%20of%20PG%26E's,small%20hydroelectric%20generation%20and%20biop ower, accessed May 13, 2024.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER
ENERGY
PLACEWORKS 4.6-25
Climate Action Plan
The proposed CAP is a strategic plan focused on GHG emissions reduction through recommended community-wide GHG reduction strategies and an implementation plan and does not involve any land use changes that would result in indirect growth or change in building density and intensity. Also, as discussed under Impact Discussion ENE-1, the proposed CAP includes strategies for increasing energy efficiency (Strategies 1 through 4), increasing water efficiency (Strategy 21 and 22), increasing renewable energy demand (Strategies 5 through 7), and would overall contribute to minimizing energy demand and energy sector emissions. Therefore, the proposed CAP would complement the statewide goal of transitioning the electricity grid to renewable sources. Implementation of the proposed project would not conflict with or obstruct a state or local plan for renewable energy or energy efficiency and impacts would be less than significant.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

Agricultural Lands Preservation Program
The proposed ALPP is a program focused on mitigating the effects of agricultural land conversion to nonagricultural uses through the dedication of eligible agricultural conservation easements at a rate of at least one acre of agricultural land for each one acre of agricultural land to be converted (1:1 ratio) for projects that would convert agricultural land to nonagricultural uses. Since the proposed ALPP does not involve any land use changes that would affect energy, implementation of the proposed project would not conflict with or obstruct a state or local plan for renewable energy or energy efficiency and impacts would be less than significant.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

ENE-3 Implementation of the proposed project would not, in combination with past, present, and reasonably foreseeable projects, result in a cumulative impact with respect to energy.
2040 General Plan
Cumulative impacts would occur if a series of actions lead to a wasteful, inefficient, or unnecessary consumption of energy resources or a conflict with or obstruction of a state or local plan for renewable energy and energy efficiency. All the development projects within the vicinity of the project’s EIR Study Area are within the service area of CCCE and PG&E. These projects would result in a long-term increase in operational energy demand for electricity and natural gas use associated with population growth. In addition, construction activities would require the use of energy for purposes such as the operation of construction equipment and tools, and construction of development projects may overlap. However, all projects developed within the CCCE and PG&E service area would implement the requirements of the Building and Energy Efficiency Standards (CCR, Title 24, Part 6) and the California Green Building Code (CCR, Title 24, Part 11). Furthermore, new buildings would use new energy-efficient appliances and equipment, pursuant to the Appliance Efficiency Regulations.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER
ENERGY

4.6-26 JULY 2024
Future development would also increase annual fuel consumption and VMT. However, vehicles would be subject to the EPA’s CAFE standards for vehicular fuel efficiency, and average corporate fuel economy continues to increase as a result of state and federal laws, including the Pavley Advanced Clean Cars program. Vehicle turnover also improves the overall fuel economy of California’s vehicle fleets.

Furthermore, as listed under Impact Discussion ENE-1, the proposed 2040 General Plan includes goals, policies, and actions that would contribute toward minimizing inefficient, wasteful, or unnecessary transportation energy consumption, and ensure compliance with state, regional, or local plans for renewable energy. Therefore, the proposed project would not result in a cumulatively considerable impact to energy and cumulative impacts would be less than significant.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

Climate Action Plan
The proposed CAP is a strategic plan focused on GHG emissions reduction through recommended community-wide GHG reduction strategies and an implementation plan. The proposed CAP does not involve any land use changes that would result in indirect growth or change in building density and intensity. In addition, implementation of the proposed CAP would result in beneficial impacts to energy.

Therefore, implementation of the proposed project would result in a less-than-significant cumulative impact with respect to energy.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

Agricultural Lands Preservation Program
The proposed ALPP is a program focused on mitigating the effects of agricultural land conversion to nonagricultural uses through the dedication of eligible agricultural conservation easements at a rate of at least one acre of agricultural land for each one acre of agricultural land to be converted (1:1 ratio) for projects that would convert agricultural land to nonagricultural uses. Since the proposed ALPP does not involve any land use changes that would affect energy, the implementation of the proposed ALPP would result in a less-than-significant cumulative impact with respect to energy.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GEOLOGY AND SOILS
PLACEWORKS 4.7-1

4.7 GEOLOGY AND SOILS
This chapter of the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) describes the potential geology and soils impacts associated with the approval and implementation of the proposed project. This chapter describes the regulatory framework and existing conditions, identifies criteria used to determine impact significance, provides an analysis of the potential geology and soils impacts, and identifies policies that could minimize any potentially significant impacts.

4.7.1 ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING

REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
Federal Regulations
Paleontological Resources Preservation Act
The federal Paleontological Resources Preservation Act of 2002 limits the collection of vertebrate fossils and other rare and scientifically significant fossils to qualified researchers who have obtained a permit from the appropriate state or federal agency. Additionally, it specifies these researchers must agree to donate any materials recovered to recognized public institutions, where they will remain accessible to the public and to other researchers. This act incorporates key findings of a report, Fossils on Federal Land and Indian Lands, issued by the Secretary of Interior in 2000, which establishes that most vertebrate fossils and some invertebrate and plant fossils are considered rare resources.1 State Regulations
Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Act
The Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Act was passed in 1972 to mitigate the hazard of surface fault rupture to structures used for human occupancy.2 The main purpose of this act is to prevent the construction of buildings used for human occupancy on top of active faults. This act only addresses the hazard of surface fault rupture and is not directed toward other earthquake hazards, such as earthquake- induced liquefaction or landslides.3 This act requires the State Geologist to establish regulatory zones (known as Earthquake Fault Zones or Alquist-Priolo Zones) around surface traces of active faults, and to

1 U.S. Department of the Interior, May 2000, Fossils on Federal & Indian Lands, Report of the Secretary of the Interior, May 2000.
https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/programs_paleontology_quick%20links_Assessment%20of%20Fossil%20Management% 20on%20Federal%20%26%20Indian%20Lands%2C%20May%202000.pdf, accessed January 31, 2022. 2 California Geological Survey, Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Act, https://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/alquist- priolo, accessed January 31, 2022.
3 California Geological Survey, Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Act, https://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/alquist- priolo, accessed January 31, 2022.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GEOLOGY AND SOILS

4.7-2 JULY 2024
issue appropriate maps.4 The maps, which are developed using existing United States Geological Survey’s (USGS) 7.5-minute quadrangle map bases, are then distributed to all affected cities, counties, and state agencies for their use in planning and controlling new or renewed construction. Generally, construction within 50 feet of an active fault zone is prohibited.

Seismic Hazards Mapping Act
The Seismic Hazards Mapping Act, which was passed in 1990, addresses seismic hazards, such as liquefaction and seismically induced landslides.5 Under this act, seismic hazard zones are mapped by the State Geologist to assist local governments in land use planning. Section 2691(c) of this act states that “it is necessary to identify and map seismic hazard zones in order for cities and counties to adequately prepare the safety element of their general plans and to encourage land use management policies and regulations to reduce and mitigate those hazards to protect public health and safety.” Section 2697(a) of the act states that “cities and counties shall require, prior to the approval of a project located in a seismic hazard zone, a geotechnical report defining and delineating any seismic hazard.” California Building Code
The State of California provides a minimum standard for building design through Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations (CCR), commonly referred to as the California Building Code (CBC). The CBC is in Part 2 of Title 24 of the CCR. The CBC is updated every three years. It is generally adopted on a jurisdiction-by- jurisdiction basis, subject to further modification based on local conditions. The City of Hollister regularly adopts each new CBC update under Hollister Municipal Code (HMC) Section 15.04.050, Construction Codes Adopted by Reference. Through the CBC, the State provides a minimum standard for building design and construction. The CBC contains specific requirements for seismic safety, excavation, foundations, retaining walls, and site demolition. It also regulates grading activities, including drainage and erosion control.

California Environmental Quality Act
Paleontological resources are afforded protection under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology has set significance criteria for paleontological resources.6 Most practicing professional vertebrate paleontologists adhere closely to the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology’s assessment, mitigation, and monitoring requirements as specifically provided in its standard guidelines. Most State regulatory agencies with paleontological laws, ordinances, regulations, and standards accept and use the professional standards set forth by the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology.

4 California Geological Survey, Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Act, https://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/alquist- priolo, accessed January 31, 2022.
5 California Geological Survey, Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Act, https://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/alquist- priolo, accessed January 31, 2022.
6 Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, 2010, Standard Procedures for the Assessment and Mitigation of Adverse Impacts to Paleontological Resources. Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. Impact Mitigation Guidelines Revision Committee.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GEOLOGY AND SOILS
PLACEWORKS 4.7-3
California Public Resources Code Section 5097
California Public Resources Code (PRC) Section 5097.5 prohibits the destruction or removal of any paleontological site or feature from public lands without the permission of the jurisdictional agency.

California Penal Code Section 622.5
The California Penal Code Section 622.5 details the penalties for damage or removal of paleontological resources, whether from private or public lands.

Regional Regulations
San Benito County Emergency Operations Plan
The San Benito County Emergency Operations Plan (EOP), adopted August 2015, formalizes the County’s emergency management approach to reduce vulnerabilities to both natural and human-made disasters.

The EOP provides basic guidance for earthquakes, flooding, fire, landslides, severe weather, pandemics and epidemics, as well as hazardous material emergencies. The EOP further includes mitigation programs, which are split into three categories: emergency prevention and protection; response concept of operations; and recovery concept of operations. The City of Hollister does not have an Office of Emergency Services or an assigned emergency planner. Therefore, responsibility for preparation and response to a disaster is enforced by the San Benito County Office of Emergency Services.7 San Benito County Multi-Jurisdictional Local Hazard Mitigation Plan San Benito County’s hazard mitigation programs are enforced through the Multi-Jurisdictional Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP), which was adopted concurrently with the County EOP. The LHMP includes hazard mitigation goals, strategies, and priorities, and provides a comprehensive assessment of the county’s hazards and vulnerabilities. The priorities of the mitigation programs are to reduce the loss of life, minimize structural damage, reduce disruption of essential services, protect the environment, and promote hazard mitigation as an integrated public policy. The LHMP covers all jurisdictions in San Benito County, including the City of Hollister.8
Local Regulations
Hollister Municipal Code
The HMC regulates geology, soil, and seismic-related issues in the city. The HMC is organized by title, chapter, and section. Most provisions related to geology, soils, and seismic events are in Title 13, Public Services; Title 15, Buildings and Constructions; Title 16, Subdivisions; and Title 17, Zoning, as follows:

7 San Benito County Office of Emergency Services, August 2015, San Benito County Operational Area Emergency Operations Plan, http://www.cosb.us/wp-content/uploads/SBC-EOP -2015.pdf, accessed April 25, 2020. 8 San Benito County Office of Emergency Services, August 2015, San Benito County Operational Area Multi-Jurisdictional Local Hazard Mitigation Plan, http://www.cosb.us/wp-content/uploads/Local-Hazard-Mitigation-Plan-_-SBC-FEMA-Approved.pdf , accessed April 25, 2020.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GEOLOGY AND SOILS

4.7-4 JULY 2024
 Section 13.04.040, Septic Tanks, etc., Prohibited. This section prohibits the construction, maintenance, and usage of any privy, privy vault, septic tank, cesspool or other facility intended or used for the disposal of sewage without a permit issued by the San Benito County director and public health officer.
 Chapter 15.24, Grading and Stormwater Best Management Practices Control. This chapter provides best practices required to be followed to ensure safe grading operations that reduce erosion and other soil influences.
 Section 15.24.130, Site map and grading plan (grading pla n). This section sets forth the requirements for the submittal of grading plans that demonstrate that potential future development has been designed to minimize soil erosion.  Section 15.24.140, Soils Engineering Report. This section establishes the method to collect data and prepare a soils engineering report.
 Section 15.24.141, Engineering Geology Report . This section requires a project applicant submit an Engineering Geology Report to describe the effect a site’s geologic conditions would have on the proposed development.
 Chapter 16.28, Soil and Seismic Reports. This chapter requires a soils investigation for subdivision applications to assess whether the site has expansive soils or other soil issues, which, if not mitigated, would lead to structural defects.
 Section 17.14.030, Earthquake Hazard Overlay Zone. This section requires a surface fault hazard investigation for developments in the Earthquake Hazard Overlay District.

EXISTING CONDITIONS
Geology
The EIR Study Area is in the Hollister Valley, a lowland basin surrounded by coastal mountain ranges, a remnant of a prehistoric lake.9 The Hollister Valley is within the Coast Ranges geomorphic province, which is characterized by relatively flat land composed of alluvial soils. The alluvial soils of the Coast Ranges are characterized as fertile, supporting various agricultural activities.10 The Hollister Valley was formed by the surrounding mountains uprising through tectonic uplift, which occurred in the late Pliocene to Pleistocene era approximately 2 to 3 million years ago, ultimately forming the Diablo Mountain Range to the east and the Gabilan Mountain Range to the west. The Hollister Valley is structurally controlled by faulting from the San Andreas, Calaveras, and Quien Sabe Faults. Fault activity has resulted in the disruption of deep subsurface marine and non-marine sediments, referred to as the

9 City of Hollister, 2005, General Plan Final Program EIR, 4.10-24. 10 County of San Benito, March 2015, 2035 San Benito County General Plan Update, State Clearinghouse No. 2011111016, page 10-5.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GEOLOGY AND SOILS
PLACEWORKS 4.7-5
Hollister Basin, which has therefore filled a majority of the Hollister Valley. Drainage in the Hollister Basin trends west towards the San Benito River.11
In 1998, a geological survey mapped the Hollister Valley, and identified that the Younger Flood Plain Deposits medium textured (referred to as “Qyfm”) is the predominant geological unit underneath the EIR Study Area and neighboring unincorporated lands of San Benito County. The Qyfm geologic unit consists of medium-textured sandy silt clay with layers of clean sand anticipated to be approximately 82 to 98 feet in thickness.12 Additional explorations identified the presence of sedimentary structures within the Qyfm geologic unit, which suggests a fluvial deposit,13 with the exception of a location along 6th Street in the EIR Study Area, which is underlain by clay and silt.14
In the immediate vicinity of the EIR Study Area lies the San Benito Formation, characterized by Holocene lacustrine and fluvial deposits in low-lying alluvial plains. This indicates that the sedimentary fill of the Hollister Basin is primarily from alluvial fan deposits, which are fan-shaped sediments that form at the base of mountain slopes or at the mouth of rivers. Alluvial fan sediment is deposited via water that drains the soil into low-lying plains. Alluvial deposits in the Hollister Basin are estimated to average about 500 feet in thickness.15
Soils
As shown in Figure 4.7-1, Soils Map, soils in the EIR Study Area primarily consist of alluvial soils, with a small western portion consisting of sandstone soils. Alluvial soils are characterized by complex layering of gravel, silty sands, sand, and clayey soils. These soils in the EIR Study Area have been deposited into the Hollister Valley over thousands of years by the San Benito River.16 Alluvial soils are highly fertile and therefore suitable for the growing of various crops. There are two specific types of soils within the EIR Study Area, which include soils of Terraces, Alluvial Fans, and Floodplains, and soils of the Uplands.

11 City of Hollister, July 2017, Design-Level Geologic and Geotechnical Evaluation of the Allendale Residential Subdivision North of North Street, page 13.
12 County of San Benito, 1998, Liquefaction Susceptibility of the Hollister Area in San Benito County, National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program.
13 Fluvial deposits are characterized as sediments that have been transported and deposited by rivers. 14 City of Hollister, 1991, City of Hollister, California: Unpublished Report Prepared for City of Hollister Redevelopment Agency, File No. A0-2280-S1.
15 City of Hollister, July 2017, Design Level Geologic and Geotechnical Evaluation of the Allendale Residential Subdivision North of North Street, page 14.
16 City of Hollister, 2005, General Plan Final Program EIR, page 4.10-24. Most of the text in this sentence comes directly from the EIR with little alteration.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GEOLOGY AND SOILS
PLACEWORKS 4.7-7
Soils of the Terraces, Alluvial Fans, and Floodplains
Soils of the Terraces, Alluvial Fans, and Floodplains are in flat geographic areas, such as the Hollister Valley and are built from erosion and of sedimentary and igneous rock formations. These soils support the natural growth of annual grasses, forbs, and oak trees, but are generally considered highly fertile and suitable for crop cultivation. There are three specific soil types, which include the following:17  Sorrento Yolo Mocho soils are nearly level and sloping, well-drained, medium-textured soils on floodplains and alluvial fans. Such soils are suitable for irrigated fruits and nuts, row and field crops, alfalfa, and pastures.
 Clear Lake Pacheco Willows soils are nearly level yet gently sloping, poorly drained to somewhat poorly drained, fine- and medium-textured soils on floodplains and in basins. Such soils are suitable for row and field crops, alfalfa, and small grains.
 Rincon Antioch Cropley soils, which are nearly level to strongly sloping, well-drained to moderately well-drained, medium- to fine-textured soils on terraces and alluvial fans. Such soils suitable for irrigated fruits and nuts, row and field crops, alfalfa, and pastures.

Soils of the Uplands
Soils of the Uplands are composed of igneous and sedimentary rocks. There is only one such soil associated with Uplands in the EIR Study Area, San Benito Gazos Linne, a soil which consists of rolling to very steep hills, is well drained to somewhat excessively drained, moderately- to fine-textured soils formed over sandstone and shale. These soils are largely eroded, but may still be used for cultivating small grains, annual grass pastures, and ranges.18
Regional Seismicity
The Earth’s crust includes tectonic plates that locally collide with or slide past one another along plate boundaries. California is particularly susceptible to such plate movements, notably the largely horizontal or “strike-slip” movements of the Pacific Plate, as it impinges on the North American Plate. In general, earthquakes occur when the accumulated stress along a plate boundary or fault is suddenly released, resulting in seismic slippage. This slippage can vary widely in magnitude, ranging in scale from a few millimeters or centimeters to tens of feet.

The performance of human-made structures during a major seismic event varies widely due to a number of factors, including location, with respect to active fault traces or areas prone to liquefaction or seismically induced landslides; the type of building construction (i.e., wood frame, unreinforced masonry, non-ductile concrete frame); the proximity, magnitude, depth, and intensity of the seismic event itself; and many other factors. In general, evidence from past earthquakes shows that wood-frame structures tend to perform well during a seismic event, especially when their foundations are properly designed and

17 County of San Benito, March 2015, 2035 San Benito County General Plan Update, State Clearinghouse No. 2011111016, page 10-5.
18 County of San Benito, March 2015, 2035 San Benito County General Plan Update, State Clearinghouse No. 2011111016, page 10-7.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GEOLOGY AND SOILS

4.7-8 JULY 2024
anchored. Conversely, older, unreinforced masonry structures and non-ductile reinforced concrete buildings (especially those built in the 1960s and early 1970s), do not perform as well, especially if they have not undergone appropriate seismic retrofitting. Applicable building code requirements, such as those found in the CBC, include seismic requirements that are designed to ensure the satisfactory performance of building materials under prescribed seismic conditions.

