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1 T-52008.001&T-7965.019/2019012_3
Council Agenda: 06/20/2023
Item No.: 10.2(a)
DRAFT--Contact the Office of the City Clerk at (408)535-1260 or [email protected] for final document.
REVISED – Administrative changes made since original posting on 6/9/2023.
RESOLUTION NO. _______
A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SAN JOSE MAKING CERTAIN FINDINGS CONCERNING
SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS, MITIGATION MEASURES AND
ALTERNATIVES, ALL IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE
CALIFORNIA ENVIR ONMENTAL QUALITY ACT, AS
AMENDED, IN CONNE CTION WITH THE ENVISION
SAN JOSE 2040 GENERAL PLAN INCLUDING THE 2023-
2031 HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE FOR WHICH A
SUPPLEMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT
HAS BEEN PREPARED
WHEREAS, on November 1, 2011, the C ouncil of the Cit y of San José ( City) by Resolution No. 76041 certified and adopted related findings for the Final Program Environmental Impact Report for the 2040 General Plan (General Plan FEIR ) in accordance with the requirements of the California environmental Environmental Quality Act of 1970, as amended, and related State and local guidelines (collectively, “CEQA”); and
WHEREAS, the City, acting as lead agency, prep ared a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (Draft SEIR) to the General Plan FEIR for the 2023-2031 Housing Element Update (Planning File No s. GPT22-001 and ER21-032) dated March 2023; and
WHEREAS, a First Amendment to the Draft SEIR was prepared to include responses to comments received during the public comment period and to make any technical or text changes to the Draft SEIR; and
WHEREAS, the First Amendment and the Draft SEIR together comprise the F inal Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (“FSEIR”) for the proposed project; and NVF:NVT:DJF
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Council Agenda: 06/20/2023
Item No.: 10.2(a)
DRAFT--Contact the Office of the City Clerk at (408)535-1260 or [email protected] for final document.
REVISED – Administrative changes made since original posting on 6/9/2023.
WHEREAS, the FSEIR concluded that implementation of the project would contribute to the significant unavoidable impacts identified in the 2040 General Plan FEIR, but would not substantially increase the severity of those impacts; and WHEREAS, on May 24 , 2023 , the Planning Commi ssion of th e City of Sa n José reviewed the FSEIR and recommended the City Council find the FSEIR was completed in ac cordance with the requi rements of CEQA and further recommended the City Council adopt a resolution certifying the FSEIR; and
WHEREAS, the decision-making body of a public agency is required under CEQA to make certain findings regarding potentially significant environmental impacts and adopt a statement of overriding considerations for any impact that may not be reduced to a less than significant level;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN JOSE:
1. The foregoing recitals are incorporated herein as if set forth in the body of thi s Resolution.
2. The City Council finds and certifies the FSEIR has been prepared and completed in compliance with CEQA.
3. The FSEIR was present ed to the Ci ty Coun cil, the City Council reviewed and considered the information c ontained t herein prior to approving the proposed project, and, as lead agency for the proposed project, the City Council finds the FEIR reflects the independent judgment and analysis of the City of San José and designates the Director of Planning, Building and Code Enforcem ent at 200 East Santa Clara Street, 3rd Floor Tower, San José, California 95113 as the custodian of records on which the decision of the City is based.
4. The City Council recognizes the F SEIR contains a dditions, clarifications, modifications, and other information in response to comments on the Draft SEIR or obtained after the Draft SEIR was issued and circulated for public review and hereby finds such changes and additional information would not result in: (i) any new significant environmental impact or s ubstantially more severe environmental NVF:NVT:DJF
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Council Agenda: 06/20/2023
Item No.: 10.2(a)
DRAFT--Contact the Office of the City Clerk at (408)535-1260 or [email protected] for final document.
REVISED – Administrative changes made since original posting on 6/9/2023. impact not alrea dy disclosed and evaluated in the Draft SEIR, (ii) any feas ible mitigation meas ure co nsiderably different from t hose an alyzed in the General Plan FEIR Draft SEIR that would lessen a significant environmental impact of the proposed project, or (iii) any feasible alternative considerably different from those analyzed in the Draft SEIR that woul d lessen a significant environmental impact of the proposed project.
5. The City Council finds and determines that recirculation of th is FSEIR for further public review and comment is not warranted or required under CEQA.
6. The City Council makes the following fi ndings wi th res pect to potentially significant environmental impacts, as identified in the FSEIR, with the understanding that all the informa tion in thi s Resolution is intended as a summary of the full administrative record supporting the FSEIR.
7. The City Council finds that no new mitiga tion measures are required as a res ult of the environmental impacts of the proposed p roject an d that the Mitigation, Monitoring, and Reporting Plan (MMRP) adopted with Council’s certification of the General Plan FEIR shall remain in effect for the proposed Project.
