RESOLUTION NO. RES-2025-090
RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ROSA CERTIFYING THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT (EIR) FOR THE GENERAL PLAN 2050 AND ADOPTING THE CEQA FINDINGS OF FACT, THE STATEMENT OF OVERRIDING CONSIDERATIONS, AND THE MITIGATION MONITORING AND REPORTING PROGRAM - FILE NUMBER PLN25-0093 WHEREAS, the City of Santa Rosa determined that an environmental impact report (EIR) should be prepared for the General Plan 2050 project pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Public Resources Code sections 21000 et seq.; and WHEREAS, on February 7, 2023, a Notice of Preparation (NOP) was posted for a period of thirty days, for preparation of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on the General Plan 2050 and to request comments and guidance on the scope and content of the EIR from interested public agencies, organizations, and individuals; and WHEREAS, on February 27, 2023, during this 30-day review period, the City conducted a public scoping meeting to offer interested individuals, organizations, and governmental agencies an opportunity to provide input regarding potential environmental effects of the Project EIR; and WHEREAS, six (6) written comments were received on the NOP, copies of which are set forth in Appendix A of the Draft EIR, and based on comments received on the scope and content of the EIR, the environmental analysis was conducted; and WHEREAS, the City prepared a Draft EIR (DEIR) for the General Plan 2050 project and distributed it to the State Clearinghouse (SCH#2023020166) for review by State and responsible agencies; and WHEREAS, in accordance with CEQA Guidelines, Section 15087, the City prepared and issued a Notice of Availability (NOA) of the DEIR for the General Plan 2050 and circulated the DEIR for a 45-day public review and comment period beginning on October 7, 2024, and ending on November 20, 2024, during which time, agencies and the public submitted comments on the adequacy of the Draft EIR; and WHEREAS, on November 14, 2024, during the 45-day agency and public review period, the Planning Commission conducted a duly noticed public hearing, at which time all persons were invited to speak or submit written comments on the adequacy of the Draft EIR; and WHEREAS, eleven (11) written comments were received, and two (2) oral comments were received, in addition to those oral comments made by members of the Planning Commission; and WHEREAS, written responses were provided in response to all written and oral comments on the Draft EIR, and those Responses to Comments, dated April 2025, contain all comments and recommendations received on the Draft EIR, a list of persons, organizations and public agencies submitting comments on the Draft EIR, responses by the City to comments received, and revisions to the Draft EIR; and WHEREAS, revisions to the Draft EIR do not constitute significant new information as defined in CEQA Guidelines Section 15088.5 and therefore, the Draft EIR does not need to be recirculated; and WHEREAS, a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP) was prepared to ensure that mitigation measures identified to reduce significant impacts to less than significant levels, as feasible, are implemented; and WHEREAS, the Draft EIR, Responses to Comments, Revisions to the Draft EIR, and the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP), together comprise the Final EIR; and WHEREAS, the Final EIR was made available to the public and agencies on April 13, 2025, prior to the April 24, 2025, Planning Commission public hearing on the General Plan 2050 Final EIR, WHEREAS, the Final EIR was submitted to the State Clearinghouse and posted on the State Clearinghouse’s CEQAnet on April 14, 2025; and WHEREAS, having the Final EIR available for members of the public and agencies prior to the Planning Commission meeting provided an opportunity for review prior to Council consideration of the Final EIR and Project; and WHEREAS, the Final EIR analyzes the potentially significant environmental effects of the project and identifies a program for avoiding or mitigating those effects where feasible, and identifies significant unavoidable impacts where General Plan 2050 mitigating policies and actions are not available to reduce impacts to less than significant levels, as set forth in Exhibit A (CEQA Findings of Fact) and Exhibit C (Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program) attached hereto; and WHEREAS, the City is required by CEQA Guidelines Section 15091 and Public Resources Code section 21081.6 (a) to adopt all feasible mitigation measures or feasible project alternatives that can substantially lessen or avoid any significant project related environmental effects, and as demonstrated by the CEQA Findings of Fact attached as Exhibit A to this Resolution, the EIR identified the following significant environmental impacts attributable to the General Plan 2050 that could not be mitigated to a level of less than significant:
Impact AG-1: Implementation of the proposed project could result in the conversion of Prime Farmland, Farmland of Statewide Importance, and Unique Farmland land (together referred to as “CEQA Important Farmland”) to non-agricultural land uses.