The City of Hollister is in a seismically active region, as shown in Figure 4.7-2, Fault Map. There are four major fault zones in the vicinity of the EIR Study Area, the San Andreas, Quien Sabe, Tres Pinos, and Calaveras Faults.

The San Andreas Fault system runs approximately 2.5 miles to the west of the EIR Study Area and is capable of generating an earthquake of up to Magnitude 8.3. The Quien Sabe Fault is three miles east of the EIR Study Area and has been recorded to have generated an earthquake of maximum Magnitude 5.5.

The Calaveras Fault system bisects Hollister’s downtown on a north to south axis and has the capacity to generate an earthquake of up to approximately Magnitude 7. Lastly, the Tres Pinos Fault is a minor off- shoot of the Calaveras Fault in the downtown, then running southeast through the EIR Study Area.

However, the Tres Pinos Fault is not considered to be active. Due to the active fault lines within and surrounding it, the EIR Study Area is historically susceptible to all earthquake-related hazards, which include ground rupture, ground shaking, and liquefaction. Additionally, the EIR Study Area experiences a phenomenon called aseismic creep, as described later in this chapter.19 Ground Shaking and Rupture
The most common hazard from a seismic event is ground shaking. While ground shaking due to an earthquake may be experienced many miles from the source of an earthquake, ground rupture is frequent in the immediate vicinity of any fault line that experiences a significant seismic event.20 Because the Calaveras Fault lies beneath Hollister’s downtown, this area has the potential to experience ground rupture in the event of a strong seismic event. Figure 4.7-3, Ground Shake Potential, shows the ground shake potential in the EIR Study Area.

Liquefaction
Liquefaction is a hazard that occurs during prolonged periods of ground shaking in areas with alluvial or granular soils that are less compacted than soil types such as clay. Liquefaction is a result of prolonged ground shaking from a seismic event, which causes a sudden rise of an underground water table. When a water table rises in areas with alluvial and granular soils, the water infiltrates the soil bed and compromises the strength and stability of the soil, which can therefore compromise structures in such areas. As discussed under the “Soils” subheading, the EIR Study Area is largely on alluvial soils. These alluvial soils, in addition to a perched water table, mean that there is a high risk of liquefaction in the EIR Study Area, particularly within the floodplain on either side of the San Benito River, as shown in Figure

19 City of Hollister, 2005, General Plan Final Program EIR, page 4.9-1. Some of the text in this section comes directly from the EIR with little alteration.
20 City of Hollister, 2005, General Plan Final Program EIR, page 4.9-1.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GEOLOGY AND SOILS
PLACEWORKS 4.7-9

4.7-4, Liquefaction Susceptibility. However, there is insufficient evidence to definitively link structural damage with liquefaction events triggered by an earthquake.21 Aseismic Creep
Aseismic creep is the steady and ongoing movement of fault lines, generally without any associated earthquake. Faults that cause aseismic creep are unusual in that they slowly move for long periods of time, usually producing small earthquakes rather than large ones.22 In cities that experience aseismic creep, it is common to see roadways, curbs, or buildings that appear offset or cracked. The Calaveras Fault, which runs through the EIR Study Area, moves an estimated 4 to 12 millimeters per year due to aseismic creep.23 Although not considered a significant hazard, aseismic creep can result in significant structural damage in areas where structures are built on top of an active fault line.24 Landslides
Due to the flat terrain in the EIR Study Area, landslides are not an environmental concern. In the event of a severe earthquake, a landslide could possibly be triggered on the west side of Park Hill; however, the soil profile is not made up of materials that would likely contribute to large landslides or mudflows.25 Erosion
Erosion occurs when the upper layers of soil are displaced by erosive agents, such as water, ice, snow, air, plants, animals, or anthropogenic (human-caused) forces. Sandy soils on moderate slopes, or clayey soils on steep slopes are susceptible to erosion when exposed to these forces. Erosion can become more frequent when established vegetation is disturbed or removed due to grading, wildfires, or other factors.

As described under the “Geology” subheading, the valley floors of the EIR Study Area are largely flat, and erosion is not a common occurrence. Erosion can occur around agricultural lands; however, soils associated with Prime Farmland are classified as having only a slight or moderate erosion potential.26 The areas most subject to erosion are Park Hill and the outer banks of the San Benito River where sand and gravel have been mined.27

21 City of Hollister, 2005, General Plan Final Program EIR, page 4.9-2. The last sentence of the text in this section comes directly from the EIR with little alteration.
22 U.S. Geological Survey, Earthquake Hazards, Creep Evidence of Active Faulting, https://www.usgs.gov/natural- hazards/earthquake-hazards/science/creep-evidence-active-faulting?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects, accessed April 29, 2020.
23 City of Hollister, September 2015, Phase I Fault Rupture Hazard Assessment, City of Hollister Downtown Area, Project No. 2015.0062, http://hollister.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Phase-I-City-of-Hollister-Downtown-Fault-Rupture-Hazard- Assessment-FINAL.pdf, accessed April 29, 2020.
24 American Geophysical Union, April 2017, “Reviews of Geophysics, Creeping Faults: Good News, Bad News?,” https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2017RG000565 , accessed April 29, 2020. 25 City of Hollister, March 2016, Draft Environmental Impact Report North Street Subdivision, State Clearinghouse No. 2014121066, pages 3-104 and 3-117.
26 City of Hollister, 2005, General Plan Final Program EIR, page 4.11-1. 27 City of Hollister, 2005, General Plan Final Program EIR, page 4.10-24.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GEOLOGY AND SOILS
PLACEWORKS 4.7-13
Land Subsidence
Land subsidence is a human-induced hazard in which the over-extraction of groundwater causes the depression and caving in of soil deposits. Land subsidence is particularly common in areas with fine- grained sediments, such as silt and clay, in which water molecules are partly responsible for the strength of the soil. The over-extraction of groundwater thus causes these soils to shrink, which results in sinkholes that may compromise building foundations, pavement, and infrastructure.28 Land subsidence has not been well documented within San Benito County, although valley deposits within the county are at risk of subsidence if groundwater over-extraction occurs. However, no cases of groundwater over-extraction have been documented in the EIR Study Area or the greater San Benito County.29 The Gilroy-Hollister groundwater basin has been ranked as medium priority by the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act from the State of California. Medium-priority basins are those that have statewide importance but that have not been critically over-extracted.30 Expansive Soils
Soils classified as expansive are those that change dramatically in volume depending on moisture content.

When wet, these soils expand; conversely, when dry, these soils contract. Sources of moisture that trigger an expansion include rainfall, landscape irrigation, utility leakage, and perched groundwater. Expansive soils are typically very fine-grained with a high to very high percentage of clay, typically montmorillonite, smectite, or bentonite clay. Soil tests are often used to identify expansive soils, wherein a soil sample’s volume and length changes in response to reduced moisture content.31 A change of 3 percent or greater indicates a moderate to high shrink-swell potential. Such soils are known to cause damage to concrete slabs, structure foundations, and pavement. Areas that have expansive soils must often implement special building and structure design that can withstand such a fluctuation in soil.

There are clay deposits in the northern portion of the EIR Study Area, which are known to swell and contract during moisture events.32 However, as described under “Soils” subheading, soils in the EIR Study Area are predominantly well-draining soils that are not known to be expansive in nature. Soils that have a high to very high potential for shrink-swell properties within the EIR Study Area include Clear Lake clay, Cropley clay, Diablo clay, Pacheco silty clay, San Benito clay loam, and Willows clay.

28 U.S. Geological Survey, Land Subsidence, https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/land- subsidence?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects, accessed on April 30, 2020. 29 County of San Benito, March 2015, 2035 San Benito County General Plan Update, State Clearinghouse No. 2011111016, page 10-13 and 10-35.
30 City of Hollister, October 2017, Chappell Road Project Final Environmental Impact Report, “Appendix B,” State Clearinghouse No. 2016101044, page 3.6-4.
31 Army Corps of Engineers Field Manual TM 5-818-7, 1985, https://www.wbdg.org/FFC/ARMYCOE/COETM/ARCHIVES/tm_5_818_7.pdf , accessed on April 30, 2020. 32 City of Hollister, 2005, General Plan Final Program EIR, page 4.9-6.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GEOLOGY AND SOILS

4.7-14 JULY 2024
Paleontological Resources
As discussed under the “Geology” subheading, the Hollister Valley is underlain with the San Benito Formation, a thick layer of alluvial sediments that are drained from other locations in the surrounding region and deposited into low-lying lands. The alluvial deposits in the Hollister Valley have been recorded to contain several megafauna vertebrate fossils, extracted from the upper portion of the San Benito Formation. The fossils have been located specifically in areas where tectonic plate movement forces the San Benito Formation into pressure ridges, which occurs when lateral tectonic movements force sub- surface sediment to rupture to the surface. Discoveries specifically from the upper San Benito Formation include an elephant scapula, a Mammoth tooth, Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi), ancient bison (Bison antiquus), camel (Camelops hesternus), and western horse (Equus occidentalis), along with various invertebrate fossils, such as teeth and large vertebrate bones. Recent fault investigations have uncovered additional megafauna vertebrate fossils, such as gastropod fossils (clams), and vertebrate bones from various mammals including the giant ground sloth (Megalonyx jeffersonii). These fossil discoveries suggest that the upper layers of the San Benito Formation were formed in the Middle to Late Pleistocene, generally characterized as between 240,000 and 11,000 years before present.33 It is anticipated that due to the rich geologic past within the Hollister Valley, there may be significant paleontological resources in alluvial clay deposits that have not been unearthed.

4.7.2 STANDARDS OF SIGNIFICANCE
Implementation of the proposed project would result in significant geology and soils impacts if it would:

1. Directly or indirectly cause potential substantial adverse effects, including the risk of loss, injury or death involving: (i) Rupture of a known earthquake fault, as delineated on the most recent Alquist- Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Map issued by the State Geologist for the area or based on other substantial evidence of a known fault; (ii) Strong seismic ground shaking; (iii) Seismic-related ground failure, including liquefaction; (iv) Landslides.

2. Result in substantial soil erosion or the loss of topsoil.

3. Be located on a geologic unit or soil that is unstable, or that would become unstable as a result of the project, and potentially result in on- or off-site landslide, lateral spreading, subsidence, liquefaction, or collapse.

4. Be located on expansive soil, as defined by Table 18-1-B of the Uniform Building Code (1994), creating substantial direct or indirect risks to life or property.

5. Have soils incapable of adequately supporting the use of septic tanks or alternative wastewater disposal systems where sewers are not available for the disposal of wastewater.

6. Directly or indirectly destroy a unique paleontological resource or site or unique geologic feature.

7. In combination with past, present, and reasonably foreseeable projects, result in a cumulative impact with respect to geology and soils.

33 City of Hollister, July 2017, Design Level Geologic and Geotechnical Evaluation of the Allendale Residential Subdivision North of North Street, page 16.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GEOLOGY AND SOILS
PLACEWORKS 4.7-15

4.7.3 IMPACT DISCUSSION
As described in Chapter 4, Environmental Analysis, of this Revised Draft EIR, some proposed 2040 General Plan policies and actions are required as means to mitigate environmental impacts under CEQA. These policies and actions are fully enforceable at the discretion of the decision-maker through permit conditions, agreements, or other legally binding instruments. These mitigating policies and actions use the imperative “shall,” include performance criteria, and are marked with an asterisk (*).

GEO-1 Implementation of the proposed project would not directly or indirectly cause potential substantial adverse effects, including the risk of loss, injury or death involving: (i) Rupture of a known earthquake fault, as delineated on the most recent Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Map issued by the State Geologist for the area or based on other substantial evidence of a known fault;( ii) Strong seismic ground shaking; (iii) Seismic-related ground failure, including liquefaction; (iv) Landslides.
2040 General Plan
The location and underlying geology in the EIR Study Area make it likely to experience seismic hazards, including strong seismic ground shaking, and secondary hazards, like liquefaction.

Earthquake Faults
As stated in Section 4.7.1.2, Existing Conditions, active surface faults are mapped and zoned under the Alquist-Priolo Zoning Act in the EIR Study Area. Faults included within Alquist-Priolo Zones in the EIR Study Area include the Calaveras and Sargent Faults. HMC Chapter 17.14.030 applies to proposed developments on active faults pursuant to the Alquist-Priolo Act and requires a surface fault investigation filed by the State Geologist to be provided to the City to prove that all structures proposed for human occupancy do not cross any active fault traces for properties identified within the Earthquake Hazard Overlay District.

Should the surface fault investigation confirm the presence of active fault traces, those areas would be included within a deed restriction that forbids development of structures for human occupancy. Such compliance would reduce hazards arising from fault rupture such that there would not be a significant impact.

Strong Seismic Ground Shaking
Ground shaking is responsible for most of the damage from earthquakes and can damage or destroy buildings, structures, pipelines, and infrastructure. The intensity of shaking depends on the type of fault, distance to the epicenter, magnitude of the earthquake, and subsurface geology. The Great Valley, Ortigalita, and San Andreas Faults west and southwest of the city are potentially capable of producing the most intense ground accelerations. The seismic design of buildings within the EIR Study Area is governed by the requirements of the most recent CBC. The CBC has been accepted as the basic design standard in Hollister. All structures that would be constructed pursuant to the proposed 2040 General Plan would be

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GEOLOGY AND SOILS

4.7-16 JULY 2024
designed to meet or exceed current design standards in the latest CBC. Therefore, new structures are expected to remain standing, but may suffer damage requiring closure and replacement. These project design measures would reduce the exposure of people and structures to harm from strong ground- shaking hazards such that there would not be a significant impact.

Seismic-Related Ground Failure
Secondary effects of earthquakes are nontectonic processes, such as ground deformation, including fissures, settlement, displacement, and loss of bearing strength, and are the leading causes of damage to structures during a moderate to large earthquake. Secondary effects could lead to ground deformation, including liquefaction, lateral spreading, seismically induced landslides, and ground lurching.

Based on the potential for strong ground shaking combined with a groundwater depth of under 50 feet in parts of the EIR Study Area, much of the city is within an area susceptible to liquefaction. All potential future structures constructed in the EIR Study Area would be designed in accordance with current seismic design standards as found in the CBC. Design measures would be implemented according to the most recent CBC, which would reduce the impact of liquefaction and seismic settlement, including, but not limited to, ground improvement techniques, such as in-situ densification, load transfer to underlying nonliquefiable bearing layers, and over-excavation and recompaction with engineered fill method. These design measures would reduce the potential exposure of people and structures to the hazard from liquefaction and seismic settlement such that there would not be a significant impact.

Landslides
Marginally stable slopes (including existing landslides) may be subject to landslides caused by earthquakes. The landslide hazard depends on many factors, including existing slope stability, shaking potential, and presence of existing landslides. Landslides, debris flows, or any movement of earth or rock are most common in areas of high topographic relief, such as steep canyon walls or steep hillsides. There are no substantial hazards with respect to slope stability, as the EIR Study Area is mostly flat. There would not be a significant impact from slope stability.

Summary
The proposed Health and Safety (HS) Element of the 2040 General Plan contains goals, policies, and actions that require local planning and development decisions to consider potential impacts to the risk of loss, injury, or death as a result of earthquakes. The following proposed 2040 General Plan goals, policies, and actions would serve to minimize potential adverse impacts from earthquakes:

Goal HS-1: Protect community health and safety from natural and human-caused hazards. (Goal HS1)  *Policy HS-1.1: Location of Future Development. Permit development only in areas where potential danger to the health, safety, and welfare of the community can be adequately mitigated. This includes prohibiting development that would be subject to severe flood damage or geological hazard because of its location and/or design and that cannot be mitigated to safe levels.

Development shall also be prohibited where emergency services, including fire protection, cannot be provided. (Policy HS1.1)

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GEOLOGY AND SOILS
PLACEWORKS 4.7-17
 *Policy HS-1.2: Safety Considerations in Development Review. Require project applicants to prepare appropriate studies to assess identified hazards and ensure that impacts are adequately mitigated prior to project approval. (Policy HS1.2)
 Action HS-1.1: Geologic, Flooding, Fire, and Other Hazard Mapping. Upon each update of the Safety Element, update hazard maps for use in development review. Use this mapping data to inform decisions about existing risk and future land uses throughout the city. (Implementation Measure HS.G)
Goal HS-3: Protect the community from seismic and geologic hazards. (new)  Policy HS-3.1: Seismic Hazards. Ensure existing and new structures are designed to protect people and property from seismic hazards. Review all development proposals for compliance with the Alquist- Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Act and the Uniform Building Code as a way to reduce the risk of exposure to seismic hazards for those who will be living and working in the Hollister Planning Area. (Policy HS1.4)
 *Policy HS-3.2: Geotechnical and Geologic Review. Require all geologic hazards to be adequately addressed and mitigated prior to the issuance of certificate of occupancy through project development. Development proposed within areas of potential geological hazards shall not be endangered by, nor contribute to, the hazardous conditions on the site or on adjoining properties. (Policy HS1.5)
 *Policy HS-3.3: Engineering Tests for Geologic Conditions. Require engineering tests prior to issuance of building permits for those development projects that may be exposed to impacts associated with expansive soils, so that building foundation footings, utility lines, roadways, and sidewalks can be designed to accept the estimated degree of soil contraction, expansion, and settlement, according to the standards of the Uniform Building Code. (Policy HS1.6)  Policy HS-3.4: High-Occupancy Structures. High-occupancy structures (such as schools, hospitals, office buildings, and multifamily housing) or critical emergency facilities (such as fire and police stations, emergency relief storage facilities, and water storage tanks) should not be located in an active fault’s “zone of potential surface deformation.” In addition, high-occupancy structures should be designed or redesigned to protect human life to the highest degree possible during the “maximum probable event” of seismic activity. Existing and new high-occupancy structures should also have emergency plans approved by the City. (Policy HS2.1)
 Policy HS-3.5: Design of Safe Structures and Utilities. Require new roads, bridges, and utility lines be constructed to accommodate possible fault movement and withstand the expected ground motion induced during an earthquake. (Policy HS1.7)
 Action HS-3.1: Building Code Updates. Regularly adopt updates to the Building Code and other essential codes as necessary to address earthquake, fire, and other hazards and support programs for the identification, abatement, or mitigation of existing hazardous structures. (Implementation Measure HS.Q)
 Action HS-3.2: Unreinforced Masonry Building Improvements. Continue to implement actions to address safety issues related to Unreinforced Masonry Buildings and other buildings as conditions are discovered. (Implementation Measure HS.L)

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GEOLOGY AND SOILS

4.7-18 JULY 2024
Because potential future development under the proposed 2040 General Plan has the potential to be constructed where there is the potential for geological hazards, impacts are considered potentially significant.

