BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1464
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Date of Hearing: June 21, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
SB 1464 (Simitian) - As Amended: March 24, 2010
SENATE VOTE : 35-0
SUBJECT : California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) scoping
procedures
SUMMARY : Authorizes referral of a proposed action to adopt or
substantially amend a general plan to an adjacent city or county
to be conducted concurrently with the scoping meeting required
by CEQA for a project of statewide, regional or area-wide
significance, and authorizes the city or county to submit its
comments on the proposed general plan action at the CEQA scoping
meeting.
EXISTING LAW :
1) Under CEQA:
a) Requires lead agencies with the principal
responsibility for carrying out or approving a proposed
discretionary project to prepare a negative declaration,
mitigated negative declaration, or environmental impact
report (EIR) for this action, unless the project is exempt
from CEQA.
b) Requires a lead agency to call at least one scoping
meeting for a proposed project of statewide, regional, or
area-wide significance. Notice of at least one scoping
meeting must be provided to certain entities, including a
county or city bordering a county or city within which the
project is located.
2) Under Planning and Zoning Law, requires a planning agency to
refer a proposed action to adopt or substantially amend a
general plan to certain entities for comment, including a
city or county within or abutting the area covered by the
proposal, prior to legislative body's action on that general
plan.
FISCAL EFFECT : Non-fiscal
SB 1464
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COMMENTS :
According to the CEQA guidelines, early consultation "solves
many potential problems that would arise in more serious forms
later in the review process." The guidelines also provide that
scoping "has been helpful to agencies in identifying the range
of actions, alternatives, mitigation measures, and significant
effects to be analyzed in depth in an EIR and in eliminating
from detailed study issues found not to be important." The
guidelines further note that scoping "has been found to be an
effective way to bring together and resolve the concerns of
affected federal, state, and local agencies, the proponent of
the action, and other interested persons including those who
might not be in accord with the action on environmental
grounds."
SB 1464 revises the CEQA scoping process to enable the referral
of a proposed action to adopt or substantially amend a general
plan to a city or county, as required under Planning and Zoning
Law, to be conducted concurrently with the scoping meeting under
CEQA. This bill also authorizes the city or county to submit
its comments at the scoping meeting.
According to the author, "SB 1464 streamlines the CEQA process
for adopting or amending a general plan by allowing the general
plan interagency referral process under Planning and Zoning Law
to occur during the CEQA scoping process. This should also
improve the planning and environmental review process so
comments and responses can occur at the same meeting."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Lawrence Lingbloom / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092