The City of Placentia is proceeding with the annexation of an island of unincorporated land located within the east -northeastern portion of the City's Sphere of Influence. The area is centered on Hamer Drive north of East Palm Drive and extending north almost to Trumpet and Huggins Avenues. This area is shown on Figure 1. The annexation area is almost fully developed with single-family residences. However, in order to accommodate the existing residences, the City has agreed to allow continued Recreational Vehicle (RV) parking at the individual residences. To accommodate this unique parking characteristic within the R-1 Zone, the City is proposing to establish a new General Plan (GP) designation and Zone Classification (ZC) that will apply to solely to the Hamer Drive annexation area. The new zone classification will incorporate this RV parking authorization and will be termed the R -1 -Hamer Zone. The proposed GP/ZC change will extend City services into the approximate 76 -acre area but it would not result in any specific physical changes to the environment within the annexation area.
Therefore, after careful review, I am recommending that the City consider the adoption of a Common Sense Exemption for the proposed GP/ZC change (proposed project). I recommend that the City of Placentia find that a Common Sense Exemption (as defined in CEQA) applies to GP/ZC changes under Section 15061 (b) (3) of the State CEQA Guidelines, which states: "The activity is covered by the common sense exemption that CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for causing significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA." It is my opinion, and recommendation to the City, that this circumstance applies to the proposed project because the existing physical environment will not be modified as a result of its adoption.
Based on this review of the proposed GP/ZC change for the Hamer Drive project area and the pertinent sections of CEQA and the State CEQA Guidelines, I conclude that it does not constitute a project under CEQA and adoption of the common sense exemption and filing of a Notice of Exemption is the most appropriate determination to comply with CEQA for this action.
Thus, the City can approve the review and findings for this action and I recommend that you notice the proposed GP/ZC change as exempt from CEQA for the reasons outlined in the State CEQA Guideline sections cited above. The City needs to file a Notice of Exemption with the County Clerk for this action once the hearing is completed to initiate the 35 -day Statute of Limitations.
A copy of this exemption recommendation should be retained in City's project file to serve as verification of this evaluation and as the CEQA environmental determination record. If you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call.
Sincerely,
Tom Dodson