AB 323, as amended, Olsen. California Environmental Quality Act: exemption: roadway improvement.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact reportbegin delete (EIR)end delete on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment.
CEQA, until January 1, 2016, exempts a project or an activity to repair, maintain, or make minor alterations to an existing roadway, as defined, if the project or activity is carried out by a city or county with a population of less than 100,000 persons to improve public safety and meets other specified requirements.
This bill would extend the above exemptionbegin delete indefinitely.end deletebegin insert to January 1, 2020.end insert
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 21080.37 of the Public Resources Code
2 is amended to read:
(a) This division does not apply to a project or an
4activity to repair, maintain, or make minor alterations to an existing
5roadway if all of the following conditions are met:
6(1) The project is carried out by a city or county with a
7population of less than 100,000 persons to improve public safety.
8(2) (A) The project does not cross a waterway.
9(B) For purposes of this paragraph, “waterway” means a bay,
10estuary, lake, pond, river, slough, or a perennial, intermittent, or
11ephemeral stream, lake, or estuarine-marine shoreline.
12(3) The project involves negligible or no expansion of an
13existing use beyond that existing at the time of the lead agency’s
14determination.
15(4) The roadway is not a state roadway.
16(5) (A) The site of the project does not contain wetlands or
17riparian areas and does not have significant value as a wildlife
18habitat, and the project does not harm any species protected by the
19federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1531 et
20seq.), the Native Plant Protection Act (Chapter 10 (commencing
21with Section 1900) of Division 2 of the Fish and Game Code), or
22the California Endangered Species Act (Chapter 1.5 (commencing
23with Section 2050) of Division 3 of the Fish and Game Code), and
24the project
does not cause the destruction or removal of any species
25protected by a local ordinance.
26(B) For the purposes of this paragraph:
27(i) “Riparian areas” mean those areas transitional between
28terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and that are distinguished by
29gradients in biophysical conditions, ecological processes, and biota.
30A riparian area is an area through which surface and subsurface
P3 1hydrology connect waterbodies with their adjacent uplands. A
2riparian area includes those portions of terrestrial ecosystems that
3significantly influence exchanges of energy and matter with aquatic
4ecosystems. A riparian area is adjacent to perennial, intermittent,
5and ephemeral streams, lakes, and estuarine-marine shorelines.
6(ii) “Significant value as a wildlife habitat” includes wildlife
7habitat of national, statewide, regional, or local importance; habitat
8for species protected by the federal Endangered Species Act of
91973 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1531, et seq.), the California Endangered
10Species Act (Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 2050) of
11Division 3 of the Fish and Game Code), or the Native Plant
12Protection Act (Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 1900) of
13Division 2 of the Fish and Game Code); habitat identified as
14candidate, fully protected, sensitive, or species of special status
15by local, state, or federal agencies; or habitat essential to the
16movement of resident or migratory wildlife.
17(iii) “Wetlands” has the same meaning as in the United States
18Fish and Wildlife Service Manual, Part 660 FW 2 (June 21, 1993).
19(iv) “Wildlife habitat” means the ecological communities upon
20which wild animals, birds, plants, fish, amphibians, and
21invertebrates depend for their conservation and protection.
22(6) The project does not impact cultural resources.
23(7) The roadway does not affect scenic resources, as provided
24pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 21084.
25(b) Prior to determining that a project is exempt pursuant to this
26section, the lead agency shall do both of the following:
27(1) Include measures in the project to mitigate potential
28vehicular traffic and safety impacts and bicycle and pedestrian
29safety impacts.
30(2) Hold a noticed public hearing on the project to hear and
31respond to public comments. The hearing on the project may be
32conducted with another noticed lead agency public hearing.
33Publication of the notice shall be no fewer times than required by
34Section 6061 of the Government Code, by the public agency in a
35newspaper of general circulation in the area.
36(c) For purposes of this section, “roadway” means a roadway
37as defined pursuant to Section 530 of the Vehicle Code and the
38previously graded and maintained shoulder that is within a roadway
39right-of-way of no more than five feet from the edge of the
40roadway.
P4 1(d) Whenever a local agency determines that a project is not
2subject to this division pursuant to this section, and it approves or
3determines to carry out that
project, the local agency shall file a
4notice with the Office of Planning and Research, and with the
5county clerk in the county in which the project will be located in
6the manner specified in subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 21152.
7(e) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2020,
8and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
9is enacted before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends that date.
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