Impact AG-2: Implementation of the proposed project could result in the loss of agricultural land under the Williamson Act.
Impact AG-4: The proposed project, in combination with past, present, and reasonably foreseeable projects, could result in a significant cumulative impact with respect to the conversion of CEQA Important Farmland (Prime Farmland, Farmland of Statewide Importance, and Unique Farmland) and Williamson Act properties to non-agricultural uses.
Impact AIR-2b: Buildout of the proposed project could generate operational emissions that could exceed the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s (BAAQMD) regional significance thresholds for reactive organic compounds (ROG), nitrogen oxides (NOX) and particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10).
Impact AIR-3b: Large industrial or warehouse development projects under the proposed project could expose air quality-sensitive receptors to substantial toxic air contaminants (TAC) and particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations and exceed the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s (BAAQMD) project-level and cumulative significance thresholds.
Impact AIR-5: The proposed project, in combination with past, present, and reasonably foreseeable projects, could result in cumulative air quality impacts with respect to generation of criteria pollutant and exposure of substantial pollutant concentrations to sensitive receptors.
Impact NOI-1a: Construction activities associated with potential future development could expose sensitive receptors to excessive noise from construction equipment.
Impact NOI-1b: Operational vehicle traffic noise increases could exceed the City’s significance thresholds with implementation of the proposed project.
Impact NOI-4: Implementation of the proposed project, in combination with past, present, and reasonably foreseeable projects, could result in cumulative noise impacts, with respect to generation of construction-and transportation related noise.
Impact TRAN-2a: Implementation of the proposed project could result in a significant vehicle miles traveled (VMT) impact for residential VMT per capita.
Impact TRAN-2b: Implementation of the proposed project could result in a significant roadway network vehicle miles traveled (VMT) impact associated with increasing the capacity of the arterial street network.
Impact TRAN-5: The proposed project, in combination with past, present, and reasonably foreseeable projects, could result in significant cumulative impact with respect to vehicle miles traveled (VMT).
Impact WF-2: Potential future development over the buildout horizon of the proposed project could increase population, buildings, and infrastructure in wildfire-prone areas, thereby exacerbating wildfire risks.
Impact WF-5: Potential development over the buildout horizon of the proposed project could, in combination with other surrounding and future projects in the State Responsibility Areas (SRA), Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones (FHSZ), or Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Areas (WUIFA), result in cumulative impacts associated with the exposure of project occupants to pollutant concentrations from a wildfire or uncontrolled spread of a wildfire due to slope, prevailing winds, or other factors; and WHEREAS, the City is required by Public Resources Code section 21081.6 (a) to adopt a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP) to ensure that the mitigation measures adopted for the Project are carried out, and the City has prepared such MMRP, attached as Exhibit C to this Resolution; and WHEREAS, for reasons set forth in the CEQA Findings of Fact attached hereto as Exhibit A, the City has determined that the alternatives as described in the EIR are infeasible; and WHEREAS, CEQA Guidelines section 15091 prohibits a public agency from approving or carrying out a project for which an EIR has been completed which identifies one or more significant effects, unless the public agency determines the impacts are acceptable due to overriding considerations, as described in Guidelines section 15093; and WHEREAS, on April 24, 2025, the Planning Commission conducted a duly noticed public hearing, at which time all persons were invited to speak or submit written comments on the Final EIR; and WHEREAS, during the April 24, 2025, meeting, the Planning Commission considered the contents of the Final EIR, the CEQA Findings of Fact, the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP), and the Statement of Overriding Considerations for the proposed General Plan 2050, in accordance with the requirements of CEQA and the Santa Rosa City Code; and WHEREAS, on April 24, 2025, the Planning Commission found that the Final EIR for the General Plan 2050, comprised of the Draft EIR, the Responses to Comments, Revisions to the Draft EIR, and the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program, adequately identifies and analyzes the environmental effects of the General Plan 2050, and further found that the Final EIR reflects the City’s independent judgement and analysis and was completed in compliance with the requirements of CEQA and the State CEQA Guidelines; and WHEREAS, on April 24, 2025, the Planning Commission unanimously adopted a resolution recommending that the Council certify the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the General Plan 2050, and adopt the CEQA Findings of Fact (Exhibit A), Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (Exhibit C), and Statement of Overriding Considerations (Exhibit B); and WHEREAS, the Council has considered the City’s Statement of Overriding Considerations, attached hereto as Exhibit B, prepared pursuant to Public Resources Code section 