CITY OF SAN JOSE 2023-2031 HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS FOUND NOT TO BE SIGNIFICANT
Through project scoping and the env ironmental analysis contained within the F SEIR, it was determined tha t the proposed pro ject would contribute to significant and unavoidable impacts identified in the 20 40 General Plan EIR with respect to aesthetics, air quality, energy, greenhouse gas emissions, land use and planning, noise, population and housing, public services, recre ation, t ransportation, utilities and service systems, and wildfire. A summary of the reason s for this determination can b e found in Chapters
3.7, 4.1, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.8, 4.9, 4.1 0, and 4.11 of the Draft SEIR . However, the FSEIR concludes that although t he implementation of the proposed project would contribute to the sig nificant unavoidable impacts identified in the 2040 General Plan FEIR, the proposed project would not substantially increase the severity of those impacts. No new mitigation measures are required as a result of the environmental impacts of the proposed pro ject because the proposed project will be subject to the requirements of the MMRP adopted with Council’s certification of the General Plan FEIR. No further findings are required for these subject areas.
FINDINGS CONCERNING ALTERNATIVES
To comply with CEQA, it is important to identify alternatives that reduce any anticipated significant impacts from the project and try to mee t as m any of the project’s objectives as possible. The CEQA Guidelines emphasize a common-sense approach, meaning the alternatives sho uld be reasona ble, “foster informed decis ion making and public NVF:NVT:DJF
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Council Agenda: 06/20/2023
Item No.: 10.2(a)
DRAFT--Contact the Office of the City Clerk at (408)535-1260 or [email protected] for final document.
REVISED – Administrative changes made since original posting on 6/9/2023. participation,” a nd focus on alternatives that avoi d or su bstantially lessen significant impacts.
The alternatives analyzed in the Draft SEIR were developed with the goal of bein g at least potentially feasible, given proposed project objectives and site constrain ts, while avoiding or reducing the proposed project’s identified environmental effects.
The objectives for the proposed project are as follows:
1. Update the City’s 2040 General Plan Housing Element to comply with State - mandated housing requirements.
2. Address t he maintenance, preservation, improvement, and de velopment of housing in the City between 2023 and 2031.
3. Include an inventory o f housing sites (opportunity sites) and rezone the sites as necessary to meet the required Regional Housing Needs Analysis (RHNA) goal and to provide an ap propriate buf fer of 15 to 30 percent beyond the City’s RHNA goal.
4. Make 2040 G eneral Plan Amendments a nd Rezonin gs in a manner that affirmatively furthers fair housing while pre serving the character of th e City and perpetuating the safety and welfare of both existing and future residents.
5. Meet the community’s need of housing product ion, rehabilitation, and preservation.
5.6. Allow for compliance with and implementation of SB 9 (2022).
6.7. Promote the creation o f deed-restricted accessory dwelling u nits (ADUs) that can be offered at affordable rent for very low to moderate -income households pursuant to Health and Sa fety Code section er the HSC, Section 65583(c)(7). This includes tiny homes on wheels (THOWs, a type of detached ADU that the City added to the Zzoning code Ordinance in April 2020.
7.8. Provide housing throughout the City in a range of r esidential densities, especially at higher densities (30 dwe lling units to the acre or greater), and product types, including rental and for -sale housing, to address the need s of an economically, demographically, and culturally diverse population per in accordance with 2040 Gener al Pla n Goal H -1 Ho using – Social Equity and Diversity.
8.9. Preserve and improve the City’s existing afforda ble housing stock and increase its supply such that 15 percent or more of the new hous ing stock developed is affordable to low , very low and extremely l ow-income households in accordance withper 2040 General Plan Goal H -2 Aff ordable Housing.
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Council Agenda: 06/20/2023
Item No.: 10.2(a)
DRAFT--Contact the Office of the City Clerk at (408)535-1260 or [email protected] for final document.
REVISED – Administrative changes made since original posting on 6/9/2023.
9.10. Create and maintain safe and hig h-quality housing that contributes to the creation of great neighborhoods and great places in accordance withper 2040 General Plan Goal H-3 Housing – High Quality Housing and Great Places.
10.11. Provide housing that minimizes the c onsumption of natural resources and advances the City’s fiscal, climate change, and environmental goals in accordance withper 2040 G eneral Pl an G oal H-4 Housing - Environmental Sustainability.
The following alternatives were considered and rejected:
1. Off-Site Alternative
2. Alternate Housing Sites within the City
The following were evaluated as alternatives to the proposed project:
1. Alternative 1: No Project Alternative
2. Alternative 2: Reduced Den sity in High -Vehicle Mile s Travelled (H igh-VMT) Areas
Alternative 1: No Project Alternative
A. Description of Al ternative: CEQA requires consideration of the No Project Alternative, which addresses th e impacts associated wit h not moving fo rward with the proposed project. The purpose of analyzing the No Project Alternative is to allow decision-makers to compare the impacts of the proposed project versus no project. Under the No Project Alternative, th e 20 23-2031 Housing E lement Update would not be adopted and the goals and policies within the City’s existing Housing Element would remai n unchang ed. The 2040 Gene ral Plan land use designations and zoning districts currently in place would remain as the development parameters for the City. No new General Plan overlays or Zoning District overlays would be established. Because the proposed project would not increase net -development capacity within the City, the No Project Alternative would be identical to the proposed project in terms of the total amount of planned housing within the City, but there would be no shift in 2040 General Pla n residential capacity from North San Jo sé and the Rincon South Ur ban Village to other growth areas would occur as in the proposed project.