Impact GEO-1: Impacts from potential future development under the proposed 2040 General Plan where there are known geological hazards could occur over the buildout horizon of the proposed project.

Significance with Mitigation: Less than significant. Implementation of the goals, policies, and actions of the proposed 2040 General Plan would reduce potential impacts from development in geologically hazardous areas. Specifically, proposed 2040 General Plan *Policy HS-1.1, Location of Future Development, would mitigate impacts by permitting development only in areas where potential danger to the health, safety, and welfare of the community can be adequately mitigated. This includes prohibiting development that would be subject to severe flood damage or geological hazard due to its location and/or design and that cannot be mitigated to safe levels; *Policy HS-1.2, Safety Considerations in Development Review, would mitigate impacts by requiring project applicants to prepare appropriate studies to assess identified hazards and ensure that impacts are adequately mitigated prior to project approval; *Policy HS-3.2, Geotechnical and Geologic Review, would mitigate impacts by requiring that all geologic hazards be adequately addressed and mitigated through project development. Development proposed within areas of potential geological hazards shall not be endangered by, nor contribute to, the hazardous conditions on the site or on adjoining properties, and proposed *Policy HS-3.3, Engineering Tests for Geologic Conditions, would mitigate impacts by requiring engineering tests for those development projects that may be exposed to impacts associated with expansive soils, so that building foundation footings, utility lines, roadways, and sidewalks can be designed to accept the estimated degree of soil contraction, expansion and settlement, according to the standards of the Uniform Building Code. Implementation of these goals, policies, and actions, and specifically *Policy HS-1.1, *Policy HS-1.2,*Policy HS-3.2, and *Policy HS-3.3 of the proposed 2040 General Plan, as well as compliance with state, regional, and local regulations pertaining to structural safety regarding fault rupture, ground shaking, liquefaction, and landslides, would ensure that potential future development that results from implementation of the proposed 2040 General Plan would not directly or indirectly cause substantial adverse effects, including the risk of loss, injury, or death involving rupture of a known earthquake fault, strong seismic ground shaking, seismic-related ground failure, or landslides. Therefore, impacts would be less than significant.

Climate Action Plan
The proposed CAP is a strategic plan focused on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction through recommended community-wide GHG reduction strategies and an implementation plan. Since the proposed CAP does not involve any land use changes that would affect geology and soils, implementation of the proposed CAP would not directly or indirectly cause potential substantial adverse effects, including the risk of loss, injury, or death involving rupture of a known earthquake fault, strong seismic ground shaking, seismic-related ground failure, or landslides, and impacts would be less than significant.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GEOLOGY AND SOILS
PLACEWORKS 4.7-19
Agricultural Lands Preservation Program
The proposed ALPP is a program focused on mitigating the effects of agricultural land conversion through the dedication of eligible agricultural conservation easements at a rate of at least one acre of agricultural land for each one acre of agricultural land to be converted (1:1 ratio) for projects that would convert agricultural land to nonagricultural uses. Since the proposed ALPP does not involve any land use changes that would affect geology and soils, implementation of the proposed ALPP would not directly or indirectly cause potential substantial adverse effects, including the risk of loss, injury, or death involving rupture of a known earthquake fault, strong seismic ground shaking, seismic-related ground failure, or landslides, and impacts would be less than significant.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

GEO-2 Implementation of the proposed project would not result in substantial soil erosion or the loss of topsoil.
2040 General Plan
Soils are particularly prone to erosion during the grading phase of development, especially during heavy rains. Substantial soil erosion or the loss of topsoil during construction of future development could undermine structures or minor slopes, which would be a concern during implementation of the proposed 2040 General Plan.

The CBC provides regulations for construction to provide proper grading, drainage, and erosion and sediment control. In addition, HMC Chapter 15.24 requires erosion and sediment be controlled. Erosion- control measures can include seeding slopes, installation of temporary dikes and swales, placement of straw bales and filter fences, outlet protection, grass-lined swales, and installation of sediment retention structures, as appropriate for specific sites. HMC Section 15.24.130 sets forth the requirements for the submittal of grading plans that demonstrate that potential future development has been designed to minimize soil erosion.

As described in further detail in Chapter 4.10, Hydrology and Water Quality, of this Revised Draft EIR, to minimize potential impacts related to erosion, future development pursuant to the proposed 2040 General Plan would require compliance with the Construction General Permit (CGP) Water Quality Order 2009-0009-DWQ (as amended by Order No. 2010-0014-DWQ and 2012-006-DWQ), which includes the preparation and implementation of a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP). A SWPPP requires an erosion control plan with the incorporation of best management practices to control erosion during construction. Typical construction best management practices include silt fences, fiber rolls, catch basin inlet protection, water trucks, street sweeping, and stabilization of truck entrance/exits. While this regulation is primarily aimed at water quality, it is another mechanism routinely applied by the City that would help to minimize the risk of erosion.

Adherence to existing regulatory requirements that include, but are not limited to, the CBC and the HMC grading and drainage requirements for new developments, would ensure that impacts associated with

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GEOLOGY AND SOILS

4.7-20 JULY 2024
substantial erosion and loss of topsoil from potential future development under the proposed 2040 General Plan would be less than significant and no mitigation measures are required.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

Climate Action Plan
The proposed CAP is a strategic plan focused on GHG emissions reduction through recommended community-wide GHG reduction strategies and an implementation plan. Since the proposed CAP does not involve any land use changes that would affect geology and soils, implementation of the proposed CAP would not result in substantial soil erosion or the loss of topsoil and impacts would be less than significant.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

Agricultural Lands Preservation Program
The proposed ALPP is a program focused on mitigating the effects of agricultural land conversion through the dedication of eligible agricultural conservation easements at a rate of at least one acre of agricultural land for each one acre of agricultural land to be converted (1:1 ratio) for projects that would convert agricultural land to nonagricultural uses. Since the proposed ALPP does not involve any land use changes that would affect geology and soils, implementation of the proposed ALPP would not result in substantial soil erosion or the loss of topsoil and impacts would be less than significant.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

GEO-3 Implementation of the proposed project would not be on a geologic unit or soil that is unstable, or that would become unstable as a result of the project, and potentially result in on- or off-site landslide, lateral spreading, subsidence, liquefaction, or collapse.
2040 General Plan
Unstable geologic units are known to be present within the EIR Study Area. The following sections discuss the hazards associated with landslides, subsidence, lateral spreading, liquefaction, or settlement and collapse.

Landslides
As stated under Impact Discussion GEO-1, there are no substantial hazards with respect to landslides and slope stability, as the EIR Study Area is mostly flat. There would not be a significant impact from slope stability.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GEOLOGY AND SOILS
PLACEWORKS 4.7-21
Subsidence
Minor subsidence has been historically documented in the EIR Study Area and is considered a potential hazard.34 Historically, subsidence in EIR Study Area does not show a pattern of widespread irreversible permanent lowering of the ground surface.35 The probability of subsidence impacts is generally low in the EIR Study Area due to the lack of prominent geologic structures or contacts. As described in further detail in Chapter 4.10, Hydrology and Water Quality, of this Revised Draft EIR, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act encourages sustainable groundwater management practices to reduce the potential for future land subsidence, and ongoing surveying of the ground surface by the California Department of Water Resources and the USGS provides a way to verify that efforts in preventing subsidence are effective.

The groundwater recharge programs within the existing North San Benito County Groundwater Sustainability Plan for the Gilroy-Hollister Groundwater Basin 36 continue to prevent long-term groundwater overdraft conditions and reduce the impact of subsidence to less than significant.

Liquefaction and Lateral Spreading
As stated under Impact Discussion GEO-1, based on the potential for strong ground shaking combined with a groundwater depth of under 50 feet in parts of the EIR Study Area, much of the EIR Study Area is within an area susceptible to liquefaction. All structures constructed in the EIR Study Area would be designed in accordance with current seismic design standards as found in the CBC. Design measures would be implemented according to the most recent CBC, which would reduce the impact of liquefaction and seismic settlement, including, but not limited to, ground improvement techniques, such as in-situ densification, load transfer to underlying nonliquefiable bearing layers, and over-excavation and recompaction with engineered fill method. These design measures would reduce the potential exposure of people and structures to the hazard from liquefaction and seismic settlement such that there would not be a significant impact. In addition, based on the lack of a free face, there would not be a significant impact from ground lurching or lateral spreading.

Settlement and Collapse
Settlement and collapse are likely to exist in areas with alluvial soils. Areas of large settlement can damage, or in extreme cases, destroy structures. The presence of compressible soils in the EIR Study Area represents a hazard to structures and people.

CBC design standards have been adopted by the City and require that structures be designed to mitigate compressible soils. Methods that could be used to reduce the impact of compressible soils include in-situ densification, transferring the load to underlying non-compressible layers with piles, and overexcavation

34 Poland, J. F., and R. L. Ireland, 1988, Land Subsidence in the Santa Clara Valley, California, as of 1982, U. S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 497-F, https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/0497f/report.pdf , accessed April 8, 2022. 35 California Department of Water Resources, 2022. SGMA Basin Prioritization Dashboard, https://gis.water.ca.gov/app/bp- dashboard/final/, accessed April 8, 2022.
36 Todd Groundwater, 2018, North San Benito County Groundwater Sustainability Plan, Draft: Introduction and Plan Area, dated December 2018, https://www.sbcwd.com/wp-
content/uploads/2019/02/DraftGSPIntroPlanAreawithTablesFigures12202018.pdf, accessed April 8, 2022.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GEOLOGY AND SOILS

4.7-22 JULY 2024
of compressible soil and recompaction with engineered fill. These design measures, or a combination of them, would reduce the impact of compressible soils to less than significant.

Summary
As determined under Impact Discussions GEO-1 and GEO-2, future development from implementation of the proposed 2040 General Plan would be required to comply with the CBC, which provides regulations for building design and construction to ensure geologic and soil stability. In addition to protections afforded by State laws, the proposed 2040 General Plan goals, policies, and actions listed under Impact Discussion GEO-1 would require local planning and development decisions to consider potential risks of development on unstable soils or geologic units. Proposed 2040 General Plan *Policy HS-1.1, Location of Future Development, *Policy HS-1.2, Safety Considerations in Development Review, Policy HS-3.2, Geotechnical and Geologic Review, and *Policy HS-3.3, Engineering Tests for Geologic Conditions, specifically address the early review of potential future development to identify where geologic hazards may occur and require mitigation for any potential site-specific impacts where there are geologic hazards, including unstable soils.

All potential future development from implementation of the proposed 2040 General Plan would be required to comply with State and local regulations, including HMC provisions and the proposed 2040 General Plan goals, policies, and actions that minimize impacts related to unstable geologic units and soils where landslide, lateral spreading, subsidence, liquefaction, or collapse could occur in the EIR Study Area.

Implementation of the identified goals, policies, and actions, as well as compliance with state, regional, and local regulations pertaining to structural safety regarding a geologic unit or soils that are unstable, would ensure that potential future development that results from implementation of the proposed 2040 General Plan would not directly or indirectly cause substantial adverse effects. Therefore, impacts would be less than significant.

Significance with Mitigation: Less than significant.

Climate Action Plan
The proposed CAP is a strategic plan focused on GHG emissions reduction through recommended community-wide GHG reduction strategies and an implementation plan. Since the proposed CAP does not involve any land use changes that would affect geology and soils, implementation of the proposed CAP would not potentially result in on- or off-site landslide, lateral spreading, subsidence, liquefaction, or collapse and impacts would be less than significant.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

Agricultural Lands Preservation Program
The proposed ALPP is a program focused on mitigating the effects of agricultural land conversion through the dedication of eligible agricultural conservation easements at a rate of at least one acre of agricultural land for each one acre of agricultural land to be converted (1:1 ratio) for projects that would convert agricultural land to nonagricultural uses. Since the proposed ALPP does not involve any land use changes

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GEOLOGY AND SOILS
PLACEWORKS 4.7-23
that would affect geology and soils, implementation of the proposed ALPP would not potentially result in on- or off-site landslide, lateral spreading, subsidence, liquefaction, or collapse, and impacts would be less than significant.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

GEO-4 Implementation of the proposed project could be on expansive soil, as defined by Table 18-1-B of the Uniform Building Code (1994), but would not create substantial direct or indirect risks to life or property. 2040 General Plan
Based on the presence of alluvial materials in the EIR Study Area, there is some potential for expansive/shrink-swell soils.37, 38 Expansive soils are possible wherever clays and elastic silts may be present, including alluvial soils and weathered granitic and fine-grained sedimentary rocks. The presence of expansive soils represents a hazard to structures and people. In the event that future development is proposed in these portions of the EIR Study Area, proposed 2040 General Plan *Policy HS-1.2, Safety Considerations in Development Review, would require identification of any potential geological or seismic hazards early in the process and *Policy HS-3.3, Engineering Tests for Geologic Conditions, would be required to evaluate soil characteristics that would identify if the soils were determined to be expansive.

Future development proposed on expansive soils under the proposed 2040 General Plan would be required to follow regulations imposed by the CBC, such as standards for seismic safety, excavation, foundations, retaining walls, site demolition, and grading activities, including drainage and erosion control.

Specific engineering methods that could be used to reduce the impact of expansive soils include drainage- control devices to limit water infiltration near foundations, over-excavation and recompaction of engineered fill method, or support of the foundation with piles.

Implementation of the proposed 2040 General Plan goals, policies, and actions identified previously and listed under Impact Discussion GEO-1, and specifically, proposed 2040 General Plan *Policy HS-1.1, Location of Future Development, *Policy HS-1.2, Safety Considerations in Development Review, Policy HS-

3.2, Geotechnical and Geologic Review, and *Policy HS-3.3, Engineering Tests for Geologic Conditions, address early review of potential future development to identify where geologic hazards may occur and require mitigation for any site-specific impacts where there are geologic hazards, including expansive soils.

Implementation of these policies as well as compliance with state, regional, and local regulations pertaining to structural safety regarding expansive soils, would ensure that potential future development that results from implementation of the proposed 2040 General Plan would not directly or indirectly

37 Rogers, T. H., 1966, Geologic Map of California, San Jose Sheet, scale 1:250,000, http://archives.csuchico.edu/digital/collection/coll19/id/326 , accessed January 31, 2022. 38 U. S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service, 1990, Soil Survey of Merced County, Western Part, https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/california/CA647/0/merced.pdf , accessed January 31, 2022.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GEOLOGY AND SOILS

4.7-24 JULY 2024
cause substantial adverse effects, including risks to life or property. Therefore, impacts would be less than significant.

Significance with Mitigation: Less than significant.

Climate Action Plan
The proposed CAP is a strategic plan focused on GHG emissions reduction through recommended community-wide GHG reduction strategies and an implementation plan. Since the proposed CAP does not involve any land use changes that would affect geology and soils, implementation of the proposed CAP would not create substantial direct or indirect risks to life or property and impacts would be less than significant.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

Agricultural Lands Preservation Program
The proposed ALPP is a program focused on mitigating the effects of agricultural land conversion through the dedication of eligible agricultural conservation easements at a rate of at least one acre of agricultural land for each one acre of agricultural land to be converted (1:1 ratio) for projects that would convert agricultural land to nonagricultural uses. Since the proposed ALPP does not involve any land use changes that would affect geology and soils, implementation of the proposed ALPP would not create substantial direct or indirect risks to life or property and impacts would be less than significant.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

GEO-5 Implementation of the proposed project would not use septic tanks or alternative wastewater disposal systems where soils would be incapable of adequately supporting in cases where sewers are not available for the disposal of wastewater.
2040 General Plan
As discussed in Chapter 4.17, Utilities and Service Systems, of this Revised Draft EIR, wastewater from new lots or parcels would be discharged into the existing public sanitary sewer system serviced by the City of Hollister. Therefore, potential future development in the EIR Study Area is not anticipated to result in the use of septic tanks or alternative wastewater disposal systems.

Policy CSF-2.4, Sewer Collection System Deficiencies, in the proposed 2040 General Plan Community Services and Facilities (CSF) Element requires the City prioritize the implementation of recommendations from the Sanitary Collection System Master Plan to address deficiencies in wastewater collection and treatment facilities. In addition, HMC Section 13.04.040 would allow for the construction of septic tanks or alternative wastewater disposal systems provided that the applicant obtains a County permit and the construction is in accordance with the permit.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GEOLOGY AND SOILS
PLACEWORKS 4.7-25
In summary, implementation of the proposed 2040 General Plan policy listed above, as well as compliance with state, regional, and local regulations pertaining to structural safety regarding inadequate soils, would ensure that potential future development that results from implementation of the proposed 2040 General Plan would not directly or indirectly cause substantial adverse effects. Therefore, potential future development would not result in septic tanks or alternative wastewater disposal systems where soils are not capable of adequately supporting such systems, and the impact would be less than significant.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

Climate Action Plan
The proposed CAP is a strategic plan focused on GHG emissions reduction through recommended community-wide GHG reduction strategies and an implementation plan. Since the proposed CAP does not involve any land use changes that would affect geology and soils, implementation of the proposed CAP would not use septic tanks or alternative wastewater disposal systems where soils would be incapable of adequately supporting them in cases where sewers are not available for the disposal of wastewater and impacts would be less than significant.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

Agricultural Lands Preservation Program
The proposed ALPP is a program focused on mitigating the effects of agricultural land conversion through the dedication of eligible agricultural conservation easements at a rate of at least one acre of agricultural land for each one acre of agricultural land to be converted (1:1 ratio) for projects that would convert agricultural land to nonagricultural uses. Since the proposed ALPP does not involve any land use changes that would affect geology and soils, implementation of the proposed ALPP would not use septic tanks or alternative wastewater disposal systems where soils would be incapable of adequately supporting them in cases where sewers are not available for the disposal of wastewater and impacts would be less than significant.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

GEO-6 Implementation of the proposed project would not directly or indirectly destroy a unique paleontological resource or site or unique geologic feature.
2040 General Plan
As stated in Section 4.7.1.2 Existing Conditions, the geology and soils in the EIR Study Area are common throughout the city and region and are not considered to be unique. Therefore, impacts to unique geologic features would be less than significant. However, geological formations underlying the EIR Study Area have the potential to contain unique paleontological resources. Potential future development would be required to comply with the federal Paleontological Resources Preservation Act that limits the

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GEOLOGY AND SOILS

4.7-26 JULY 2024
collection of vertebrate fossils and other rare and scientifically significant fossils to qualified researchers who have obtained a permit from the appropriate state or federal agency and the PRC Section 5097 that prohibits the removal of any paleontological site or feature from public lands without the permission of the jurisdictional agency. Ground-disturbing construction activities (e.g., grading and excavation) associated with potential future development in the EIR Study Area could uncover fossilized remains of organisms from prehistoric environments that have not been recorded. The implementation protocols and adherence to the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology standards would ensure the protection of unique paleontological resources during construction of future development. Some protocols include, but are not limited to:
 Excavations within a 50-foot radius of the find shall be temporarily halted or diverted.  Ground -disturbance work shall cease until a City-approved, qualified paleontologist determines whether the resource requires further study.
 The paleontologist shall document the discovery as needed, in accordance with Society of Vertebrate Paleontology standards,39 as appropriate, evaluate the potential resource, and assess the significance of the finding under the criteria set forth in CEQA Guidelines Section 15064.5.  The paleontologist shall notify the appropriate agencies to determine procedures that would be followed before construction activities are allowed to resume at the location of the find.  If not feasible, the paleontologist shall prepare an excavation plan for mitigating the effect of construction activities on the discovery. The excavation plan shall be submitted to the City of Hollister for review and approval prior to implementation.
 All construction activities shall adhere to the recommendations in the excavation plan.

