AgdaPkt 2011-08-22 - Laserfiche WebLink

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manatt $�A. - Page 119 manatt � phelps � phillips Honorable Mayor and Members of tne City Council August 15, 2011 Page 8 Notwithstar�ding that tl�e project applicatian was wi�drawn, in an abundance of cautian we reviewed the project descrip#ion included in thc ETR to determine if it was adequate when comipared to the ariginal (now withdtawn) project agplication. Based oi1 that review, we note that the E1R fails Ca accurately caunt the num4�er of trees on the site and the nurnber of trees the project proposes to eliminate. Limitation of trees counted for remo�al to anly those meeting the City's defini�ion of a"mature tr�e" (38" in circumference or 12" in diameter} fails to account for the virtuai denuding of the hillside for raad and house construction. In addition, the EIR's praject description fails to correctly identify signifieanfi rock outcroppings on the proposed building sites. Lil�ewise, the underlying serpentine soils are noted bu# not sufficien�iy analyzed and ev�dence of �andslides and instability af the steep�y s�oped terrain are not adequately addressed. (See also August 1�, 2Q11 Report �ay Matt Hagemann, attached hereto as Exhibit A.) (b) The "Proiect" Wiil Have Significant En�ironmental Im�pacts Not Properly Identified, Analvzed. or Mit3��ted in the ETR Tha primary purpose of an EIR is to identify a project's significant environ�ner�tal effects. (Pub. Resources Code, § 21002.1{�) ["The purpose of an envirorunental irnpact report is to identify the significant effects on t�e environment of a project, to identify alternatives to the project, and to irzdicate the �anner in vvhich those significax�t effects can be rriitigated or avoided."].) To further this basic purpose, CEQA reqt�ires that a l�ad agency (in this case, Redvvood City) a.nalyze a project's potential chan�es to the baseline enviran�nental conditions, through the use of adop#ed signi�icance threshalds, and determine�the ehanges proposed by a project exceed those t�resho�ds. (CEQA Guidelines, §� 5054.7(a) ["...A threshold of si�nificance is an identifiable, . quantitative, qualitative, or performance level of a particular enviranmental ef�ect, nanW '� campliance with which rneans the effect wi11 normally be detertnined to be significai�t by the agency..."].} Impacts that exceed baseline thresholds axe identified as potentiaily significant adverse irnpacts requiring the development of mitigation measu�es or tlze adoption ofproject alternatives to minimize ar a�oid such adverse impacts. (CEQA Guic�elines, § 15I26.4.} In addition, cumula�ive impacts must also be identified and assesseci. {CEQA Guidelines, § 15130.} This is donc by considering the project's incre�nental impacts together r�vith thase of other projects to determine if the coznbined impacts are cumulatively considerable. The degree of detailed anaIysis necessary in an EIR is summarized in the CEQA Guidelines as follows: "An ETR shoulc3 be prepared with a suff'icicnt degree of analysis ta pravi�e heaxin�.