B. Comparison of Environmental Impacts: The proposed project woul d slightly decrease VMT and associated air quality and GHG impacts associated with VMT NVF:NVT:DJF
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Council Agenda: 06/20/2023
Item No.: 10.2(a)
DRAFT--Contact the Office of the City Clerk at (408)535-1260 or [email protected] for final document.
REVISED – Administrative changes made since original posting on 6/9/2023. when compared to the General Plan FEIR. Alternative 1 would fail to realize this slight benefit and would therefore have slightly higher traffic, air quality and GHG impacts than the proposed project.
C. Findings: The No Project Alternative would not meet any of the objectives of the proposed project . The No Project Alternative would no t up date the City’s Housing Element to comply with State -mandated housing requi rements and to address the maintenance , preservat ion, improvement, and development of housing in the City between 2023 and 2031. Under the No Pr oject Alternative, the reallocation in development capacity via rezonings, which are based on City and community input to increase opportunities for h ousing and programs to affirmatively further equity and f air housing and sup port existing and futu re residents, would not occur.
Alternative 2: Reduced Density in High-VMT Areas
A. Description of Alt ernative: The proposed p roject would reallocate approximately 680 units of housing development capacity fro m North San José and the Rincon South Urb an Village growth area to several immitigable Vehicle Miles Travelle d (VMT) areas (i.e., areas in which the lack of access to nearby jobs and/or high -quality public transportation options makes miti gation of VMT impacts infeasible). Alternative 2 wo uld eliminate the addition of hou sing development capacity to immitigable VMT areas planned as part of the proposed project. That housing development c apacity wo uld be remo ved from the total Citywide development capacity, resulting in a net decrease of 680 units.
B. Comparison of Environmental Impacts: Alternative 2 would achieve the same benefits as the proposed project and eliminate the significant unavoi dable construction noise impact in certain growth areas but would do so at the cost of reducing Citywide housing development capacity by 680 units.
C. Findings: By only re allocating development capacity to growth areas in mitigatable VMT areas or better, Alte rnative 2 w ould result in a Citywide per capita VMT of 27,007,460 compared to 27,021,232 under the proposed project.
Although Alte rnative 2 woul d de crease VMT slightly more than the proposed project, both scenarios would represent a similar reduction of -0.02 compared to levels anticipated under bu ildout of the General Plan FEIR. Both would reduce the severity of General Pl an FEIR transportation impacts but a significant unavoidable impact would remain in both cases.
A key objective of the proposed project is to increase housing supply within the City to meet community housing needs, the City’s RHNA goal, and to comply with State-mandated hous ing requirements. However, Alternative 2 would NVF:NVT:DJF
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Council Agenda: 06/20/2023
Item No.: 10.2(a)
DRAFT--Contact the Office of the City Clerk at (408)535-1260 or [email protected] for final document.
REVISED – Administrative changes made since original posting on 6/9/2023. reduce housing capacity by 680 units. By reducing residential development capacity below levels planned for unde r the 2040 General Plan, Alternative 2 would fail to meet the City’s RHNA alloc ation goa l and s tate housing requirements.
Environmentally Superior Alternative
Based on the analysis summarized above, Alternative 2 wo uld be the environmentally superior alternative because it would achieve many objectives of the proposed project while slightly reducing VMT and associated air quality and GHG impacts. However, it would do so at the cost of reducing Citywide hous ing developmen t capacity b y 680 units. As sta ted, a h ousing reduction of 680 units, would fail to meet the City’s RHNA goals and achieve compliance with State-mandated housing requirements.
LOCATION AND CUSTODIAN OF RECORDS
The documents and other materials that constitute the r ecord of proce edings on which the City Council based the foregoing findings a nd approval of the proposed project are located at the Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement, 200 East Santa Clara Street, 3rd Floor Tower, San José, CA 95113.
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6/15/23
8 T-52008.001&T-7965.019/2019012_3
Council Agenda: 06/20/2023
Item No.: 10.2(a)
DRAFT--Contact the Office of the City Clerk at (408)535-1260 or [email protected] for final document.
REVISED – Administrative changes made since original posting on 6/9/2023.
ADOPTED this ____ day of _________, 2023, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
DISQUALIFIED:
MATT MAHAN
Mayor
ATTEST:
TONI J. TABER, CMC
City Clerk