In summary, compliance with state, regional, and local regulations pertaining to paleontological resources would ensure that potential future development that results from implementation of the proposed 2040 General Plan would not directly or indirectly cause substantial adverse effects to paleontological resources. Therefore, the impact would be less than significant.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

Climate Action Plan
The proposed CAP is a strategic plan focused on GHG emissions reduction through recommended community-wide GHG reduction strategies and an implementation plan. Since the proposed CAP does not involve any land use changes that would affect geology and soils, implementation of the proposed CAP would not directly or indirectly destroy a unique paleontological resource or site or unique geologic feature and impacts would be less than significant.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

39 Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, 2010, Standard Procedures for the Assessment and Mitigation of Adverse Impacts to Paleontological Resources, https://vertpaleo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/SVP_Impact_Mitigation_Guidelines-1.pdf , accessed March 20, 2023.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GEOLOGY AND SOILS
PLACEWORKS 4.7-27
Agricultural Lands Preservation Program
The proposed ALPP is a program focused on mitigating the effects of agricultural land conversion through the dedication of eligible agricultural conservation easements at a rate of at least one acre of agricultural land for each one acre of agricultural land to be converted (1:1 ratio) for projects that would convert agricultural land to nonagricultural uses. Since the proposed ALPP does not involve any land use changes that would affect geology and soils, implementation of the proposed ALPP would not directly or indirectly destroy a unique paleontological resource or site or unique geologic feature and impacts would be less than significant.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

GEO-7 In combination with past, present, and reasonably foreseeable projects, implementation of the proposed project would not result in a cumulative impact with respect to geology and soils.

As discussed in Chapter 4, Environmental Analysis, of this Revised Draft EIR, the cumulative setting includes growth within the EIR Study Area in combination with projected growth in the rest of San Benito County and the surrounding region.
2040 General Plan
As discussed previously, implementation of the proposed 2040 General Plan would not result in significant impacts related to geology and soils. Although the EIR Study Area includes some potentially significant hazards—fault rupture, strong ground shaking, subsidence, settlement, collapse, seismic-related ground failure and erosion—anticipated development under the proposed 2040 General Plan would be subject to regulations pertaining to seismic safety, including the CBC and HMC requirements. Compliance with these requirements would, to the maximum extent practicable, reduce cumulative, development-related impacts that pertain to seismic shaking, seismic-related ground failure, seismically induced landslides, soil erosion, and unstable soils. Similarly, compliance with relevant HMC requirements, as well as the requirements of the CBC, would minimize the cumulative impacts associated with substantial erosion or loss of topsoil. While none of the soils in the EIR Study Area are considered to have unique geological resources, unique paleontological resources may occur. Site-specific evaluation in the event that previously unknown resources are discovered during construction activities for new development or redevelopment would be required. Future development would be focused on specific sites or areas, which would be evaluated for site development constraints on a case-by-case basis. Cumulative development in adjacent jurisdictions would be subject to the same federal, state, and local regulations. Since impacts associated with geology and soils are by their nature focused on specific sites or areas, the less-than- significant impacts within the EIR Study Area to avoid impacts related to geology and soils from the proposed 2040 General Plan, would not contribute to a cumulative increase in hazards in the immediate vicinity of the EIR Study Area or greater San Benito County. Therefore, cumulative impacts associated with geology and soils would be less than significant.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GEOLOGY AND SOILS

4.7-28 JULY 2024
Climate Action Plan
The proposed CAP is a strategic plan focused on GHG emissions reduction through recommended community-wide GHG reduction strategies and an implementation plan. Since the proposed CAP does not involve any land use changes that would affect geology and soils, implementation of the proposed CAP would result in a less-than-significant cumulative impact with respect to geology and soils.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

Agricultural Lands Preservation Program
The proposed ALPP is a program focused on mitigating the effects of agricultural land conversion through the dedication of eligible agricultural conservation easements at a rate of at least one acre of agricultural land for each one acre of agricultural land to be converted (1:1 ratio) for projects that would convert agricultural land to nonagricultural uses. Since the proposed ALPP does not involve any land use changes that would affect geology and soils, implementation of the proposed ALPP would result in a less-than- significant cumulative impact with respect to geology and soils.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
PLACEWORKS 4.8-1

4.8 GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
This chapter of the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) describes the potential impacts from greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the approval and implementation of the proposed project. This chapter describes the regulatory framework and existing conditions, identifies criteria used to determine impact significance, provides an analysis of the potential GHG impacts, and identifies policies that could minimize any potentially significant impacts.

The analysis in this chapter is based on buildout of the proposed project, as modeled using the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB’s ) Emissions Factor Model (EMFAC2021), the Off-Road Emissions Factor Model (OFFROAD2021, version 1.0.2), energy use provided by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and Central Coast Community Energy (CCCE), solid waste disposal from Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (AMBAG), water use and wastewater generation based on Hollister’s 2020 Urban Area Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP), as well as trip generation and vehicle miles traveled (VMT) provided by Kimley Horn (see Appendix F, Revised Transportation Data, of this Revised Draft EIR). The GHG emissions modeling is based on emissions inventory and forecast prepared for the proposed Climate Action Plan (CAP).

4.8.1 ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING

TERMINOLOGY
The following are definitions for terms used throughout this chapter:
 Greenhouse gases (GHG). Gases in the atmosphere that absorb infrared light, thereby retaining heat in the atmosphere and contributing to a greenhouse effect.  Global warming potential (GWP). Metric used to describe how much heat a molecule of a GHG absorbs relative to a molecule of carbon dioxide (CO2) over a given period of time (20, 100, and 500 years). CO2 has a GWP of 1.
 Carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2e). The standard unit to measure the amount of GHGs in terms of the amount of CO2 that would cause the same amount of warming. CO2e is based on the GWP ratios between the various GHGs relative to CO2.
 MTCO 2e. Metric ton of CO2e.
 MMTCO2e. Million metric tons of CO2e.

GREENHOUSE GASES AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Scientists have concluded that human activities are contributing to global climate change by adding large amounts of heat-trapping gases, known as GHGs, to the atmosphere. The primary source of these GHGs is fossil fuel use. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has identified four major GHGs— water vapor, carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and ozone (O3)—that are the likely cause of an increase in global average temperatures observed in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Other GHGs identified by the IPCC that contribute to global warming to a lesser extent are nitrous oxide (N2O), sulfur

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

4.8-2 JULY 2024
hexafluoride (SF6), hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and chlorofluorocarbons.1,2,3 The major GHGs applicable to the proposed project are briefly described herein.  Carbon dioxide (CO2) enters the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, and coal), solid waste, trees and wood products, and respiration, and also as a result of other chemical reactions (e.g., manufacture of cement). Carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere (sequestered) when it is absorbed by plants as part of the biological carbon cycle.  Methane (CH4) is emitted during the production and transport of coal, natural gas, and oil. Methane emissions also result from livestock and other agricultural practices and from the decay of organic waste in landfills and water treatment facilities.
 Nitrous oxide (N2O) is emitted during agricultural and industrial activities as well as during the combustion of fossil fuels and solid waste.

GHGs are dependent on the lifetime, or persistence, of the gas molecule in the atmosphere. Some GHGs have stronger greenhouse effects than others. These are referred to as high GWP gases. The GWP of GHG emissions are shown in Table 4.8-1, GHG Emissions and Their Relative Global Warming Potential Compared to CO2.

TABLE 4.8-1 GHG EMISSIONS AND THEIR RELATIVE GLOBAL WARMING POTENTIAL COMPARED TO CO2 GHGs
Fourth Assessment Report (AR4)
Global Warming
Potential Relative
to CO2 a
Fifth Assessment Report
(AR5) Global Warming
Potential Relative
to CO2 a
Sixth Assessment Report
(AR6) Global Warming
Potential Relative
to CO2 a
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) 1 1 1
Methane (CH4) b 25 28 30
Nitrous Oxide (N2O) 298 265 273
Notes:
a. Based on 100-year time horizon of the global warming potential (GWP) of the air pollutant compared to CO2. b. The methane GWP includes direct effects and indirect effects due to the production of tropospheric ozone and stratospheric water vapor. The indirect effect due to the production of CO2 is not included.

Sources: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , 2007, Fourth Assessment Report: Climate Change 2007; Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2013, Fifth Assessment Report: Climate Change 2013; Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2022, Sixth Assessment Report: Climate Change 2022.

1 Water vapor (H2O) is the strongest GHG and the most variable in its phases (vapor, cloud droplets, ice crystals). However, water vapor is not considered a pollutant because it is considered part of the feedback loop rather than a primary cause of change.
2 Black carbon contributes to climate change by absorbing sunlight, and indirectly, by depositing on snow (making it melt faster) and by interacting with clouds and affecting cloud formation. Black carbon is the most strongly light-absorbing component of particulate matter (PM) emitted from burning fuels such as coal, diesel, and biomass. Reducing black carbon emissions globally can have immediate economic, climate, and public health benefits. California has been an international leader in reducing emissions of black carbon (California Air Resources Board, 2017, March. Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy, https://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/shortlived/shortlived.htm) . However, state and national GHG inventories do not include black carbon due to ongoing work resolving the precise global warming potential of black carbon. Guidance for California Environmental Quality Act documents does not yet include black carbon. 3 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2001, Third Assessment Report: Climate Change 2001, New York: Cambridge University Press.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
PLACEWORKS 4.8-3
The GWP is used to convert GHGs to CO2-equivalence (CO2e) to show the relative potential that different GHGs have to retain infrared radiation in the atmosphere and contribute to the greenhouse effect. For example, under the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), GWP values for CH4, 10 MT of CH4 would be equivalent to 280 MT of CO2.4
Human Influence on Climate Change
For approximately 1,000 years before the Industrial Revolution, the amount of GHGs in the atmosphere remained relatively constant. During the twentieth century, scientists observed a rapid change in the climate and the quantity of climate change pollutants in the Earth’s atmosphere that is attributable to human activities.

The recent IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) summarizes the latest scientific consensus on climate change. It finds that atmospheric concentrations of CO2 have increased by 50 percent since the Industrial Revolution and continue to increase at a rate of two parts per million each year. By the 2030s, and no later than 2040, the world will exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius (°C) warming.5 These recent changes in the quantity and concentration of climate change pollutants far exceed the extremes of the ice ages, and the global mean temperature is warming at a rate that cannot be explained by natural causes alone. Human activities are directly altering the chemical composition of the atmosphere through the buildup of climate change pollutants.6 In the past, gradual changes in the Earth’s temperature changed the distribution of species, availability of water, and other conditions. Human activities are accelerating this process so that environmental impacts associated with climate change no longer occur in a geologic time frame but within a human lifetime.7
Like the variability in the projections of the expected increase in global surface temperatures, the environmental consequences of gradual changes in the Earth’s temperature are hard to predict.

Projections of climate change depend heavily on future human activity. Therefore, climate models are based on different emission scenarios that account for historical trends in emissions and on observations of the climate record that assess the human influence of the trend and projections for extreme weather events. Climate-change scenarios are affected by varying degrees of uncertainty. For example, there are varying degrees of certainty on the magnitude of the trends for:
 Warmer and fewer cold days and nights over most land areas  Warmer and more frequent hot days and nights over most land areas  An increase in the frequency of warm spells and heat waves over most land areas

4 The global warming potential of a GHG is dependent on the lifetime, or persistence, of the gas molecule in the atmosphere.
5 California Air Resources Board, November 16, 2022, 2022 Scoping Plan for Achieving Carbon Neutrality, https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2022-12/2022-sp.pdf . 6 California Climate Action Team, March 2006, Climate Action Team Report to Governor Schwarzenegger and the Legislature, https://planning.lacity.gov/eir/8150Sunset/References/4.E.%20Greenhouse%20Gas%20Emissions/GHG.23_CalEPA%202006%20 Report%20to%20Governor.pdf.
7 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2007, Fourth Assessment Report: Climate Change 2007, New York: Cambridge University Press.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

4.8-4 JULY 2024
 An increase in frequency of heavy precipitation events (or proportion of total rainfall from heavy falls) over most areas
 Larger areas affected by drought
 Intense tropical cyclone activity increases
 Increased incidence of extreme high sea level (excluding tsunamis) Potential Climate Change Impacts for California
There is at least a greater than 50 percent likelihood that global warming will reach or exceed 1.5°C in the near-term, even for the very low GHG emissions scenario.8 Climate change is already impacting California and will continue to affect it for the foreseeable future. For example, the average temperature in most areas of California is already 1 degree Fahrenheit (°F) (approximately 0.56°C) higher than historical levels, and some areas have seen average increases in excess of 2°F (approximately1.1°C).9 The California Fourth Climate Change Assessment identifies the following climate change impacts under a business-as-usual scenario, in which no new actions are taken to curb GHG emissions:
 Annual average daily high temperatures in California are expected to rise by 2.7°F by 2040, 5.8°F by 2070, and 8.8°F by 2100 compared to observed and modeled historical conditions. These changes are statewide averages. Heat waves are projected to become longer, more intense, and more frequent.  Warming temperatures are expected to increase soil moisture loss and lead to drier seasonal conditions. Summer dryness may become prolonged, with soil drying beginning earlier in the spring and lasting longer into the fall and winter rainy season.  High heat increases the risk of death from cardiovascular, respiratory, cerebrovascular, and other diseases.
 Droughts are likely to become more frequent and persistent through 2100.  Climate change is projected to increase the strength of the most intense precipitation and storm events affecting California.
 Mountain ranges in California are already seeing a reduction in the percentage of precipitation falling as snow. Snowpack levels are projected to decline significantly by 2100 due to reduced snowfall and faster snowmelt.
 Marine layer clouds are projected to decrease, though more research is needed to better understand their sensitivity to climate change.
 Extreme wildfires (i.e., fires larger than 10,000 hectares or 24,710 acres) would occur 50 percent more frequently. The maximum area burned statewide may increase 178 percent by the end of the century.

8 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, February 2022, Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability: Summary for Policymakers, Sixth Assessment Report: Climate Change 2022, https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/downloads/report/ IPCC_AR6_WGII_SummaryForPolicymakers.pdf.
9 California Office of Emergency Services, June 2020, California Adaptation Planning Guide, https://www.caloes.ca.gov/HazardMitigationSite/Documents/CA-Adaptation-Planning-Guide -FINAL-June-2020-Accessible.pdf.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
PLACEWORKS 4.8-5
 Exposure to wildfire smoke is linked to increased incidence of respiratory illness.  Sea level rise is expected to continue to increase erosion of beaches, cliffs, and bluffs.

Global climate change risks to California are shown in Table 4.8-2, Summary of GHG Emissions Risks to California, and include impacts to public health, water resources, agriculture, coastal sea level, forest and biological resources, and energy.

TABLE 4.8-2 SUMMARY OF GHG EMISSIONS RISK TO CALIFORNIA Impact Category Potential Risks
Public Health Impacts
Heat waves will be more frequent, hotter, and longer
Fewer extremely cold nights
Poor air quality made worse
Higher temperatures increase ground-level ozone levels
Water Resource Impacts
Decreasing Sierra Nevada snowpack
Challenges in securing adequate water supply
Potential reduction in hydropower
Loss of winter recreation
Agricultural Impacts
Increasing temperature
Increasing threats from pests and pathogens
Expanded ranges of agricultural weeds
Declining productivity
Irregular blooms and harvests
Coastal Sea-Level Impacts
Accelerated sea-level rise
Increasing coastal floods
Shrinking beaches
Worsened impacts on infrastructure
Forest and Biological Resource Impacts
Increased risk and severity of wildfires
Lengthening of the wildfire season
Movement of forest areas
Conversion of forest to grassland
Declining forest productivity
Increasing threats from pests and pathogens
Shifting vegetation and species distribution
Altered timing of migration and mating habits
Loss of sensitive or slow-moving species
Energy Demand Impacts Potential reduction in hydropower Increased energy demand
Sources: California Climate Change Center, 2012, Our Changing Climate 2012: Vulnerability and Adaptation to the Increasing Risks from Climate Change in California; California Energy Commission, 2006, Our Changing Climate: Assessing the Risks to California, 2006 Biennial Report, CEC-500-2006-077; California Energy Commission, 2009, The Future Is Now: An Update on Climate Change Science, Impacts, and Response Options for California. CEC-500- 2008-0077; California Natural Resources Agency, 2014, Safeguarding California: Reducing Climate Risk, An Update to the 2009 California Climate Adaptation Strategy; California Office of Emergency Service, June 2020, California Adaptation Planning Guide, https://www.caloes.ca.gov/HazardMitigationSite/Documents/CA-Adaptation-Planning-Guide -FINAL-June-2020-Accessible.pdf.

REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
Federal Regulations
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) announced on December 7, 2009, that GHG emissions threaten the public health and welfare of the American people and that GHG emissions from on-road vehicles contribute to that threat. The USEPA’s final findings respond to the 2007 U.S. Supreme

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

4.8-6 JULY 2024
Court decision that GHG emissions fit within the Clean Air Act definition of air pollutants. The findings do not impose any emission-reduction requirements but allow the USEPA to finalize the GHG standards proposed in 2009 for new light-duty vehicles as part of the joint rulemaking with the Department of Transportation.10
To regulate GHGs from passenger vehicles, the USEPA was required to issue an endangerment finding. The finding identified emissions of six key GHGs—CO2, CH4, N2O, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and SF6—that have been the subject of scrutiny and intense analysis for decades by scientists in the United States and around the world. The first three are applicable to the project’s GHG emissions inventory because they constitute the majority of GHG emissions and, according to guidance by the San Joaquin Va lley Unified Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD), are the GHG emissions that should be evaluated as part of a project’s GHG emissions inventory.
 USEPA Mandatory Report Rule for Greenhouse Gases (2009). In response to the endangerment finding, the USEPA issued the Mandatory Reporting of GHG Rule that requires substantial emitters of GHG emissions (large stationary sources, etc.) to report GHG emissions data. Facilities that emit 25,000 MT or more of CO2e per year are required to submit an annual report.  Update to Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards (2021 to 2035). The federal government issued new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards in 2012 for model years 2017 to 2025, which required a fleet average of 54.5 miles per gallon (MPG) in 2025. On March 30, 2020, the USEPA finalized an updated CAFE and GHG emissions standards for passenger cars and light trucks and established new standards covering model years 2021 through 2026, known as the Safer Affordable Fuel Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Final Rule for Model Years 2021 to 2026. In response to Executive Order 13990, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced new proposed fuel standards on August 5, 2021. On December 21, 2021, under the direction of Executive Order (EO) 13990, the NHTSA repealed SAFE Vehicles Rule Part One, which had preempted state and local laws related to fuel economy standards. Fuel efficiency under the new standards proposed would increase 8 percent annually for model years 2024 to 2026 and increase estimated fleetwide average by 12 MPG for model year 2026 compared to model year 2021. 11 On July 28, 2023, NHTSA proposed new CAFE standards for passenger cars and light trucks built in model years 2027-2032, and new fuel efficiency standards for heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans built in model years 2027-2035. If finalized, the proposal would require an industry fleet-wide average of approximately 58 mpg for passenger cars and light trucks in model year 2032, by increasing fuel economy by 2 percent year over year for passenger cars and by 4 percent year over year for light trucks. For heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans, the proposal would increase fuel efficiency by 10 percent year over year.12

10 United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2009, USEPA: Greenhouse Gases Threaten Public Health and the Environment, https://archive.epa.gov/epapages/newsroom_archive/newsreleases/08d11a451131bca585257685005bf252.html , accessed March 18, 2019.
11 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, August 5, 2021, USDOT Proposes Improved Fuel Economy Standards for MY 2024-2026 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks. https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/fuel-economy-standards-2024-2026- proposal.
12 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, July 28, 2023, Corporate Average Fuel Economy, NHTSA Announces New Proposal for CAFE and HDPUV Standards, https://www.nhtsa.gov/laws-regulations/corporate-average-fuel-economy .

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
PLACEWORKS 4.8-7
 USEPA Regulation of Stationary Sources under the Clean Air Act (Ongoing). Pursuant to its authority under the Clean Air Act, the USEPA has developed regulations for new, large, stationary sources of emissions such as power plants and refineries. Under the 2013 Climate Action Plan, the USEPA was directed to develop regulations for existing stationary sources as well. On June 19, 2019, the USEPA issued the final Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, which became effective on August 19, 2019. The ACE rule was crafted under the Energy Independence Executive Order. It officially rescinded the Clean Power Plan rule previously issued during the former administration and set emissions guidelines for states in developing plans to limit CO2 emissions from coal-fired power plants. The ACE rule was vacated by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on January 19, 2021.

In 2023, USEPA extended the due date for state plans under the ACE rule until April 15, 2024.13 State Regulations
Current State of California guidance and goals for reductions in GHG emissions are generally embodied in Executive Order (EO) S-03-05, EO B-55-18, and EO B-30-15; Assembly Bill (AB) 32 and AB 1279; and Senate Bill (SB) 32 and SB 375. These regulations are summarized in the following bulleted list.  Executive Order S-03-05. EO S-03-05, signed June 1, 2005, set the following GHG-reduction targets for the state: 2000 levels by 2010; 1990 levels by 2020; and 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.  Assembly Bill 32. AB 32 was passed by the state legislature on August 31, 2006, to place the state on a course toward reducing its contribution of GHG emissions. AB 32 follows the 2020 tier of emissions reduction targets established in EO S-03-05. CARB prepared the 2008 Climate Change Scoping Plan (Scoping Plan) to outline a plan to achieve the GHG-emissions reduction targets of AB 32.  Executive Order B-30-15. EO B-30-15, signed April 29, 2015, set a goal of reducing GHG emissions in the state to 40 percent of 1990 levels by year 2030. EO B-30-15 also directed CARB to update the Scoping Plan to quantify the 2030 GHG reduction goal for the state and requires state agencies to implement measures to meet the interim 2030 goal as well as the long-term goal for 2050 in EO S-03-

05. It also requires the Natural Resources Agency to conduct triennial updates of the California adaptation strategy, Safeguarding California, to ensure climate change is accounted for in state planning and investment decisions.
 Senate Bill 32 and Assembly Bill 197. In September 2016, SB 32, and AB 197 were signed into law, making the EO goal for year 2030 into a statewide mandated legislative target. AB 197 established a joint legislative committee on climate change policies and requires CARB to prioritize direct emissions reductions rather than the market-based cap-and-trade program for large stationary, mobile, and other sources.
 Assembly Bill 1279. AB 1279, signed by Governor Newsom in September 2022, codified the carbon neutrality targets of EO B-55-18 for year 2045 and sets a new legislative target for year 2045 of 85 percent below 1990 levels for anthropogenic (human-caused) GHG emissions. SB 1279 also requires CARB to update the Scoping Plan to address these new targets.

13 United States Environmental Protection Agency, last updated April 22, 2024, Affordable Clean Energy Rule, https://www.epa.gov/stationary-sources-air-pollution/affordable-clean-energy-rule .

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

4.8-8 JULY 2024
 2022 Scoping Plan. CARB adopted the 2022 Scoping Plan for Achieving Carbon Neutrality (2022 Scoping Plan) on December 15, 2022, which lays out a path to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045 or earlier and to reduce the state’s anthropogenic GHG emissions.14 The Scoping Plan was updated to address the carbon neutrality goals of EO B-55-18 (discussed later in this chapter) and the ambitious GHG reduction target as directed by AB 1279. Previous Scoping Plans focused on specific GHG reduction targets for our industrial, energy, and transportation sectors—to meet 1990 levels by 2020, and then the more aggressive 40 percent below that for the 2030 target. This plan expands on earlier Scoping Plans with a target of reducing anthropogenic emissions to 85 percent below 1990 levels by 2045. Carbon neutrality takes it one step further by expanding actions to capture and store carbon, including through natural and working lands and mechanical technologies, while drastically reducing anthropogenic sources of carbon pollution at the same time.

The path forward was informed by the recent Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) of the IPCC and the measures would achieve 85 percent below 1990 levels by 2045 in accordance AB 1279. CARB’s 2022 Scoping Plan identifies strategies that would be most impactful at the local level for ensuring substantial process towards the state’s carbon neutrality goals (see Table 4.8-3, Priority Strategies for Local Government Climate Action Plans).

TABLE 4.8-3 PRIORITY STRATEGIES FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT CLIMATE ACTION PLANS Priority Areas Priority Strategies
Transportation
Electrification
Convert local government fleets to zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) and provide EV charging at public sites.

Create a jurisdiction-specific ZEV ecosystem to support deployment of ZEVs statewide (such as building standards that exceed state building codes, permit streamlining, infrastructure siting, consumer education, preferential parking policies, and ZEV readiness plans).

VMT Reduction
Reduce or eliminate minimum parking standards.

Implement Complete Streets policies and investments, consistent with general plan circulation element requirements.

Increase access to public transit by increasing density of development near transit, improving transit service by increasing service frequency, creating bus priority lanes, reducing or eliminating fares, microtransit, etc.

Increase public access to clean mobility options by planning for and investing in electric shuttles, bike share, car share, and walking.

Implement parking pricing or transportation demand management pricing strategies.

Amend zoning or development codes to enable mixed-use, walkable, transit-oriented, and compact infill development (such as increasing allowable density of the neighborhood).

Preserve natural and working lands by implementing land use policies that guide development toward infill areas and do not convert “greenfield” land to urban uses (e.g., green belts, strategic conservation easements).

Building Decarbonization
Adopt all-electric new construction reach codes for residential and commercial uses.

Adopt policies and incentive programs to implement energy efficiency retrofits for existing buildings, such as weatherization, lighting upgrades, and replacing energy-intensive appliances and equipment with more efficient systems (such as Energy Star-rated equipment and equipment controllers).

14 California Air Resources Board, 2022, 2022 Scoping Plan for Achieving Carbon Neutrality, https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2022-12/2022-sp.pdf , accessed December 7, 2022.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
PLACEWORKS 4.8-9
TABLE 4.8-3 PRIORITY STRATEGIES FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT CLIMATE ACTION PLANS Priority Areas Priority Strategies
Adopt policies and incentive programs to electrify all appliances and equipment in existing buildings such as appliance rebates, existing building reach codes, or time of sale electrification ordinances
.

Facilitate deployment of renewable energy production and distribution and energy storage on privately owned land uses (e.g., permit streamlining, information sharing) .

Deploy renewable energy production and energy storage directly in new public projects and on existing public facilities (e.g., solar photovoltaic systems on rooftops of municipal buildings and on canopies in public parking lots, battery storage systems in municipal buildings) .

Source: California Air Resources Board, 2022, 2022 Scoping Plan for Achieving Carbon Neutrality, https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2022- 12/2022-sp.pdf, accessed December 7, 2022.

For residential and mixed-use development projects, CARB recommends this first approach to demonstrate that these land use development projects are aligned with state climate goals based on the attributes of land use development that reduce operational GHG emissions while simultaneously advancing fair housing. Attributes that accommodate growth in a manner consistent with the GHG and equity goals of SB 32 have all the following attributes:
 Transportation Electrification
 Provide EV charging infrastructure that, at a minimum, meets the most ambitious voluntary standards in the California Green Building Standards Code at the time of project approval.  VMT Reduction
 Is located on infill sites that are surrounded by existing urban uses and reuses or redevelops previously undeveloped or underutilized land that is presently served by existing utilities and essential public services (e.g., transit, streets, water, sewer);  Does not result in the loss or conversion of the State’s natural and working lands;  Consists of transit-supportive densities (minimum of 20 residential dwelling units/acre) or is in proximity to existing transit stops (within a half mile) or satisfies more detailed and stringent criteria specified in the region’s Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS).  Reduces parking requirements by:
 Eliminating parking requirements or including maximum allowable parking ratios (i.e., the ratio of parking spaces to residential units or square feet);  Providing residential parking supply at a ratio of <1 parking space per dwelling unit;  For multifamily residential development, requiring parking costs to be unbundled from costs to rent or own a residential unit;
 At least 20 percent of the units are affordable to lower-income residents;  Result in no net loss of existing affordable units.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

4.8-10 JULY 2024
 Building Decarbonization
 Use all electric appliances without any natural gas connections and does not use propane or other fossil fuels for space heating, water heating, or indoor cooking.

The second approach to project-level alignment with state climate goals is net-zero GHG emissions.

The third approach to demonstrating project-level alignment with state climate goals is to align with GHG thresholds of significance, which many local air quality management districts (AQMDs) and air pollution control districts (APCDs) have developed or adopted. 15  Executive Order B-55-18. EO B-55-18, signed September 10, 2018, sets a goal “to achieve carbon neutrality as soon as possible, and no later than 2045, and achieve and maintain net negative emissions thereafter.” EO B-55-18 directs CARB to work with relevant state agencies to ensure future Scoping Plans identify and recommend measures to achieve the carbon neutrality goal. The goal of carbon neutrality by 2045 is in addition to other statewide goals, meaning not only should emissions be reduced to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, but that, by no later than 2045, the remaining emissions be offset by equivalent net removals of CO2e from the atmosphere, including through sequestration in forests, soils, and other natural landscapes.  Senate Bill 375. In 2008, the Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act, generally known as its legislative bill number, SB 375, was adopted to connect the GHG emissions-reductions targets established in the 2008 Scoping Plan for the transportation sector to local land use decisions that affect travel behavior. Its intent is to reduce GHG emissions from light-duty trucks and automobiles (excludes emissions associated with goods movement) by aligning regional long-range transportation plans, investments, and housing allocations to local land use planning to reduce VMT and vehicle trips. Specifically, SB 375 required CARB to establish GHG emissions-reduction targets for each of the 18 Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs). AMBAG is the MPO for the Monterey Bay region, which includes San Benito County and the City of Hollister. Pursuant to the recommendations of the Regional Transportation Advisory Committee (RTAC), CARB adopted per-capita reduction targets for each of the MPOs rather than a total magnitude reduction target.  2017 Update to the SB 375 Targets. CARB is required to update the targets for the MPOs every eight years. CARB adopted revised SB 375 targets for the MPOs in March 2018.16 The updated targets become effective on October 1, 2018. The targets consider the need to further reduce VMT, as identified in the 2017 Scoping Plan Update (for SB 32), while balancing the need for additional and more flexible revenue sources to incentivize positive planning and action toward sustainable communities. Like the 2010 targets, the updated SB 375 targets are in units of percent per-capita reduction in GHG emissions from automobiles and light trucks relative to 2005; this excludes reductions anticipated from implementation of state technology and fuels strategies, and any potential future state strategies, such as statewide road user pricing. The proposed targets call for greater per-capita GHG emission reductions from SB 375 than are currently in

15 California Air Resources Board, 2022, 2022 Scoping Plan for Achieving Carbon Neutrality, https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2022-12/2022-sp.pdf , accessed December 7, 2022. 16 California Air Resources Board, 2018, Updated Final Staff Report: Proposed Update to the SB 375 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Targets.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
PLACEWORKS 4.8-11
place, which for 2035, translates into proposed targets that either match or exceed the emission- reduction levels in the MPOs’ currently adopted SCS.17
In addition to these regulations, California has also adopted other regulations that reduce GHG emissions as they relate to transportation, renewable energy, energy efficiency, solid waste, water efficiency, and short-lived climate pollutants (e.g., black carbon and CH4). These are listed in Table 4.8-4, List of State GHG Regulations. See Appendix B, Revised Air Quality and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data, of this Revised Draft EIR for a complete summary of additional regulations not summarized in this section.

TABLE 4.8-4 LIST OF STATE GHG REGULATIONS
Sector Regulations
State GHG Targets AB 32, SB 32, AB 1279, and EO B-15-30 Transportation Sector AB 1493, EO S-01-07, and SB 375
Renewable Energy SB 1078, SB 107, SB X1-2, EO S-14-08, SB 350, SB 100, and EO B-55-18 Energy Efficiency
Title 24, Part 6, Building Energy Efficiency Standards
Title 24, Part 11, Green Building Standards Code (CALGreen) Title 20, Appliance Efficiency Regulations
Solid Waste AB 939, AB 341, AB 1327, and AB 1826
Water Efficiency SBX7-7 and AB 1881
Short-Lived Climate Pollutants SB 1383
Notes: See Appendix B, Revised Air Quality and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data, of this Revised Draft EIR for a summary of each of the identified regulations.

Source: Compiled by PlaceWorks, 2024.

Regional Regulations
Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments
AMBAG is the transportation planning, coordinating, and financing agency for the Monterey Bay region, which includes Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties. AMBAG is a federally designated MPO and is required to produce certain documents that maintain the region’s eligibility for federal transportation assistance. Among AMBAG’s many functions, it also authors the Metropolitan Transportation Plan and the SCS (MTP/SCS) with Regional Transportation Planning Agencies (RTPA), transit providers, MBARD, state and federal governments, and organizations involved in transportation planning. The Council of San Benito County Governments (SBCOG) is the RTPA for San Benito County and is responsible for the county-wide Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), which includes the City of Hollister. AMBAG maintains the region’s travel demand model, which incorporates regional housing, population, and employment forecasts, including those for San Benito County, which includes the City of Hollister. AMBAG is primarily funded from state and federal transportation funds and planning grants.

17 California Air Resources Board, February 2018, Proposed Update to the SB 375 Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Targets. https://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/sb375/sb375_target_update_final_staff_report_feb2018.pdf .

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

4.8-12 JULY 2024
Metropolitan Transportation Plan/Sustainability Communities Strategy AMBAG adopted the 2045 MTP/SCS in June 2022 with a framework of goals and policy objectives to address the mobility and accessibility needs of the region.18 As the MPO, AMBAG updates the MTP/SCS every four years through a bottom-up process involving numerous stakeholders to develop a new growth and an updated multimodal transportation network with the available revenues.

The 2045 MTCP/SCS must comply with specific state and federal mandates, including SB 375. SB 375 promotes the coordination of transportation investments with land use patterns, such that the region makes informed decisions to reduce GHG emissions by providing more direct access to destinations as well as by providing alternative transportation options. Under SB 375, the 2045 MTCP/SCS should demonstrate how the land use and transportation measures will be implemented to meet the region’s GHG emission-reduction targets established by CARB (3 percent reduction per-capita change by 2020 and 6 percent per-capita reduction by 2035 from passenger vehicles).

This living document provides a number of improvements to better promote active transportation (bicycling and walking) and electric vehicle infrastructure to help reduce GHG emissions resulting from the consumption of fossil fuels and to help the region achieve statewide policies aimed at reducing GHG emissions over the next 25 years. Overall, the investments identified in the 2045 MTP/SCS are expected to result in significant benefits to the region, not only with respect to transportation and mobility, but also economic activity, air quality, safety, and social equity.

Local Regulations
Hollister Municipal Code
The Hollister Municipal Code (HMC) includes various directives to minimize adverse impacts related to GHG emissions in Hollister. The HMC is organized by title, chapter, and section. Most provisions related to GHG impacts are included in Title 15, Buildings and Construction, and Title 17, Zoning, as follows:
 Chapter 15.04, Hollister Building Code. This chapter provides regulations for all new construction and any alterations, repairs, relocations, or reconstruction of any building. This chapter ensures that the minimum requirements and standards for building standards are met to protect the public safety and welfare of the city. Section 15.04.050, Construction codes adopted by reference, establishes that the City adopts the 2019 edition of the California Building Standards and Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations to ensure buildings are developed up to code. This also includes the California Energy Code and CAL Green.
 Section 17.04.030, Residential general development standards. This section provides regulations for energy efficiency, such that solar access shall be maintained through the siting and orientation of buildings and two/three-story residences.

18 Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments, 2022, 2045 Metropolitan Transportation Plan & the Sustainable Communities Strategy, https://www.ambag.org/plans/2045-metropolitan-transportation-plan-sustainable-communities-strategy , accessed November 28, 2022.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
PLACEWORKS 4.8-13
 Section 17.10.040, Industrial Zoning District performance standards. This section establishes building regulations that should be designed to conserve energy (such as passive solar, solar panels on roofs or in the parking lot) and incorporated of additive measures to incentives reduced vehicle trips (such as shaded outdoor eating areas, Class II bicycle paths with road improvements, and integration of shade trees along sidewalk frontages).
 Section 17.12.060, Open space, park and public facilities/institution general development standards.

This section encourages the use of solar panels on roofs or in the parking lot to conserve maximum energy.
 Section 17.16.120, Solar energy development standards. This section regulates the passive heating and cooling opportunities that shall be incorporated in all new development.

