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01/24/2011 Exhibit B 4. The Proposed Project a) Findings. The Project that is the subject of these Findings is a modified version of the project described in the EIR, reflecting the changes described as Alternatives 4 and 5 in the EIR. The City declines to adopt the proposed Downtown Precise Plan described as the project in the EIR because, as explained below, the City finds that the Downtown Precise Plan as modified by Alternatives 4 and 5 would better achieve the City's goals and objectives for its downtown precise plan and would not increase the number or severity of the significant effects of the Downtown Precise Plan described as the project in the EIR. b) Explanation. The Downtown Precise Plan as modified by Alternatives 4 and 5 differs from the proposed Downtown Precise Plan described as the project in the EIR in two ways. First, Alternative 4, the Revised Maximum Allowable Development (M.A.D.) Caps Alternative, would modify the development caps on the various use categories that would be permitted under the proposed Downtown Precise Plan. Specifically, this alternative would raise the cap on new office development in the downtown area, from the 275,000 square feet under the proposed DPP to 500,000 square feet under this alternative, and lower the cap on new retail development in the area, from 221,000 square feet under the proposed DPP to 100,000 square feet under this alternative. (Draft EIR, Table 19.1 (p. 19 -14)) Second, Alternative 5 would supplement the historic resource regulations in the proposed Downtown Precise Plan to provide additional protections for the downtown area's historic resources. (Draft EIR at pp. 19 -4 to 19 -5 and Final EIR at pp. 19 -4 to 19 -5A) These supplementary regulations are intended to better ensure that new development under the proposed DPP would comply with the federal Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Historic Resource Preservation. (Draft EIR at p. 19 -4) All other regulations proposed under Alternatives 4 and 5 are the same under the project described in the EIR. The modified Downtown Precise Plan would not increase the number or severity of any of the significant effects of the proposed DPP, and in fact, would be expected to reduce the severity of certain effects. The modifications pursuant to Alternative 4 would lower the cap on new retail development, and increase the cap on new office development, that would be permitted in the downtown area. As explained in Section 19 of the Draft EIR (pp. 19 -14 to 19 -17 and 19 -24 to 29 -26), these differences are expected to result in similar levels of environmental effects in all categories of impacts evaluated in the EIR. Of the three categories of significant environmental effects identified in the EIR, historic resources, transportation and climate change, the modified Downtown Precise Plan is not expected to result in any change in two of those potential impacts, historic resources and climate change. (Draft EIR, pp. 19 -16 to 19 -17 (Table 19.3) and pp. 19 -24 to 19 -26) With respect to the third category, transportation impacts, the reduction in retail uses and the increase in office uses is expected to modify traffic patterns in a manner that produces substantially fewer vehicle trips per day, thereby reducing overall traffic in the downtown area and the City. (Draft EIR at 19 -15 (Table 19.2)) Although the increased office uses and reduced retail uses would be expected to slightly increase the number of vehicle trips U: \Resolutions\2011\Reso 15086 Exhibit B.doc 56 012011 Reso. # 15086 Muff #601