Reso23-02 0009 PC Reso Adopt CEQA

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Findings and Statements Required by the California Environmental Quality Act Focused General Plan Update 11 Final Environmental Impact Report January 2023 construction based on seismic constraints and expected ground-shaking throughout California. Part Two of Title 24 of the SBC includes specific performance standards for safety in regard to soil disturbance and geologic events. During the City’s mandatory development review process, proposed private projects would be evaluated against the seismic design standards of the SBC and General Plan Policies PS‐6.1 and PS-6.3, which address identifying and reducing the risk of geologic and seismic events. Implementation of Public Safety Element policies and the State Building Code would ensure that potential impacts related to seismically induced constraints on future development within the Planning Area would be reduced to less than significant. (Draft EIR, pp. 4.7-15 to 4.7-16) Impact GEO-4: The proposed Project would not be located on expansive soil, as defined in Table 18-1-B of the Uniform Building Code (1994), creating substantial direct or indirect risks to life or property. The Planning Area contains a number of soil types including those characterized as deep clays and silty clays. In areas where soils have a high clay content, the potential exists for expansion when the soil becomes saturated with water. This type of soil constraint could affect structures and their occupants of future development facilitated by Project. However, implementation of General Plan goals and policies and the State Building Code would ensure that potential impacts related to soil constraints, including expansive soils, would be less than significant. (Draft EIR, pp. 4.7-16 to 4.7-17) Impact GEO-5: The proposed Project would not have soils incapable of adequately supporting the use of septic tanks or alternative wastewater disposal systems where sewers are not available for the disposal of wastewater. The entire Planning Area is served by the sewage system infrastructure; there are no septic systems in the Planning Area. The Planning Area is largely urbanized, and the potential housing sites are located where sewage infrastructure is already available. Therefore, potential impacts related to soil constraints of future development facilitated by Project would be less than significant due to the Planning Area being fully serviced by the existing sewage infrastructure. (Draft EIR, p. 4.7-17) Impact GEO-6: The proposed Project not directly or indirectly destroy a unique paleontological resource or site or unique geological feature. The Planning Area is not known to have paleontological resources but could potentially have resources that date back hundreds of thousands of years. However, the Planning Area may contain isolated geologic features in some of the steeper, less accessible areas. The City’s Cultural Resources Management Plan requires development proposals to obtain a records search at the Northwest Information Center of the California Archaeological Inventory; interview of persons knowledgeable about the history of the site, as approved by City staff and within a time period designated by staff; and a review of maps archived at the local history room of the Main Library. As a standard condition of approval on all ground disturbing activities in the City’s jurisdiction, the City Community Development and Transportation Department requires work stoppage in the event paleontological resources are identified.