EXISTING CONDITIONS
California’s GHG Sources and Relative Contribution
In 2023, the statewide GHG emissions inventory was updated for 2000 to 2021 emissions using the GWPs in IPCC’s AR4 and reported that California produced 381.3 MMTCO2e GHG emissions in 2021 (49.7 MMTCO2e below the 2020 GHG Limit of 431 MMTCO2e).19 The growth in statewide emissions from 2020 to 2021 was likely due in large part to the increase of transportation and other economic activity that occurred in 2021 relative to 2020 as California emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic.

California’s transportation sector was the single-largest generator of GHG emissions, producing 38.2 percent of the state’s total emissions. Industrial sector emissions made up 19.4 percent, and electric power generation made up 16.4 percent of the state’s emissions inventory. Other major sectors of GHG emissions include residential and commercial (10.2 percent), agriculture and forestry (8.1 percent), high GWP (5.6 percent), and recycling and waste (2.2 percent). 20 Since the peak level in 2004, California’s GHG emissions have generally followed a decreasing trend. In 2014, statewide GHG emissions dropped below the 2020 GHG Limit (AB 32 target for year 2020) and have remained below the Limit since that time. Additionally, per capita GHG emissions have dropped from a 2001 peak of 13.8 MTCO2e per person to 9.7 MTCO2e per person in 2021, a 30 percent decrease.

Transportation emissions increased from 2020, likely from passenger vehicles whose emissions rebounded after COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders were lifted. Electricity emissions also increased compared to 2020; however, there has been continued growth of in-state solar generation and imported renewable electricity. High-GWP emissions have continued to increase as high-GWP gases replace ozone- depleting substances which are being phased out under the 1987 Montreal Protocol. Overall trends in the inventory also continue to demonstrate that the carbon intensity of California’s economy (i.e., the amount of carbon pollution per million dollars of gross domestic product) is declining. From 2000 to 2021, the

19 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2013, Fifth Assessment Report: Climate Change 2013. New York: Cambridge University Press.
20 California Air Resources Board, December 14, 2023, California Greenhouse Gas 2000-2021: Trends of Emissions and Other Indicators. https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2023-12/2000_2021_ghg_inventory_trends.pdf .

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

4.8-14 JULY 2024
carbon intensity of California’s economy decreased by 50.8 percent while the gross domestic product increased by 67.9 percent.
2019 Community-Wide GHG Emissions Inventory
As part of the process to prepare the proposed CAP, PlaceWorks revised the existing community-wide GHG inventories for 2005 and 2019 to support environmental review of projects subject to CEQA. These revisions included the addition of new sectors and sources, revised emission factors, updated GWP for certain GHGs, different data sources for certain sectors for consistency with the proposed 2040 General Plan, and adjustments to methods for certain sectors.

As shown in Table 4.8-5, Existing EIR Study Area GHG Emissions Inventory, the City of Hollister generated 244,740 MTCO2e in 2019, which represented a 21 percent reduction from the updated 2005 baseline per- capita emissions. This decrease from the 2005 per-capita emissions is primarily the result of emission reductions across the nonresidential and residential energy, nonresidential natural gas, and water and wastewater sector. Reductions in these sectors were primarily caused by CCCE and PG&E supplying more renewable and carbon-free sources in 2019. However, reduction in per-capita GHG emissions were partially offset by increases in the solid waste and transportation sectors due to a growing population and an increase in VMT.

TABLE 4.8-5 EXISTING EIR STUDY AREA GHG EMISSIONS INVENTORY Existing 2019 GHG Emissions (MTCO2e/year)
Emissions Sector City SOI EIR Study Area Percentage of Total Transportation a 140,350 4,730 145,080 59%
Nonresidential energy 11,150 230 11,380 5%
Residential energy 24,240 1,330 25,570 10%
Off-road equipment 43,690 1,890 45,580 19%
Solid waste 17,930 730 18,660 8%
Water and wastewater 1,040 40 1,080 <1%
Land use and sequestration -1,640 -970 -2,610 -1%
Total 236,760 7,980 244,740 100%
Service Population 52,671 2,157 54,828 N/A
Per-Capita Emissions 4.5 3.7 4.5 N/A
Notes: N/A = not available. Emissions may not total to 100 percent due to rounding. Based on global warming potential in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Sixth Assessment Report.
a. The transportation sector analysis uses the “origin-destination” model, which accounts for travel demand by reporting all trips in which both the origin and destination are within the geographic area, as well as trips that have only an origin or destination within the area (accounts for travel demand into and outside of the city limits).

Source: Based on the emissions inventory and forecast being conducted for the Hollister Climate Action Plan, 2024.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
PLACEWORKS 4.8-15

4.8.2 STANDARDS OF SIGNIFICANCE
Implementation of the proposed project would result in significant impact from GHG emissions if it would:

1. Generate GHG emissions, either directly or indirectly, that may have a significant impact on the environment.

2. Conflict with an applicable plan, policy, or regulation of an agency adopted for the purpose of reducing the emissions of GHGs.

3. In combination with past, present, and reasonably foreseeable projects, result in a cumulative impact with respect to GHG emissions.

CONSISTENCY WITH AB 1279
The proposed CAP prepared for the proposed 2040 General Plan forecasts growth in Hollister through year 2045; therefore, this EIR analyzes the potential for the proposed project to conflict with statewide GHG reduction goals identified in the CARB Scoping Plan that are applicable to local governments. This includes AB 1279, which requires an 85 percent reduction in GHG emissions by 2045 to stabilize CO2e emissions and avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change as well as substantial progress toward carbon neutrality.21 The proposed CAP identifies targets for Hollister that are consistent with the targets established for the state for year 2045:
 2045 Target: 31,500 MTCO2e (85 percent below 1990 levels)22

MASS EMISSIONS AND HEALTH EFFECTS
On December 24, 2018, in the case Sierra Club et al. v. County of Fresno et al. (Friant Ranch), the California Supreme Court determined that the EIR for the proposed Friant Ranch project failed to adequately analyze the project’s air quality impacts on human health. The EIR prepared for the project, which involved a master planned retirement community in Fresno County, showed that project-related mass emissions would exceed the SJVAPCD’s regional significance thresholds. In its findings, the California Supreme Court affirmed the holding of the Court of Appeal that EIRs for projects must not only identify impacts to human health, but also provide an “analysis of the correlation between the project’s emissions and human health impacts” related to each criteria air pollutant that exceeds the regional significance

21 The 2022 Scoping Plan includes statewide measures to achieve the state’s carbon neutrality goals under Executive Order B-55-18 such as carbon dioxide removal (CDR) that are not applicable to local governments. Carbon neutrality goals are a “no impact” level and not a “less than significant” impact level for climate change effects. There are presently no reliable means of forecasting how future technological developments related to carbon dioxide removal may affect future emissions in a planning jurisdiction. Therefore, carbon neutrality targets are not directly applicable to local governments and CEQA projects to mitigate GHG emissions impacts of a proposed project. Moreover, AB 1279 GHG reduction targets for 2045 are in line with the scientifically established levels needed in the U.S. to limit global warming below 1.5 to 2.0 degrees Celsius, the warming threshold at which scientists say there will likely be major climate disruptions such as super droughts and rising sea levels. For these reason, the targets of AB 1279 are applicable to the EIR. However, the CAP includes measures that align with the state’s carbon neutrality goals under Executive Order B-55-18 and per-capita targets under SB 32. 22 Hollister’s 2005 emissions were 247,030 MTCO2e. 1990 levels are assumed to be 15 percent below that, or 209,980 MTCO2e. The 2045 target is 85 percent below 1990 levels, or 31,500 MTCO2e.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

4.8-16 JULY 2024
thresholds or explain why it could not make such a connection. In general, the ruling focuses on the correlation of emissions of toxic air contaminants and criteria air pollutants and their impact to human health.

In 2009, the USEPA issued an endangerment finding for six GHGs (CO2, CH4, N2O, HFCs, PFCs, and SF6) to regulate GHG emissions from passenger vehicles. The endangerment finding is based on evidence that shows an increase in mortality and morbidity associated with increases in average temperatures, which increase the likelihood of heat waves and ozone levels. The effects of climate change are identified in Table 4.8-2. While these identified effects, such as sea-level rise and increases in extreme weather, can indirectly impact human health, neither the USEPA nor CARB has established ambient air quality standards for GHG emissions. The state’s GHG-reduction strategy outlines a path to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change. Yet the state’s GHG-reduction goals and strategies are based on the state’s path toward reducing statewide cumulative GHGs, as outlined in AB 32, SB 32, EO S-03-05, and AB 1279.

The two significance thresholds that the City uses to analyze GHG impacts are based on achieving the statewide GHG-reduction goals (Impact Discussion GHG-1) and relying on consistency with policies or plans adopted to reduce GHG emissions (Impact Discussion GHG-2). Further, because no single project is large enough to result in a measurable increase in global concentration of GHG emissions, climate change impacts of a project are considered on a cumulative basis. Without federal ambient air quality standards for GHG emissions and given the cumulative nature of GHG emissions and the City’s significance thresholds that are tied to reducing the state’s cumulative GHG emissions, it is not feasible at this time to connect the project’s specific GHG emissions to the potential health impacts of climate change.

METHODOLOGY
This GHG evaluation was prepared in accordance with the requirements of CEQA to determine if significant GHG impacts are likely to occur in conjunction with future development that would be accommodated by the proposed project. The City’s GHG emissions inventory and forecast was developed as part of the proposed CAP. The GHG emission forecast in this section is based on year 2045 to align with AB 1279, which establishes the statewide goal of achieving carbon neutrality no later than 2045 and reducing GHG emissions by 85 percent below 1990 levels by 2045.

The community-wide GHG inventory and forecast includes the following sectors:
 Transportation includes GHG emissions created by driving on-road vehicles, including passenger and freight vehicles.
 Energy includes GHG emissions attributed to the use of electricity and natural gas in residential and nonresidential buildings.
 Solid Waste Disposal includes the GHG emissions released from trash collected in the City of Hollister.  Off-road equipment includes GHG emissions from equipment that does not provide on-road transportation, such as tractors for construction or equipment used for landscape maintenance  Agriculture includes GHG emissions from fertilizer use for crop cultivation.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
PLACEWORKS 4.8-17
 Water and wastewater accounts for the electricity used to transport every gallon of water or wastewater to residents and businesses, as well as direct emissions resulting from the processing of wastewater material.
 Land use and sequestration includes GHG emissions released into the atmosphere from development of previously undeveloped land and GHG emissions saved from carbon absorption and storage in trees.

Industrial sources of emissions that require a permit from MBARD are not included in the community inventory. However, due to the 15/15 Rule, natural gas and electricity use data for industrial land uses may also be aggregated with the nonresidential land uses in the data provided by PG&E. Lifecycle emissions are not included in this analysis because not enough information is available for the proposed project; therefore, they would be speculative. Black carbon emissions are not included in the GHG analysis because CARB does not include this pollutant in the state’s GHG emissions inventory and treats this short- lived climate pollutant separately.

4.8.3 IMPACT DISCUSSION
As described in Chapter 4, Environmental Analysis, of this Revised Draft EIR, some proposed 2040 General Plan policies and actions are required as means to mitigate environmental impacts under CEQA. These policies and actions are fully enforceable at the discretion of the decision-maker through permit conditions, agreements, or other legally binding instruments. These mitigating policies and actions use the imperative “shall,” include performance criteria, and are marked with an asterisk (*).

GHG-1 Implementation of the proposed project would generate GHG emissions, either directly or indirectly, that may have a significant impact on the environment.
2040 General Plan
Future potential development under the proposed 2040 General Plan would contribute to global climate change through direct and indirect emissions of GHGs in the city. However, a general plan is a long-range policy document that does not directly result in development without additional approvals. Any development proposed in the city must be analyzed for consistency with the General Plan, zoning requirements, and other applicable local and state requirements; comply with the requirements of CEQA if required; and obtain all necessary clearances and permits from regulatory agencies.

Buildout of the proposed 2040 General Plan is not linked to a specific development time frame but is assumed over an approximately 15-year project horizon through 2040. This EIR also analyzes the potential for the proposed project to conflict with the GHG reduction goals established under AB 1279, which include substantial progress toward the state’s carbon neutrality goals by year 2045. As a result, the City would need to reduce GHG emissions by 85 percent below 1990 levels to ensure the City is on a trajectory to achieve the long-term goal under AB 1279 and substantial progress toward the state’s carbon neutrality goal.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

4.8-18 JULY 2024
Table 4.8-6, EIR Study Area Year 2045 GHG Emissions Forecast, provides a comparison of the change in GHG emissions in the EIR Study Area between the existing conditions (2019) and trajectory to AB 1279 for year 2045.

Year 2045 Emissions Compared to Existing Conditions
As shown in Table 4.8-6, buildout of the land uses in year 2045 would result in a decrease of 213,240 MTCO2e of GHG emissions with state and local reductions and proposed CAP measures from existing conditions. In addition, while buildout under the year 2045 is projected to increase the service population by 42,747 persons, emissions per service population would decrease to 0.3 MTCO2e/SP in year 2045 from

4.5 MTCO2e/SP for the existing year 2019.

Consistency with AB 1279 GHG Reduction Targets
As mentioned previously, this EIR also analyzes the potential for the proposed project to conflict with the GHG reduction goals established under AB 1279, which include substantial progress toward the state’s carbon neutrality goals. As a result, the City would need to reduce GHG emissions by 85 percent below 1990 levels to ensure the City is on a trajectory to achieve the long-term goal under AB 1279 and substantial progress toward the state’s carbon neutrality goal. This is equivalent to 31,500 MTCO2e in the EIR Study Area by year 2045.

As shown in Table 4.8-6 and discussed previously, it is anticipated that year 2045 conditions would result in an overall decrease in emissions compared to the existing baseline. Therefore, the EIR Study Area would achieve the 85 percent reduction necessary to ensure the City is on a trajectory to achieve the long-term year goals under AB 1279. Overall, GHG emissions impacts for the proposed project are considered less than significant in regard to meeting the long-term year carbon neutrality goals of AB 1279.

While growth within the EIR Study Area would cumulatively contribute to GHG emissions impacts, the proposed Land Use and Community Design (LU), Circulation (C), Community Services and Facilities (CSF), Natural Resource and Conservation (NRC), and Health and Safety (HS) Elements of the 2040 General Plan contain goals, policies, and actions that require local planning and development decisions to consider impacts from GHG emissions and to reduce those GHG emissions. The following proposed 2040 General Plan goals, policies, and actions would serve to minimize GHG emissions in the EIR Study Area:

Goal LU-4: Encourage mixed-use development projects that create vibrant, walkable districts and contain residential and community-serving commercial uses. (new)  Policy LU-4.1: Mix of Uses. Require commercial uses on mixed-use properties to provide community- supporting services, retail, restaurants, and other amenities for residents and visitors and to promote pedestrian activity and reduce the need to drive to other areas in the city. (rewrite of L-2.3)

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
PLACEWORKS 4.8-19
TABLE 4.8-6 EIR STUDY AREA YEAR 2045 GHG EMISSIONS FORECAST Emissions Sector
GHG Emissions (MTCO2e/Year)
Existing (2019) Year (2045) Net Change
City SOI EIR Study
Area % City SOI EIR Study
Area % EIR Study
Area %
Transportation 140,350 4,730 145,080 59% 191,450 6,650 198,100 70% 53,020 37% Nonresidential energy 11,150 230 11,380 5% 11,280 190 11,470 4% 90 1% Residential energy 24,240 1,330 25,570 10% 25,170 2,020 27,190 10% 1,620 6% Off-road equipment 43,690 1,890 45,580 19% 20,700 760 21,460 8% -24,120 -53% Solid waste 17,930 730 18,660 8% 24,370 1,030 25,400 9% 6,740 36% Water and wastewater 1,040 40 1,080 0% 1,780 80 1,860 1% 780 72% Land use and sequestration -1,640 -970 -2,610 -1% -2,440 -480 -2,920 -1% -310 12% Total Community Emissions with State
and Local actions 236,760 7,980 244,740 100% 272,310 10,250 282,560 100% 37,820 15% GHG Reductions from CAP Measures NA NA NA ― -242,990 -8,040 -251,060 ― NA ― Total Community Emissions with State
and Local actions and CAP Measures NA NA NA ― 29,320 2,210 31,500 ― -213,240 -87% Service Population (SP) 52,671 2,157 54,828 ― 93,610 3,966 97,575 ― 42,747 78% MTCO2e/SP 4.5 3.7 4.5 ― 0.3 0.6 0.3 ― -4.1 -93%
Trajectory to AB 1279 for Year 2045
Magnitude Threshold NA NA 31,500 -85% Achieves Threshold: Yes 0 -87% ― ― Notes: Total emissions may not total the sum of individual rows due to rounding to the nearest 10. Based on global warming potential in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Sixth Assessment Report.

SP = service population.

