Chapter 14.03.023
Environmental Documents, Negative Declarations
Sections:
14.03.023.010 Negative Declaration and Mitigated Negative Declaration.
14.03.023.020 Public Notice and Review.
14.03.023.030 Circulation to Responsible Agencies.
14.03.023.040 Authority to Adopt a Negative Declaration.
14.03.023.050 Findings Necessary to Adopt a Negative Declaration.
14.03.023.070 Notice of Determination.
14.03.023.010 Negative Declaration and Mitigated Negative Declaration.
A negative declaration is a written statement prepared by the lead agency briefly describing the reasons that a proposed project, which is not exempt from CEQA, will not have a significant effect on the environment and, therefore, does not require the preparation of an EIR.
A mitigated negative declaration is prepared when a project may have significant effects on the environment, but mitigation measures have been incorporated into the project or the project has been modified to the point prior to the public release of the proposed negative declaration, whereby the lead agency can make the finding that the project would not have a significant effect on the environment. References hereafter to a negative declaration shall also apply to a mitigated negative declaration.
A. A negative declaration circulated for public review shall consist of a packet of information, including the following:
1. A description of the project, project name, and project location; project location may be given by street address, assessor’s parcel number, shown on a map, or any other method which adequately identifies where the project is located;
2. The name of the project proponent;
3. A finding that the project will not have a significant effect upon the environment;
4. A copy of the initial study shall be attached to the negative declaration; and
5. A description of proposed mitigation measures, if any.
14.03.023.020 Public Notice and Review.
A public notice and a public review period shall be provided when a draft negative declaration is scheduled for adoption.
A. The public notice shall include the information listed above under subsections (1) and (2) of Section 14.03.023.010(A), as well as the following:
1. The period during which comments will be received on the draft negative declaration;
2. The location where copies of the draft negative declaration and all documents referenced in the draft are available for review;
3. The date, time, and location of any public hearing on the proposed project;
4. If a public hearing is held on a project, the hearing shall include consideration of the negative declaration.
B. Public notice of the intent by the decision-maker to adopt a negative declaration shall be given at least 20 days before the project is to be considered, Notice shall be given to the owner and occupants of the subject property, and shall also be provided as follows:
1. Filed with the office of the County Clerk;
2. Posted in a prominent location in City Hall; and
3. Given by at least one of the following methods:
a. Published once in a newspaper of general circulation in the City; or
b. Posted on and off-site in the general project area; or
c. Mailed to the current owners and occupants of contiguous properties as shown on the latest equalized assessment roll.
14.03.023.030 Circulation to Responsible Agencies.
Copies of the draft negative declaration packet, together with a public notice, shall be distributed to all responsible agencies which have discretionary approval authority over a project or part of a project, and to trustee and other public agencies with jurisdiction over resources affected by the project. When a State agency will be a responsible or trustee agency, the negative declaration shall be submitted to the State Clearinghouse for review, and the comment period shall be no less than 30 days. The City, acting as lead agency, shall be under no obligation to respond to comments received after the comment period has closed or to delay acting upon the negative declaration.
14.03.023.040 Authority to Adopt a Negative Declaration.
The decision-maker on the project shall have the authority to adopt the negative declaration as follows:
A. The Director is authorized to adopt a negative declaration for a project for which the Director is the decision-maker.
B. The Planning Commission is authorized to adopt a negative declaration for a project for which the Commission is the decision-maker; if the Planning Commission is authorized to make a recommendation on a project, then the Commission shall also make a recommendation on the negative declaration, which shall be forwarded onto the City Council for final action.
C. The City Council is authorized to adopt a negative declaration for a project for which the Council is the decision-maker.
14.03.023.050 Findings Necessary to Adopt a Negative Declaration.
Prior to adopting a negative declaration, the City shall consider the proposed negative declaration together with any comments received during the public review process.
A. A negative declaration shall be adopted subject to the finding that based upon the initial study and comments received, there is no substantial evidence that the project will have a significant effect on the environment. In addition, the decision-maker shall make the following findings:
1. The project does not have the potential to substantially degrade the quality of the environment, substantially reduce the habitat of a fish or wildlife species, cause a fish or wildlife population to drop below self-sustaining levels, threaten to eliminate a plant or animal community, reduce the number or restrict the range of a rare or endangered plant or animal, or eliminate important examples of major periods of California history or prehistory;
2. The project does not have the potential to achieve short-term environmental goals to the disadvantage of long-term goals;
3. The project does not have environmental effects which are individually limited but are cumulatively considerable;
4. The project will not have environmental effects which will cause substantial adverse effects on human beings, either directly or indirectly;
5. The negative declaration reflects the independent judgment of the City of Vacaville, acting as lead agency for the project.
B. If a mitigated negative declaration is adopted, a reporting or monitoring program shall also be adopted, in accordance with the provisions of Section 14.03.026.020 of this division, which outlines, at a minimum, the mitigation measures, the timing of the action required to mitigate an impact, the party responsible for implementing and for monitoring the measure, and the standards for measuring compliance with the mitigation measure.
14.03.023.060 Time Limits.
A negative declaration for private projects shall be completed and ready for consideration by the decision-maker within 105 days from the date on which an application is determined to be complete. Exceptions to the time limit may apply to projects delayed by the applicant’s failure to provide requested information or if the project is subject to federal environmental review. To avoid the need for two public hearings and provided that the negative declaration is completed, approval of the negative declaration may occur at a later time when the project itself is approved.
14.03.023.070 Notice of Determination.
A notice of determination shall be filed with the office of the County Clerk within five working days of project approval. If the project requires a discretionary approval from any State agency, the notice shall also be filed with the State Clearinghouse.
A. The notice shall include the following information:
1. Project name and a brief description of the project;
2. The date on which the project was approved;
3. The determination by the decision-maker that the project will not have a significant effect on the environment;
4. A statement that the negative declaration has been prepared pursuant to the provisions of CEQA;
5. The address where a copy of the negative declaration may be examined.
B. If the project is exempt from paying the State Fish and Game fees, the notice shall also include as an attachment, a certificate of fee exemption stating that the proposed project will not have a significant impact on fish and wildlife resources and therefore is exempt from State Fish and Game environmental review filing fees. The certificate shall include the name and address of the project proponent, the project title, a brief description of the project, and the project location, including the county.
In addition, the certificate of fee exemption shall include the following findings:
1. That an initial study has been prepared to evaluate the potential for adverse environmental impact; and
2. That there is no evidence before the City that the proposed project involves the potential for any adverse effect, either individually or cumulatively, on wildlife resources; and
3. That the decision-maker has, on the basis of substantial evidence, rebutted the presumption of adverse effect; and
4. Any other findings made to support the determination of no significant adverse impacts.