BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2165
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Date of Hearing: March 22, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
AB 2165 (Knight) - As Amended: March 16, 2010
SUBJECT : California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA):
exemption: High Desert Health System Multi-Service Ambulatory
Care Center
SUMMARY : Establishes a new CEQA exemption for a proposed
hospital in Lancaster, California.
EXISTING LAW, CEQA, requires lead agencies with the principal
responsibility for carrying out or approving a proposed project
to prepare a negative declaration, mitigated negative
declaration, or environmental impact report for this action,
unless the project is exempt from CEQA.
THIS BILL :
1)Exempts from review under CEQA the "High Desert Health System
Multi-Service Ambulatory Care Center" (a proposed hospital in
Lancaster, California).
2)Is an urgency statute.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Background. CEQA provides a process for evaluating the
environmental effects of applicable projects undertaken or
approved by public agencies. If a project is not exempt from
CEQA, an initial study is prepared to determine whether the
project may have a significant effect on the environment. If
the initial study shows that there would not be a significant
effect on the environment, the lead agency must prepare a
negative declaration. If the initial study shows that the
project may have a significant effect on the environment, the
lead agency must prepare an EIR.
Generally, an EIR must accurately describe the proposed project,
identify and analyze each significant environmental impact
expected to result from the proposed project, identify
AB 2165
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mitigation measures to reduce those impacts to the extent
feasible, and evaluate a range of reasonable alternatives to the
proposed project. Prior to approving any project that has
received environmental review, an agency must make certain
findings. If mitigation measures are required or incorporated
into a project, the agency must adopt a reporting or monitoring
program to ensure compliance with those measures.
If a mitigation measure would cause one or more significant
effects in addition to those that would be caused by the
proposed project, the effects of the mitigation measure must be
discussed but in less detail than the significant effects of the
proposed project.
What is the exemption for? This bill provides that CEQA does
not apply to activities or approvals for the "High Desert Health
System Multi-Service Ambulatory Care Center" (MACC) project, but
does not include any physical description of the project to
indicate its location or scope. According to the author, the
proposed MACC will be located in the City of Lancaster and will
entail the construction of a new 124,000 square foot facility
complex comprised of several buildings. The county (Los
Angeles) is planning to construct the MACC through a
design-build process, with completion anticipated in late 2010.
The complex is estimated to cost $98.8 million. The language in
the bill is open-ended, so it could apply not only to the
initial construction project, but also any subsequent projects
associated with the MACC in the future. Without detailed
information about the nature of the project, the site, and the
surrounding environment, it is impossible to assess its
environmental effects, but large hospital projects generally
produce traffic impacts and issues regarding safe handling of
hazardous materials that are worthy of review by the affected
community.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich
Opposition
California Coastal Protection Network
California League of Conservation Voters
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California Native Plant Society
Center for Biological Diversity
Defenders of Wildlife
Friends of the Earth
Forest Forever
Planning and Conservation League
Sierra Club California
Sacramento Audubon Society
The Pacific Forest Trust
Analysis Prepared by : Lawrence Lingbloom / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092