HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Reso 2013-34 - Costco EIR Approval 1
2 RESOLUTION NO. 2013-34
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4 RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF UKIAH MAKING FINDINGS
5 PURSUANT TO CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
6 ACT ("CEQA") GUIDELINES SECTION 15090 IN CONNECTION
7 WITH THE CERTIFICATION OF THE COSTCO WHOLESALE
8 PROJECT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT
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12 WHEREAS: ;
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1a 1. The City of Ukiah ("City") as Lead Agency has conducted an environmental review for
15 the proposed Costco Who!esale Project that included the Environmental Impact Report
16 (EIR) scoping period, the Draft EIR, public review of the Draft EIR, and the Final EIR; i
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19 2. The Final EIR consists of the Draft EIR, as revised, plus the Final EIR, plus the responses ,
2o to late comments received on the Final EIR included in the Addition to the Final EIR. The I
21 Final EIR includes all written comments received regarding the Draft EIR, all responses I
22 to comments, and the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP).
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24 3. The implementation of the EIR scoping and review process is described in Section 1.2 of
25 the Final EIR (pp. 1-2 and 1-3). The following is a summary of the City's environmental I,
z6 review for this project.
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2s A. The City issued a Notice of Preparation (NOP) for a 30-day comment period between
z9 November 6 and December 6, 2011. The NOP was distributed to governmental
3o agencies, organizations, and persons interested in the proposed project. The City
31 sent the NOP to agencies with statutory responsibilities in connection with the
32 proposed project with the request for their input on the scope and content of the
33 environmental information that should be addressed in the EIR. The City Planning
34 and Community Development Department held a Scoping Meeting on November 21,
35 2011 to take comments regarding the scope of the EIR in response to the NOP. The
36 environmental issues raised during the scoping process were considered in the Draft
37 EIR.
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39 B. The Draft EIR was released on January 30, 2013. The Notice of Availability was
4o published in the Ukiah Daily ]ournal on January 27, 2013. The Notice of Completion
41 was delivered to the State Clearinghouse on January 30, 2013 (State Clearinghouse
42 # 2011112025). The review period dosed on March 15, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. The
43 Planning Commission of the City of Ukiah held a public hearing to receive comment
a4 on the Draft EIR on February 27, 2013. Seventy-three (73) written comment letters
45 were received during the review period, in addition to comments made at the
46 Planning Commission hearing on February 27`h. These comments are included in
a7 their entirety in Chapter 2 of the Final EIR.
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49 C. The Final EIR was released on November 1, 2013, 21 days prior to the Planning i
5o Commission public hearing regarding EIR certification and project consideration. �
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z D. On November 21, 2013, the Planning Commission conducted a public hearing on the
3 certification of the EIR and voted (3-1) to recommend the City Council certify the
4 EIR.
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6 E. On December 4, 2013, the City Council conducted a public hearing on the
� certification of the EIR, received public comment on the EIR, closed the public
8 hearing on the EIR, and continued its consideration of the EIR to the December 18,
9 2013 meeting.
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11 F. On December 18, 2013, the City Council completed its consideration of the EIR.
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13 4. The custodian of the Project record is the City of Ukiah Planning and Community
1a Development Department. The documents and other materials, which constitute the
15 record of proceedings for the City's certification of the EIR and potential approval of the
16 Project, including, but not limited to the items described in Public Resources Code
1� Section 21167.6(e), are located at the Planning and Community Development
18 Department, 300 Seminary Ave., Ukiah, CA 95482, and are available for review during
19 normal City business hours.
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21 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Ukiah fnds as
22 follows:
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24 1. Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15090 (Title 14 of the California Code of
25 Regulations, Section 15090) the City Council certifies that the Final EIR has been
z6 completed in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") and the
27 State CEQA Guidelines. The City Council makes the following fndings:
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29 A. The Final EIR has been completed in compliance with CEQA.
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31 B. The City retained ESA of San Francisco, California, to prepare the Draft and Final
32 EIR documents for the proposed Project. The EIR was prepared under the
33 supervision and direction of the City Planning and Community Development
3n Department stafF and presented to the City Council and Planning Commission.
35 The EIR was presented to the Planning Commission on November 21, 2013 for
36 review and consideration of the information contained in the Final EIR. The
37 Planning Commission recommended certification of the EIR. The EIR was
38 presented to the City Council on December 4, and December 18, 2013 for review
39 and consideration of the information contained in the Final EIR. The City
a0 Council has reviewed and considered the information contained in the Final EIR.
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az C. The Final EIR reflects the City's independent judgment exercised in accordance
43 with CEQA Section 21082.1 (c) by reviewing, analyzing and revising material
44 prepared by the consultant; circulating the Draft EIR as a City document and
as certifying that the Final EIR reFlects the independent judgment of the lead
46 agency.
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1 D. The City may reject testimony that it believes is false, not supported by
2 evidence, or not as well supported as the evidence underlying the testimony and
3 analysis of its own experts, as "evidence that is not credible" does not qualify as �
4 "substantial evidence" under CEQA. (CEQA Guidelines §15064 subd, (�(5).
5 Accordingly, the City Council fnds that public comments suggesting that the
6 aesthetic, biological, energy, noise, tra�c, and urban decay-causing impacts of
� the Project are greater than those disclosed in the EIR, even with mitigation, are
8 based on assumptions and analysis that are erroneous in light of the expert
9 testimony from the City's consultants and experts and other evidence in the
10 record regarding the ultimate significance (including after implementation of
11 mitigation) of these impacts of the Project.
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13 2. The proposed Project has the potential to result in significant impacts on the
1n environment. Pursuant to the CEQA Guidelines, an EIR is the required environmental
15 documentation for the City's consideration of the Project.
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1� Adopted on December 18, 2013 by the following roll call vote:
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19 /aYES: Councilmembers Crane, 'L'homas, Landis, and Mayor Baldwin
20 NOES: None
21 ABSENT: None
22 ABSTAIN: None
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26 ilip E. Baldwin, Mayor
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3o ATTEST:
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32 t , i(_ /\ ( � � � �- ��
33 Kristine Lawler, City Clerk �
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