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7A Page 4 There are, however, two requirements City Council must follow when placing such an initiative on the ballot. First, the initiative must be approved by City Council at least 88 days before the election. For example, if the Charter initiative is placed on the November 4,2008 election ballot, City Council would have to approve any competing initiative no later then August 8,2008. Second, any initiative proposed by City Council must comply with the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA"). If a city council's initiative is a "project" under CEQA, a city must undertake an analysis of how the initiative may affect the environment, a process that can take many months to complete. However, where the City can determine that there is no possibility that the project may have a significant effect on the environment, the City is not required to undertake a CEQA study. CEQA review is also not required for organizational or administrative activity of a governmental agency that does not result in direct or indirect physical changes to the environment. Although determining whether CEQA applies would depend on the scope of any proposed initiative, an initiative that simply requires future voter approval of certain land use decisions but does not change any of those designations is not a "project" under CEQA and therefore would not require CEQA analysis. SECTION II: The Scope of Covered Actions Under the Initiative 4. What are legislative acts versus administrative acts? Response: This question is relevant because the initiative requires two-thirds voter approval of legislative acts that would change the use of lands covered by the initiative but arguably does not require the same voter approval for administrative or adjudicatory acts that would change the uses of those same lands. (A discussion of whether the initiative applies to administrative acts is found in response to question 6, below). Generally, legislative acts are decisions by City Council setting land use standards and policies for the City while administrative acts 1 are decisions by City administrative personnel, such as the Zoning Administrator, that involve application of the standards established in the general plan or zoning ordinance to specific parcels of land. Legislative acts, which would require voter approval, include any approvals of or changes to (1) general plans, (2) zoning ordinances, (3) zoning maps, (4) specific or precise plans, (5) road abandonment, or (6) development agreements. Administrative acts in the context of land-use planning include any approvals of or changes to (1) conditional use 1 In the context of land use planning, administrative acts are often referred to as "adjudicatory acts" because the decisions require the administrator to act like a judge or court, by making findings that a decision complies with statutory requirements or to resolve factual disputes. (Arnel Development Co. v. City of Costa Mesa (1980) 28 Cal.3d 511, 519 n. 8.) For ease of reference, we refer to such acts simply as "administrative acts." 4