California Environmental Quality
Act (CEQA) Streamlining
Community & Economic Development Committee
February 24, 2025
Item (d)4.
Presenters:
Chris Burton, Director, Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement David Keyon, Principal Planner, Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement
Presentation on CEQA Streamlining
“Development Process & CEQA Requirements” – Response to August 2024 Rules Committee
• Summary of findings from previously collected stakeholder input and comparison with peer cities
• Overview of CEQA Process:
➢Determining project exemption
➢Recommendations to allow more projects to be exempt from CEQA ➢Progress report of 2022 Audit recommendations
“CEQA Streamlining for Downtown Projects” – Response to Mayor’s March 2024 Budget Message)
• Strategies for further streamlining for Downtown projects • Consider update of Downtown Strategy 2040 EIR
www.sanjoseca.gov/PBCE
2 Summary of Stakeholder Input
www.sanjoseca.gov/PBCE
62%
Environmental
review took longer
than expected
46%
Good staff
communication
on timelines
65%
Good staff
communication on
technical analysis
71%
Good staff
communication
on type of CEQA
review
58%
Staff comments
provided in a
timeline manner
49%
Staff comments
similar to other
jurisdictions
46%
City’s
environmental
review time is
unreasonable
Results of surveys conducted for the 2022 Audit
3 Comparison with Peer Cities
2022 Audit compared San Jose’s CEQA process with 7 peer jurisdictions:
Findings:
• City’s review times similar to Los Angeles (25 months between 2013 and 2020). • City of Long Beach: complete EIR in 1 year with focused project management.
The Auditor’s review of peer jurisdictions contributed to the Auditor’s Office’s 12 recommendations in the 2022 Audit report.
www.sanjoseca.gov/PBCE
Oakland Long Beach
San Francisco Los Angeles (city)
San Diego Milpitas
Santa Clara (city)
4 Overview of City’s CEQA Process
www.sanjoseca.gov/PBCE
Is project covered by prior
CEQA? Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) or
Negative Declaration (ND).
Is project exempt from
CEQA? Addendum or Determination of Consistency
(DOC) to Adopted MND, ND, or EIR
Environmental Impact Report (EIR)
Exemption
Y
N
Y
Initial Study or Environmental
Impact Report Required
N
Development Application
Submitted
OR
5 CEQA Documents and Analysis Required
www.sanjoseca.gov/PBCE
Type of CEQA Clearance Analysis Required Average Total Review Time (months)
Exemption May need studies to determine
project is exempt
3 – 13.9
Addendum or Determination of
Consistency
May need studies to determine
project is covered by prior CEQA
3 – 12.7
Mitigated Negative
Declaration/Negative Declaration
Studies required 22.3
Environmental Impact Report Studies required, alternatives to project evaluated
29.6 Note: Total review time is from application to approval.
Environmental review is only a portion of total review time. 6 CEQA Review Times
www.sanjoseca.gov/PBCE
Source: 2022 Audit Report - Environmental Review for New Developments: Better Project Management and Reviewing Resources Can Improve the CEQA Process
City environmental review role about 15% – 25% of total project review time 7 City’s CEQA Review Process
Type of CEQA is based on factors such as:
www.sanjoseca.gov/PBCE
• Type of project • Project size
• Site conditions • Prior CEQA
• Setting • Listed hazardous waste site
• Historic resources • Potential impacts
In last fiscal year, 72.5% private developments were
exempt or consistent with prior CEQA.
Remaining 27.5% required higher level of CEQA (EIR,
MND, etc.). 8
Reasons Projects Don’t Qualify for an
Exemption
www.sanjoseca.gov/PBCE
Common Reasons Projects Don’t Qualify for an Exemption
Site is sensitive habitat Site is on State list of hazardous waste sites (Cortese List)
Project would impact a historic
resource
Site has unusual characteristics (i.e.
landslide area)
Project may result in cumulative
impacts
Project requires a rezoning or General
Plan Amendment
Project must meet exemption criteria in the CEQA Guidelines.
For Categorical Exemptions (majority of exemptions), project also must meet exceptions findings (CEQA Guidelines Section 15300.2)
9 Strategies to Increase Exemptions
• Flexible development standards in the zoning
code to reduce Planned Development zonings.
• Expanding areas of the City covered by a Program
Level EIR and/or updating the General Plan 2040
EIR.
• Expanding the residential ministerial approval
process.
• May require updates to the City’s Transportation
Analysis Policy (Council Policy 5-1) for areas outside
low vehicle miles traveled (VMT) areas.
www.sanjoseca.gov/PBCE
Program Level EIRs
Evaluates development consistent with a policy or plan for specific geographic area, allowing utilization of streamlined project-level CEQA analysis. Includes:
• Standard mitigation measures
• Use Community Plan Exemption or Addendum if no new or more significant impacts
Challenges for preparing Program Level EIRs:
• Large cost (approx. $300K to $500K)
• Staff resourcing needs (300 – 600 hours)
• Long timeline (2 – 4 years)
• Funding gaps
www.sanjoseca.gov/PBCE
11 Status of 2022 Audit Recommendations
The City Auditor’s Office published a report with 12 recommendations to improve the City’s environmental review process in March 2022.