21081, subdivision (b) and CEQA Guidelines section 15093, which weighs the economic, legal, social, technological, and other benefits of the Project against the significant unavoidable impacts of the Project identified in the EIR, namely, supporting a diversity of businesses and employment opportunities, providing a range of housing types and opportunities within neighborhoods that are increasingly walkable and bikeable, and protecting environmental resources, outweigh the risks and adverse environmental impacts of the Project; and WHEREAS, none of the comments made during the public review period, none of the oral or written testimony on the project, none of the other information presented to the City, and none of the revisions to the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program related to the project and the EIR have included significant new information requiring recirculation of some or all of the EIR pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15088.5; and WHEREAS, CEQA and the State Guidelines thereto, Section 15091, prohibit a public agency from approving or carrying out a project for which an environmental impact report has been completed which identifies one or more significant effects, unless the public agency makes one or more of the following written findings for each of those significant effects accompanied by statements of the facts supporting each finding, which findings have been made in the can CEQA Findings of Fact attached as Exhibit A to this Resolution:
Specific economic, social, or other considerations make infeasible the mitigation measures or project alternatives identified in the certified EIR; or Changes or alterations have been required in, or incorporated into the project, which mitigate or avoid the significant environmental effects thereof as identified in the Final EIR; or Such changes or alterations are within the responsibility and jurisdiction of another public agency and not the City. Such changes have been adopted by such other agency or can and should be adopted by such other agency.
WHEREAS, the Council finds, after consideration of the Final EIR and evidence in the record, that each of the specific overriding economic, legal, social, technological benefits of the Project, independently and collectively outweighs the significant unavoidable impacts and is an overriding consideration warranting approval of the Project, as described in the Statement of Overriding Considerations attached as Exhibit B to this Resolution.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Santa Rosa finds and determines that the Final Environmental Impact Report for the General Plan 2050, comprised of the Draft EIR, the Response to Comments, Revisions to the Draft EIR, and the Mitigation Monitoring and the Reporting Program (MMRP), adequately identifies and analyzes the environmental effects of the General Plan 2050, Errata, and Specific Plan amendments, and further finds that the Final EIR reflects the City’s independent judgement and analysis and was completed in compliance with the requirements of CEQA and the State CEQA Guidelines.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council of the City of Santa Rosa makes the following findings:
Each member of the Council has independently reviewed and considered the information contained within the Final EIR, including the Draft EIR, the Responses to Comments, Revisions to the Draft EIR and the MMRP, and finds the material represents the independent judgement and analysis of the City, as the lead agency.
An adequate opportunity for public participation, including review and comment on the Draft EIR, has been provided in accordance with the requirements of CEQA.
The Responses to Comments contained in the Final EIR represent a reasoned, good faith evaluation of each comment and respond to all significant environmental issues raised in the comments.
The Final EIR was prepared in compliance with the requirements of CEQA, the State CEQA Guidelines, and the Santa Rosa City Code. The Responses to Comments in the Final EIR do not provide any significant new information which would require recirculation of the Draft EIR.
The MMRP, attached as Exhibit C to this Resolution and incorporated herein by reference, accurately reflects all the mitigation measures recommended for the Project in the Final EIR.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council adopts the Findings of Fact set forth in Exhibit A of this Resolution, which findings are incorporated by this reference, with regard to the potentially significant environmental impacts identified in the Final EIR.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council adopts the Statement of Overriding Considerations set forth in Exhibit B, which is hereby made part of this Resolution.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council adopts the MMRP dated April 2025, as set forth in Exhibit C, which is hereby made part of this Resolution. / / /
/ / /
/ / /
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council has considered the information contained in the Final EIR and based on the above findings and determinations, hereby certifies the Final EIR.
IN COUNCIL DULY PASSED this 3rd day of June, 2025.
AYES: (6) Mayor Stapp, Vice Mayor Alvarez, Council Members Bañuelos, Fleming, MacDonald, Rogers NOES: (0)
ABSENT: (1) Council Member Okrepkie
ABSTAIN: (0)
RECUSE: (0)
ATTEST: _________________________ APPROVED: ______________________________ Deputy City Clerk Mayor
APPROVED AS TO FORM: ________________________
City Attorney
Exhibit A – CEQA Findings of Fact
Exhibit B – Statement of Overriding Considerations
Exhibit C – Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (April 2025) Reso. No. RES-2025-090
Resolution 1 - EIR.docx