Source: Based on the emissions inventory and forecast being conducted for the proposed Hollister Climate Action Plan, 2024. See Appendix B, Revised Air Quality and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data, of this Revised Draft EIR.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

4.8-20 JULY 2024
Goal C-1: Provide for a healthy, active community based on complete streets, reflecting a balanced, safe, multimodal transportation system for all users, where pedestrian, bicycle, and transit facilities will be emphasized along with vehicular facilities. (new)
 Policy C-1.1: Sustainable Transportation. Reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transportation by increasing mode shares for sustainable travel modes, such as walking, bicycling, and public transit. (new)
 *Policy C-1.5: Transportation Demand Management. Require new development to reduce single- occupant vehicle usage using Transportation Demand Management strategies prior to project approval. (new)
 Policy C-1.6: Public Transit Regional Coordination. Cooperatively work with Council of San Benito County Governments, Caltrans, and San Benito County to develop, implement, and maintain public transit services and to encourage the implementation of “green transit” that uses alternative fuels or is powered by electricity. (Policy C4.2)
 Policy C-1.7: Public Transit Improvements. Promote public realm improvements that support increased use of public transit, including inviting sidewalks, ADA-compliant curb ramps, signal priorities, and amenities such as sidewalks, benches, bus stop shelters, signage, street lighting, and real-time schedule systems on key routes. (new)
 Action C-1.1: Performance and Monitoring. Require the monitoring of the City’s mode split progress on reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and reducing GHG emissions from VMT, as data is available. (new)
Goal C-3: Build and maintain a safe, connected, and equitable pedestrian, bicycle, and micromobility network that provides access to community destinations such as employment centers, transit, schools, shopping, and recreation. (new)
 Policy C-3.1: Pedestrian and Bicycle Network. Create and maintain a pedestrian- and bike-friendly environment in Hollister and increase the number of people who choose to walk and bike. (new)  Policy C-3.3: Pedestrian Right-of-Way Improvements. Require new developments to construct or contribute to improvements that enhance the pedestrian experience, including human-scale lighting, streetscaping, crosswalk striping, crossing lights, wayfinding signage, and accessible sidewalks adjacent to the site. (new)
 Policy C-3.5: Bicycle Improvements. Require new developments to construct or contribute to improvements that enhance the cyclist experience, including bike lanes and bicycle parking. (new)  Policy C-3.6: Bicycle Facilities. Cooperatively work with Council of San Benito County Governments, Caltrans, and San Benito County to develop, implement, and maintain bicycle facilities providing direct access to major public facilities, schools, and employment centers, as described in the San Benito County Bikeway and Pedestrian Master Plan. (Policy C2.1)  Action C-3.1: Pedestrian Master Plan . Prepare and adopt a Pedestrian Master Plan that identifies citywide pedestrian network improvements. (new)

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
PLACEWORKS 4.8-21
 Action C-3.3: Bicycle Master Plan. Prepare and adopt a Bicycle Master Plan that identifies citywide bicycle network improvements. (new)
 Action C-3.5: Pedestrian and Bicycle Trails and Routes Awareness. Increase awareness of existing pedestrian and bicycle trails and routes by working with outside agencies and developers to promote these amenities to residents. Collaborate with the County on development of the trail network. (new) Goal C-4: Implement a uniform set of standards for Hollister’s transportation system, including standard rights-of-way and typical sections. These standards may be amended as necessary in response to changes in technology and industry design standards. (Goal C-4)  *Policy C-4.6: Transportation Demand Management Requirements. Require new or existing developments that meet specific size, capacity, and/or context conditions to implement Transportation Demand Management strategies and other single-occupancy vehicle reduction methodologies. Require new developments to comply with tiered trip reduction and VMT reduction targets and monitoring that are consistent with the targets of the City’s VMT CEQA thresholds prior to project approval. (new)
Goal CSF-4: Promote the development of a clean energy supply, and use of energy-efficient technology that benefits all members of the community. (new)
 Policy CSF-4.1: Resource Efficiency in Site Development. Encourage site planning and development practices that reduce energy demand and incorporate resource- and energy-efficient infrastructure. (Policy NRC3.3)
 Policy CSF-4.2: Resource-Efficient Building Design. Promote and encourage residents and businesses to be resource and energy efficient by creating incentives and removing obstacles to promote their use. Require those proposing new development to incorporate energy conservation measures in the design and construction of all proposed residential, commercial, industrial, and public buildings. This would include:
 Shading of parking lots and summertime shading of south-facing windows  Requiring those proposing new development to design all proposed commercial, office, and industrial structures with high-efficiency heating-ventilation-air conditioning (HVAC) systems for maximum energy efficiency
 Requiring those proposing new development to design all window systems to reduce thermal gain during warm weather and heat loss during cool weather
 Encouraging the use of domestic solar energy. (Policy NRC 3.4 & Implementation Measures NRC.S)  Policy CSF-4.3: Energy Efficiency in Government. Promote and serve as an effective leader in implementing conservation practices and incorporating resource-efficient alternatives in government facilities and services. (Policy NRC3.5)
 Policy CSF-4.4: Title 24 Requirements. Require new development projects to meet or exceed Title 24 energy conservation requirements, and, where possible, require structural and landscaping design to make use of natural heating and cooling. Encourage the use of solar and alternative energy technologies to meet or exceed Title 24 requirements. (Implementation Measures NRC.J)

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

4.8-22 JULY 2024
 Policy CSF-4.6: Solar Design. Promote the use of solar energy and develop design standards relating to solar orientation, including landscaping, and appropriate impervious surfaces. (Implementation Measures NRC.P)
 Policy CSF-4.7: Distributed Energy Systems. Encourage the development of distributed energy systems for new construction, such as rooftop solar panels, customer-owned battery backup systems, fuel cell technologies, backup generators, and combined heat and power systems. (new)  Policy CSF-4.8: Building Energy Load Reduction. Reduce the energy load per building by using energy- saving techniques, such as upgrading insulation, reducing electricity loads from lighting and appliances, and revising building design guidelines. (new)  Policy CSF-4.9: Microgrids. Encourage the development of microgrids for large-scale development projects, such as college campuses, hospital complexes, business centers, and large industrial land uses. (new)
 Policy CSF-4.10: Battery Energy Storage Systems. Encourage the installation of battery energy storage systems (BESS) for commercial and industrial users to meet short-term peak power needs. (new)  Policy CSF-4.12: On-site Renewable Energy Sources. Require the installation of on-site renewable energy sources, such as solar photovoltaic, for new commercial and office buildings greater than 45,000 square feet and new industrial buildings greater than 99,000 square feet. (new)  Policy CSF-4.13: Energy Providers Assistance. Obtain the assistance of the Pacific Gas and Electric Company and Central Coast Community Energy in reviewing proposals for commercial buildings and major subdivisions of more than 25 units during the design and approval process to ensure the incorporation of energy-efficiency recommendations into the plans. (Implementation Measures NRC.C)
 Policy CSF-4.16: Peak Energy Demand Calculations. Require large-scale projects that require preparation of an Environmental Impact Report to calculate peak electricity demands and apply early in the planning process to PG&E for proposed electricity connections so that PG&E can determine capacity to serve the project. (new)
 Action CSF-4.2: “Green” Building Standards. Adopt a “Green Building Program” to encourage the use of green building materials and energy conservation. Provide a resource list of local suppliers and builders that promote green building materials and practices. (Implementation Measures NRC.E) Goal CSF-5: Ensure adequate and sustainable solid waste management that meets the existing and future needs of the city and reduces disposable waste over time. (new)  Policy CSF-5.2: Waste Reduction and Recycling. Comply with State laws to promote recycling and divert recyclable materials from the landfill, such as encouraging businesses to recycle building and other materials; promoting composting by restaurants, institutions, and residents; and supporting programs to promote recycling. Encourage residential, commercial, and industrial customers to evaluate and reduce their waste streams and to participate in waste exchanges and used goods resale programs. (Policy CSF4.11)
 Policy CSF-5-3: Zero Waste Legislation. Support zero-waste legislation locally, regionally, and statewide. (new)

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
PLACEWORKS 4.8-23
 Action CSF-5.1: Identification of Recycling Program Opportunities. Create a formal recycled product procurement program for the City and work with local industry and commercial enterprises to encourage the purchase and use of recycled materials where possible. (Implementation Measure CSF.K)
 Action CSF-5.2: Zero Waste Goal. Prepare a zero-waste strategic plan to maximize solid waste diversion community-wide. (new)
 Action CSF-5.3: Reusable Foodware Ordinance. Develop and adopt a Reusable Foodware Ordinance that requires the use of reusable foodware when dining on-site at restaurants and the use of compostable or recyclable foodware containers for carryout orders. (new) Goal NRC-3: Protect clean air resources. (Goal NRC2)
 Policy NRC-3.8: Commercial and Industrial Projects Exceeding 10,000 Square Feet. Require new or expanded commercial and industrial projects exceeding 10,000 square feet of gross floor area, such as big-box stores, warehouses, distribution centers, and similar uses, to be zero-emissions operations, including the facilities themselves and the associated fleets. Require all necessary measures, such as the following, to achieve zero emissions:
 Provide adequate on-site parking for all anticipated truck traffic to prevent idling and off-site queuing.
 Provide electrified loading docks with receptacles allowing plug-in of refrigerated and other types of trailers that otherwise would receive power from the tractor unit.  Use heavy-duty trucks that are model year 2014 or later.  Use zero-emission or “clean fleet” for delivery vehicles.  Use zero-emission forklifts, pallet trucks and jacks, stackers, and other yard equipment.  Implement practices to control road dust, tire wear, brake dust, and other contaminants in paved areas. (new)
 Policy NRC-3.10: Idling of Diesel Engines. Prohibit idling of diesel engines citywide. Prohibit non-diesel truck, construction vehicle, and transit vehicle idling within 100 feet of sensitive receptors, such as homes, schools, playgrounds, sports fields, childcare centers, senior centers, and long-term health care facilities. (new)
 Action NRC-3.1: Idling Ordinance. Adopt an ordinance that matches or is more stringent than the State’s maximum idling law, and coordinate with California Air Resources Board, Monterey Bay Air Resources District, and law enforcement to achieve compliance. (new) Goal NRC-4: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Hollister to meet or exceed State targets. (new)  Policy NRC-4.1: Carbon Neutral. Encourage efforts that help Hollister become a net carbon-neutral community by 2045. (new)
 Policy NRC-4.2: Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Targets. Maintain a greenhouse gas reduction trajectory that meets or exceeds the statewide greenhouse gas reduction targets of Executive Orders B-30-15 (40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030) and S-03-05 (80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050) to ensure the City is consistent with statewide efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (new)

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

4.8-24 JULY 2024
 Policy NRC-4.3: Energy Use. Reduce energy use through use of energy-efficient appliances, lighting, and materials in our homes, businesses, and City facilities and use education and incentives to promote and sustain energy-conserving design and practices. (new)  Policy NRC-4.4: Climate Action Plan Implementation in City Work Plans. Include Climate Action Plan implementation needs, including funding sources and staff time, in City department work plans. (new)  Policy NRC-4.5: Infill and Mixed-Use Development. Support the development of infill sites and compact mixed-use projects that reduce travel distances and promote alternative modes of transportation. (new)
 Policy NRC-4.6: Low Emission/No-Carbon Transportation. Encourage the transition to low- or no- carbon transportation systems, which could include installation of electric vehicle charging stations at public and private facilities, expansion of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, and conversion to zero -emission buses. (new)
 Policy NRC-4.7: Municipal Fleet Alternative Fuel Vehicles. Shift municipal vehicle fleet from gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles to zero-emission and low-carbon vehicles, to the extent possible. (new)  Policy NRC-4.8: Carbon Free Energy. Promote carbon-free energy sources in new and existing developments. (new)
 Policy NRC-4.9: Zero Waste Community. Reduce and ultimately eliminate single-use materials, like plastic cups, Styrofoam containers, and similar disposable items, from landfills, and support the reuse of materials and products, repair and sharing of items, and rely on sustainable materials to build homes and businesses. (new)
 Action NRC-4.1: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Monitoring. Annually monitor and report on changes in community-wide emissions and progress toward greenhouse gas emission-reduction targets, and revise greenhouse gas reduction efforts as needed to progress toward net-carbon neutrality and other targets. (new)
 Action NRC-4.2: Building Standards Code Efficiency Amendments. Conduct a study to explore opportunities to amend the Hollister Building Standards Code to improve building energy efficiency, transition to carbon-free energy sources, increase renewable energy supplies, and promote greater electric vehicle adoption. (new)
 Action NRC-4.3: Zero-Waste Plan. Prepare a Zero-Waste Plan in partnership with the San Benito County Integrated Waste Management Regional Agency. (new)  Action NRC-4.4: Community Energy Efficiency Education Programs. Develop community education programs on energy efficiency and renewable energy, sustainable transportation options, waste reduction, and water conservation in partnership with regional agencies and community groups. (new)
Goal HS-2: Develop a resilient community with the ability to adapt to climate change hazards.  Policy HS-2.5: Sustainability Features. Encourage new developments and existing property owners to incorporate sustainable, energy-efficient, and environmentally regenerative features into their facilities, landscapes, and structures to reduce energy demands and improve on-site resilience.

Support financing efforts to increase community access to these features. (new)

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
PLACEWORKS 4.8-25
Local GHG Reduction Measures
The City of Hollister will also be implementing the GHG reduction measures identified in the proposed CAP to reduce GHG emissions in the EIR Study Area. The proposed CAP provides an analysis of the community’s existing GHG emissions and projected future emissions in different scenarios and provides a framework for reducing GHG emissions through recommended community-wide GHG reduction strategies and an implementation plan. Additionally, the proposed CAP is consistent with the CEQA Guidelines for Plans for the Reduction of GHG Emissions (California Code of Regulations Section 15183.5), which allows the proposed CAP to be used in a streamlined environmental review of GHG emissions for future development projects within the city.

The proposed CAP identifies GHG emissions-reductions targets for Hollister that would ensure consistency with the state GHG reduction goals of EO S-03-05 and substantial progress toward the state’s carbon neutrality goals. Table 4.8-7, Proposed CAP Local GHG Reduction Strategies, shows the reductions associated with each of the GHG reduction strategies in the proposed CAP.

TABLE 4.8-7 PROPOSED CAP LOCAL GHG REDUCTION STRATEGIES Number Community-wide Emissions-Reduction Measures
EIR Study Area Local GHG
Reductions for Year 2045
(MTCO2e)
1 Municipal energy efficiency and conservation 20
2 Sustainable community-wide building standards 5,060
3 Residential energy efficiency and conservation 2,640
4 Nonresidential energy conservation and efficiency 3,370 8 Electrification 17,310
9 Building code updates and incentives for electrification of new buildings 8,370 10 Vehicle miles traveled 12,540
11 Active transportation infrastructure 1,090
13 Transit access 31,280
14 Electric vehicles 129,510
16 Electrification of construction and landscaping equipment 16,690 17 Reduce community-wide waste generation 10,160
18 Recycling and composting education 1,560
19 Methane capture at landfills 9,300
20 Reduce community-wide water use 550
22 Methane capture for wastewater treatment facilities 530 24 Tree planting and preservation 180
33 Car-share program 900
Total CAP GHG Reductions from CAP Measures 251,060
Note: CAP = Climate Action Plan. Based on global warming potential in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Sixth Assessment Report.

Source: Based on the emissions inventory and forecast being conducted for the Hollister Climate Action Plan, 2024. See Appendix B, Revised Air Quality and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data, of this Revised Draft EIR.

Table 4.8-8, Year 2045 GHG Emissions-Reduction Target Analysis with the Proposed CAP, shows that Hollister would achieve the GHG reduction target for year 2045 with implementation of the proposed CAP.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

4.8-26 JULY 2024
TABLE 4.8-8 YEAR 2045 GHG EMISSIONS-REDUCTION TARGET ANALYSIS WITH THE PROPOSED CAP Scenario
GHG Emissions for Year 2045
(MTCO2e/year)
Total Community Emissions 472,970
GHG Reductions from Existing Local and State Actions 190,410 GHG Reductions from CAP Measures 251,060
Total Community Emissions with State and Local Actions & CAP Measures 31,500 2045 GHG Reduction Target 31,500
Achieves GHG Reduction Target Yes
Note: CAP = Climate Action Plan. Based on global warming potential in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Sixth Assessment Report.

Source: Based on the emissions inventory and forecast being conducted for the Hollister Climate Action Plan, 2024. See Appendix B, Revised Air Quality and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data, of this Revised Draft EIR.

Furthermore, as described in Chapter 4.16, Transportation, of this Revised Draft EIR, the proposed 2040 General Plan outlines specific goals, policies, and actions that will help reduce VMT and therefore reduce GHG emissions from automobiles (see Impact Discussion TRANS-2). Therefore, implementation of these goals, policies, and actions of the proposed 2040 General Plan would reduce GHG emissions in the EIR Study Area to the extent feasible. As described and shown in Table 4.8-6, GHG emissions decreased by 87 percent from 1990 levels to satisfy the 85 percent decrease necessary to ensure the city is on a trajectory to achieve the long-term reductions goals of AB 1279 and substantial progress toward the state’s carbon neutrality goal. As such, impacts are less than significant.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

Climate Action Plan
The proposed CAP is a strategic plan focused on GHG emissions reduction through recommended community-wide GHG reduction strategies and an implementation plan and does not involve any land use changes that would result in indirect growth or change in building density and intensity. Because there is no specific land use component associated with the proposed CAP, its implementation would not directly result in the generation of GHG emissions. In addition, the proposed 2040 General Plan will reference the CAP, recognizing that the City’s climate action planning efforts must be updated more regularly to be responsive to the changing regulations, guidance, technology, best practices, and science. For example, CAP transportation strategies that reduce VMT (e.g., Strategies 10, 11, 13, and 16) would result in reduction in GHG emissions from the transportation sector. Likewise, energy-efficiency improvements (e.g., Strategies 1, 2, 3, and 4) would reduce the heating and cooling requirements for buildings. These measures for increasing energy efficiency, increasing water efficiency (Strategy 21 and 22), and reducing energy demand (Strategies 5 through 7) would contribute to minimizing overall energy demand and energy sector emissions. Furthermore, the proposed CAP also supports partnering with CCCE and AMBAG’s Sustainability Program by publicizing energy-efficiency programs (Strategies 2, 3, and 4). Thus, implementation of the proposed CAP would result in beneficial impacts to GHG emissions.

Implementation of the proposed project would not generate GHG emissions, either directly or indirectly, that may have a significant impact on the environment and impacts would be less than significant.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
PLACEWORKS 4.8-27
Agricultural Lands Preservation Program
The proposed ALPP is a program focused on mitigating the effects of agricultural land conversion through the dedication of eligible agricultural conservation easements at a rate of at least two acres of agricultural land for each one acre of agricultural land to be converted (2:1 ratio) for projects that would convert agricultural land to nonagricultural uses. Since the proposed ALPP does not involve any land use changes that would affect air quality, implementation of the proposed project would not generate GHG emissions, either directly or indirectly, that may have a significant impact on the environment and impacts would be less than significant.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

GHG-2 Implementation of the proposed project would conflict with an applicable plan, policy, or regulation of an agency adopted for the purpose of reducing GHG emissions.
2040 General Plan
Applicable plans adopted for the purpose of reducing GHG emissions include CARB’s Scoping Plan and AMBAG’s 2045 MTP/SCS. A consistency analysis with these plans is presented herein.

CARB Scoping Plan
The CARB Scoping Plan is applicable to state agencies but is not directly applicable to cities/counties and individual projects (i.e., the Scoping Plan does not require local jurisdictions to adopt its policies, programs, or regulations to reduce GHG emissions). However, new regulations adopted by the state agencies from the Scoping Plan result in GHG emissions reductions at the local level. So local jurisdictions benefit from reductions in transportation emissions rates, increases in water efficiency in the building and landscape codes, and other statewide actions that affect a local jurisdiction’s emissions inventory from the top down. Statewide strategies to reduce GHG emissions include the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) and changes in the CAFE standards.

Project GHG emissions shown in Table 4.8-6 include reductions associated with statewide strategies that have been adopted since AB 32, SB 32, and AB 1279. Development projects accommodated under the proposed 2040 General Plan are required to adhere to the programs and regulations identified by the Scoping Plan and implemented by state, regional, and local agencies to achieve the statewide GHG reduction goals of AB 32, SB 32, and AB 1279. Future development projects would be required to comply with these state GHG emissions-reduction measures because they are statewide strategies. For example, new buildings associated with land uses accommodated by implementing the proposed 2040 General Plan would be required to meet the CALGreen and Building Energy Efficiency Standards in effect at the time when applying for building permits. Furthermore, as discussed under Impact Discussion GHG-1, the proposed 2040 General Plan includes goals, policies, and actions that would help reduce GHG emissions and therefore help achieve GHG reduction goals. The proposed project would not obstruct implementation of the CARB Scoping Plan, and impacts would be less than significant.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

4.8-28 JULY 2024
Metropolitan Transportation Plan and Sustainable Communities Strategy SB 375 requires each MPO to prepare an SCS in its RTP. AMBAG updated and adopted an SCS in its MTP on June 15, 2022 (2045 MTP/SCS).23 Under the 2045 MTP/SCS, the Monterey Bay region would meet the GHG targets provided under SB 375 with a 3 percent per-capita reduction from 2005 levels by 2020 and a 6 percent per-capita reduction from 2035 GHG emission levels by 2035. The AMBAG 2045 MTP/SCS focuses on achieving GHG reduction goals by focusing housing and employment growth in urbanized areas; protecting sensitive habitat and open space; and investing in a more accessible transportation system. Additionally, the 2045 MTP/SCS includes economic development strategies to encourage job growth in job-poor communities and develop new housing centered in job-rich areas to address the jobs/housing imbalance as well as reduce VMT.

As described in Chapter 4.16, Transportation, of this Revised Draft EIR, the proposed 2040 General Plan outlines specific goals, policies, and actions that will help reduce VMT and therefore reduce GHG emissions from automobiles (see Impact Discussion TRANS-2 for a complete list of these goals, policies, and actions). Furthermore, implementation of the 2040 General Plan is projected to result in a decrease in GHG emissions on a per-capita basis. Thus, the proposed project would be consistent with the overall goals of AMBAG’s 2045 MTP/SCS in concentrating new development in locations where there is existing infrastructure and transit (see Chapter 4.11, Land Use and Planning, of this Revised Draft EIR). Therefore, the proposed project would not conflict with the land use concept plan in AMBAG’s 2045 RTP/SCS and impacts would be less than significant.

Climate Action Plan
The proposed CAP is a strategic plan focused on GHG emissions reduction through recommended community-wide GHG reduction strategies and an implementation plan and does not involve any land use changes that would result in indirect growth or change in building density and intensity. Furthermore, as discussed under Impact Discussion GHG-1, implementation of the CAP would result in beneficial GHG emissions impacts by contributing to reducing VMT, increasing energy and water use efficiency, and increasing renewable energy use. Therefore, the CAP would be complementary to statewide and regional plans to reduce GHG and would not interfere with or obstruct the implementation of the CARB Scoping Plan or the AMBAG 2045 MTP/SCS. Implementation of the proposed CAP would not conflict with an applicable plan, policy, or regulation of an agency adopted for the purpose of reducing GHG emissions and impacts would be less than significant.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

23 Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments, June 2022, Monterey Bay 2045 Moving Forward: 2045 Metropolitan Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (MTP/SCS). https://www.ambag.org/sites/default/files/2022- 07/AMBAG_MTP-SCS_Final_EntireDocument_PDFA_Updated071422.pdf, accessed August 11,2022.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
PLACEWORKS 4.8-29
Agricultural Lands Preservation Program
The proposed ALPP is a program focused on mitigating the effects of agricultural land conversion through the dedication of eligible agricultural conservation easements at a rate of at least two acres of agricultural land for each one acre of agricultural land to be converted (2:1 ratio) for projects that would convert agricultural land to nonagricultural uses. Since the proposed ALPP does not involve any land use changes that would affect air quality, implementation of the proposed project would not conflict with an applicable plan, policy, or regulation of an agency adopted for the purpose of reducing GHG emissions and impacts would be less than significant.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

GHG-3 Implementation of the proposed project would, in combination with past, present, and reasonably foreseeable projects, result in a cumulative impact with respect to GHG emissions.
2040 General Plan
Project-related GHG emissions are not confined to a particular air basin but are dispersed worldwide.

Therefore, impacts under Impact Discussion GHG-1 are not project-specific impacts to global warming, but are the proposed project’s contribution to this cumulative impact. As described under Impact Discussion GHG-1, implementation of the proposed project would result in a decrease in GHG emissions in year 2045 from existing baseline and would meet the long-term GHG reduction goal under AB 1279.

Therefore, project-related GHG emissions and their contribution to global climate change would not be cumulatively considerable, and GHG emissions impacts would be less than significant.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

Climate Action Plan
The proposed CAP is a strategic plan focused on GHG emissions reduction through recommended community-wide GHG reduction strategies and an implementation plan and does not involve any land use changes that would result in indirect growth or change in building density and intensity. Furthermore, as discussed under Impact Discussions GHG-1 and GHG-2, the implementation of the proposed CAP would result in beneficial GHG emissions impacts and would be consistent with applicable plans to reduce the city’s GHG emissions. Therefore, implementation of the proposed project would result in a less-than- significant cumulative impact with respect to GHG emissions.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

4.8-30 JULY 2024
Agricultural Lands Preservation Program
The proposed ALPP is a program focused on mitigating the effects of agricultural land conversion through the dedication of eligible agricultural conservation easements at a rate of at least two acres of agricultural land for each one acre of agricultural land to be converted (2:1 ratio) for projects that would convert agricultural land to nonagricultural uses. Since the proposed ALPP does not involve any land use changes that would introduce new GHG emissions, the proposed project would result in a less-than-significant cumulative impact with respect to GHG emissions.

Significance without Mitigation: Less than significant.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

HAZARDS AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
PLACEWORKS 4.9-1

4.9 HAZARDS AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
This chapter of the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) describes the potential hazards and hazardous materials impacts associated with the approval and implementation of the proposed project.

This chapter describes the regulatory framework and existing conditions, identifies criteria used to determine impact significance, provides an analysis of the potential hazards and hazardous materials impacts, and identifies policies that could minimize any potentially significant impacts. A discussion of wildland fire hazards is provided in Chapter 4.18, Wildfire, of this Revised Draft EIR.

4.9.1 ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING

REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
Federal Regulations
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is the primary federal agency that regulates hazardous materials and waste. In general, the USEPA works to develop and enforce regulations that implement environmental laws enacted by Congress. The agency is responsible for researching and setting national standards for a variety of environmental programs, delegating the responsibility for issuing permits, and monitoring and enforcing compliance to states and Native American tribes. USEPA programs promote handling hazardous waste safely, cleaning up contaminated land, and reducing waste volumes through such strategies as recycling. California falls under the jurisdiction of USEPA Region 9.

Under the authority of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and in cooperation with State and tribal partners, the USEPA Region 9 Waste Management and Superfund Divisions manage programs for site environmental assessment and cleanup, hazardous and solid waste management, and underground storage tanks.

United States Department of Transportation
The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT ) has the regulatory responsibility for the safe transportation of hazardous materials between states and internationally. The USDOT regulations govern all means of transportation, except for those packages shipped by mail, which are covered by United States Postal Service regulations. The federal RCRA of 1976 (described later in this chapter) imposes additional standards for the transport of hazardous wastes.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires specific training for hazardous materials handlers, provision of information to employees who may be exposed to hazardous materials, and acquisition of material safety data sheets from materials manufacturers. The material safety data sheets describe the risks, as well as proper handling and procedures, related to specific hazardous materials. Employee training must include response and remediation procedures for hazardous materials releases and exposures.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

HAZARDS AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

4.9-2 JULY 2024
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, as amended by the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984
Federal hazardous waste laws are generally promulgated under the RCRA, as amended by the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984. These laws provide for the “cradle to grave” regulation of hazardous wastes. Any business, institution, or other entity that generates hazardous waste is required to identify and track its hazardous waste from the point of generation until it is recycled, reused, or disposed.

The Department of Toxic Substance Control (DTSC) is responsible for implementing the RCRA program as well as California’s own hazardous waste laws, which are collectively known as the Hazardous Waste Control Law.

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act and the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986
Congress enacted the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as “Superfund,” on December 11, 1980. CERCLA established prohibitions and requirements concerning closed and abandoned hazardous waste sites; provided for liability of persons responsible for releases of hazardous waste at these sites; and established a trust fund to provide for cleanup when no responsible party could be identified. The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) amended the CERCLA on October 17, 1986. SARA stressed the importance of permanent remedies and innovative treatment technologies in cleaning up hazardous waste sites; required Superfund actions to consider the standards and requirements found in other state and federal environmental laws and regulations; provided new enforcement authorities and settlement tools; increased state involvement in every phase of the Superfund program; increased the focus on human health problems posed by hazardous waste sites; encouraged greater citizen participation in making decisions on how sites should be cleaned up; and increased the size of the trust fund to $8.5 billion.

Emergency Planning Community Right-to-Know Act
The Emergency Planning Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), also known as SARA Title III, was enacted in October 1986. This law requires state and local governments to plan for chemical emergencies.

Reported information is then made publicly available so that interested parties may become informed about potentially dangerous chemicals in their community. EPCRA Sections 301 through 312 are administered by USEPA’s Office of Emergency Management. USEPA’s Office of Information Analysis and Access implements the EPCRA Section 313 program. In California, SARA Title III is implemented through the California Accidental Release Prevention (CalARP) program.

Hazardous Materials Transportation Act
The USDOT regulates hazardous materials transportation under Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). State agencies that have primary responsibility for enforcing federal and state regulations and responding to hazardous materials transportation emergencies are the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). The California State Fire Marshal’s Office has oversight authority for hazardous materials liquid pipelines. The California Public Utilities Commission has oversight authority for natural gas pipelines in California. These agencies also govern permitting for hazardous materials transportation.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

HAZARDS AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
PLACEWORKS 4.9-3
The Stafford Act
The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act) of 1988 authorizes federal government assistance for emergencies and disasters when state and local capabilities are exceeded. The Stafford Act forms the statutory authority for most federal disaster response activities, especially as they relate to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and FEMA programs.

Federal Response Plan
The Federal Response Plan of 1999 is a signed agreement among 27 federal departments and agencies and other resource providers, including the American Red Cross, that: (1) provides the mechanism for coordinating delivery of federal assistance and resources to augment efforts of state and local governments overwhelmed by a major disaster or emergency; (2) supports implementation of the Stafford Act, as well as individual agency statutory authorities; and (3) supplements other federal emergency operations plans developed to address specific hazards. The Federal Response Plan is implemented in anticipation of a significant event likely to result in a need for federal assistance or in response to an actual event requiring federal assistance under a Presidential declaration of a major disaster or emergency. The Federal Response Plan is part of the National Response Framework, which was most recently updated on October 28, 2019.

National Response Framework
The National Response Framework, published by the United States Department of Homeland Security and most recently updated on October 28, 2019, is a guide for the nation to respond to all types of disasters and emergencies. This framework describes specific authorities and best practices for managing incidents that range from serious local or large-scale terrorist attacks or catastrophic natural disasters. In addition, the National Response Framework describes the principles, roles, and responsibilities, and coordinating structures for responding to an incident, and further describes how response efforts integrate with those of the other mission areas.

State Regulations
California Environmental Protection Agency
One of the primary State agencies that regulates hazardous materials is the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA). CalEPA is authorized by the USEPA to enforce and implement certain federal hazardous materials laws and regulations. The California DTSC, a department of the CalEPA, protects California and Californians from exposure to hazardous waste, primarily under the authority of the RCRA and the California Health and Safety Code.1 The DTSC requirements include the need for written programs and response plans, such as Hazardous Materials Management Plans. The DTSC programs include dealing with aftermath cleanups of improper hazardous waste management; evaluation of samples taken from

1 Hazardous Substance Account, Chapter 6.5 (Section 25100 et seq.) and the Hazardous Waste Control Law, Chapter 6.8 (Section 25300 et seq.) of the Health and Safety Code.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

HAZARDS AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

4.9-4 JULY 2024
sites; enforcement of regulations regarding use, storage, and disposal of hazardous materials; and encouragement of pollution prevention.

California Division of Occupational Safety and Health
Like OSHA at the federal level, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (CalOSHA) is the responsible State-level agency for ensuring workplace safety. CalOSHA assumes primary responsibility for the adoption and enforcement of standards regarding workplace safety and safety practices. In the event that a work site is contaminated, a Site Safety Plan must be crafted and implemented to protect the safety of workers. Site Safety Plans establish policies, practices, and procedures to prevent the exposure of workers and members of the public to hazardous materials originating from the contaminated site or building.

California Office of Emergency Services
The California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) was established as part of the Governor’s Office on January 1, 2009. It was created pursuant to Assembly Bill 38, which merged the duties, powers, purposes, and responsibilities of the former Governor’s Emergency Management Agency with those of the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security. Cal OES is responsible for the coordination of overall State agency response to major disasters in support of local government. The agency is responsible for ensuring the State’s readiness to respond to and recover from all hazards—natural, human-made, emergencies, and disasters—and for assisting local governments in their emergency preparedness, response, recovery, and hazard mitigation efforts.

California Department of Transportation and California Highway Patrol Caltrans and the CHP are the two State agencies that have primary responsibility for enforcing federal and State regulations and responding to hazardous materials transportation emergencies. Caltrans manages more than 50,000 miles of California’s highways and freeways, provides intercity rail services, permits more than 400 public-use airports and special-use hospital heliports, and works with local agencies.

Caltrans is also the first responder for hazardous material spills and releases that occur on highways, freeways, and intercity rail lines. The CHP enforces hazardous materials and hazardous waste labeling and packing regulations designed to prevent leakage and spills of materials in transit and to provide detailed information to cleanup crews in the event of an accident. Vehicle and equipment inspection, shipment preparation, container identification, and shipping documentation are all part of the responsibility of the CHP, which conducts regular inspections of licensed transporters to ensure regulatory compliance. In addition, the State of California regulates the transportation of hazardous waste originating or passing through the state. Common carriers are licensed by the CHP, pursuant to Section 32000 of the California Vehicle Code. This section requires licensing every motor (common) carrier who transports, for a fee, in excess of 500 pounds of hazardous materials at one time and every carrier, if not for hire, who carries more than 1,000 pounds of hazardous material of the type requiring placards. Common carriers conduct a large portion of the business in the delivery of hazardous materials.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

HAZARDS AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
PLACEWORKS 4.9-5
California Building Code
The State of California provided a minimum standard for building design through the California Building Code (CBC), which is found in Title 24, Part 2 of the California Code of Regulations. The CBC is updated every three years. It is generally adopted on a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction basis and may be subject to further modification based on local conditions. Commercial and residential buildings are plan-checked by local city and county building officials for compliance with the typical fire safety requirements of the CBC, including the installation of sprinklers in all high-rise buildings; the establishment of fire-resistance standards for fire doors and building materials; and the clearance of debris and vegetation near occupied structures in wildfire hazard areas. The City of Hollister regularly adopts each new CBC update under Hollister Municipal Code (HMC) Section 15.04.050, Construction Codes Adopted by Reference.

California Health and Safety Code
California Health and Safety Code Chapter 6.95 and California Code of Regulations Title 19, Section 2729, set out the minimum requirements for business emergency plans and chemical inventory reporting. These regulations require businesses to provide emergency response plans and procedures, training program information, and a hazardous material chemical inventory disclosing hazardous materials stored, used, or handled on-site. A business that uses hazardous materials or a mixture containing hazardous materials must establish and implement a management plan if the hazardous material is handled in certain quantities.

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) has mapped fire threat potential throughout California.2 CAL FIRE ranks fire threat based on the availability of fuel and the likelihood of an area burning (based on topography, fire history, and climate). The rankings include no fire threat, moderate, high, and very high fire threat. Additionally, CAL FIRE produced the 2018 Strategic Fire Plan for California, which contains goals, objectives, and policies to prepare for and mitigate for the effects of fire on California’s natural and built environments.3
California Fire Code
California Code of Regulations, Title 24, also known as the California Building Standards Code, contains the California Fire Code (CFC), included as Part 9. Updated every three years, the CFC includes provisions and standards for emergency planning and preparedness, fire service features, fire protection systems, hazardous materials, fire flow requirements, and fire hydrant locations and distribution. Similar to the CBC, the CFC is generally adopted on a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction basis, subject to further modification based on local conditions. The City of Hollister regularly adopts each new CFC update under HMC Section

15.04.050, Construction Codes Adopted by Reference.

2 CalFIRE, Fire Hazards Severity Zones Map, https://osfm.fire.ca.gov/divisions/community-wildfire-preparedness-and- mitigation/wildland-hazards-building-codes/fire-hazard-severity-zones-maps/, accessed January 31, 2022. 3 CalFIRE, 2018 Strategic Fire Plan for California, https://osfm.fire.ca.gov/divisions/community-wildfire-preparedness-and- mitigation/fire-plan/, accessed January 31, 2022.

HOLLISTER 2040 GENERAL PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND

AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM REVISED DRAFT EIR

CITY OF HOLLISTER

HAZARDS AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

4.9-6 JULY 2024
Regional Regulations
Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board
The Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act established the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and divided the state into nine regional basins, each under the jurisdiction of a Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB). The Central Coast Region (Region 3) is the RWQCB that regulates water quality in the EIR Study Area. The Central Coast RWQCB has the authority to require groundwater investigations when the quality of groundwater or surface waters of the state is threatened, and to require remediation actions, if necessary.

Monterey Bay Air Resources District
The Monterey Bay Air Resources District (MBARD) has primary responsibility for control of air pollution from sources other than motor vehicles and consumer products (which are the responsibility of CalEPA and California Air Resources Board [CARB]). MBARD is responsible for preparing attainment plans for non- attainment criteria pollutants, control of stationary air pollutant sources, and the issuance of permits for activities including demolition and renovation activities affecting asbestos-containing materials (District Regulation III, Rule 306).

San Benito County Health Department
The routine management of hazardous materials in California is administered under the Unified Hazardous Waste and Hazardous Materials Management Program (Unified Program), and most of the City of Hollister hazardous materials programs are administered and enforced under the Unified Program. The CalEPA has granted responsibilities to the San Benito County Health Department for implementation and enforcement of hazardous material regulations under the Unified Program as a Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA). The San Benito County Health Department also enforces additional hazardous materials storage requirements in accordance with the San Benito County Hazardous Materials Storage Ordinance and Toxic Gas Ordinance.

Under authority from the RWQCB, San Benito County Health Department implements the Local Oversight Program (LOP) to oversee the investigation and remediation of leaking underground storage tank (LUST) sites in San Benito County, including the City of Hollister. Businesses storing hazardous materials over threshold quantities are required to submit Hazardous Materials Business Plans (HMBPs) to the San Benito County Health Department. An HMBP must include measures for safe storage, transportation, use, and handling of hazardous materials. An HMBP must also include a contingency plan that describes the facility’s response procedures in the event of a hazardous materials release.

San Benito County Emergency Operations Plan
The San Benito County Emergency Operations Plan (EOP), adopted August 2015, establishes the County’s emergency management approach to reduce vulnerabilities to both natural and human-made disasters.

The EOP provides basic guidance related to earthquakes, flooding, fire, landslides, severe weather, pandemics and epidemics, as well as hazardous material emergencies. The mitigation programs are split into three categories: emergency prevention and protection; response concept of operations; and