Since 2022, 4 recommendations fully implemented and 5 partly implemented:
• Holding regular meetings with consultants to confirm scope and schedule. • Prepared standard operating procedures for CEQA review. • Developed performance metrics for environmental review. • Started tracking data to measure performance metrics in PBCE’s Customer Service Charter.
• Requiring applicants to use an environmental consultant from the City List of Approved Environmental Consultants.
www.sanjoseca.gov/PBCE
12 Response to Mayor’s 2024 March Budget Message:
Downtown Strategy 2040 EIR Overview
www.sanjoseca.gov/PBCE
Capacity Entitled/Built
Office 22 Million sq. ft. 16.9 Million sq. ft.
Residential 21,400 Units 10,400 Units
Retail 1.4 Million sq. ft. 0.5 Million sq. ft.
Hotel Rooms 3,600 Rooms 1,000 Rooms
Downtown development covered by Downtown Strategy 2040 EIR and 2021 Addendum for Diridon Station Area Plan Amendment
13 Streamlining Benefits of Downtown
Strategy 2040 EIR
The following analysis is not required for
Downtown projects:
• Transportation (vehicle-miles traveled)
• Greenhouse gas emissions
• Traffic related air quality
• Traffic noise
Projects with no new significant impacts or
substantial contribution to existing impact in the
Downtown Strategy 2040 EIR qualify for an
Addendum (no public circulation).
www.sanjoseca.gov/PBCE
14 Challenges for Downtown Projects
• Maximum density Downtown at least 2.5 times
more than elsewhere in the City (i.e., 800
DU/acre) = larger buildings with greater
impacts.
• Downtown projects often require intense
construction next to existing structures,
including residences.
• Downtown has the most historic resources
(~25% of Downtown)
Almost all EIRs in Downtown are triggered by
impacts to historic resources (15 out of 16 EIRs
since 2018).
www.sanjoseca.gov/PBCE
Downtown Historic Resources 15
Analysis Required for Downtown Projects
Downtown projects require project-specific analysis to evaluate:
• Conformance with measures in the Downtown Strategy 2040 EIR • Impacts based on project details such as length construction and proximity to residents/schools. www.sanjoseca.gov/PBCE
Most projects require the following analysis:
• Construction air quality • Construction vibration
• Hazardous materials report
(Env Site Assessment)
• Historic report (if existing
structure over 45 years old)
• Construction and operational
noise
• Archeological report
Some projects also require the following:
• Shade and shadow study • Biology report Construction air quality monitoring for Almaden Office Project. 16
Downtown CEQA Streamlining Strategies
www.sanjoseca.gov/PBCE
Strategy 1: Enhanced Environmental
Review Guidelines for Downtown
Strategy 2: Downtown Historic Survey and
Guidelines
Scope Builds on Environmental Guidelines
with additional analysis for Downtown
thresholds
Historic survey, update Downtown Design
Guidelines and historic district guidelines
Streamlining Benefits Consistent approach, standard
templates, and standard
condition/mitigation language to
reduce consultant/staff review time
Historic survey will inform developers of project
sites that contain historic resources, updated
guidelines to more objective standards reduces
ambiguity and rounds of review
Support for Ministerial
Process
Supports ministerial ordinance for
projects on sites without historic
resources or sites next to historic
resources/districts (about 40% of
Downtown parcels)
Support ministerial ordinance for sites adjacent
to historic resources/districts that meet new
objective standards (about 75% of Downtown
parcels)
Estimated Consultant Cost $240,000 to $280,000 $525,000 to $640,000 Estimated City Staff Time 80 – 120 hours 300 – 500 hours Estimated Timeline 9 – 14 months 24 – 30 months 17
CEQA Process Improvement Workplan
www.sanjoseca.gov/PBCE
Process Improvement Description Proposed Timeline
Updated approved
consultant list published
Applicants must use a consultant on this list for CEQA/NEPA work.
February 2025
Environmental Review
Guidelines and Thresholds of
Significance
Guidelines for CEQA and NEPA documents, including standard mitigation measures, conditions of approval and thresholds of significance.
June 2025
Standard templates for CEQA
and NEPA documents
Standard templates for CEQA and NEPA documents with
consistent formatting and standard sections.
June 2025
Five Wounds Urban Village
Plan EIR
Program Level EIR for the Five Wounds Urban Village. Will allow future development projects to utilize CEQA streamlining.
FY 25 - 26
Combined Environmental
and Entitlement Project
Manager
To improve coordination and efficiency of reviews, expand the types of projects where the entitlement and environmental review are handled by the same Project Manager.
December 2025
Saratoga Urban Village Plan
EIR
Program Level EIR for the Saratoga Urban Village. Will allow future development projects to utilize CEQA streamlining.
TBD (Likely FY 26 – 27)
18 California Environmental Quality
Act (CEQA) Streamlining
Community & Economic Development Committee
February 24, 2025
Item (d)4.
Presenters:
Chris Burton, Director, Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement David Keyon, Principal Planner, Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement