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CC RESOLUTION 3319RESOLUTION NO. 3319 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EL SEGUNDO, CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING PROCEDURES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT, AND RESCINDING RESOLUTION NO. 3184 THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EL SEGUNDO, CALIFORNIA, DOES HEREBY RESOLVE, DECLARE AND DETERMINE AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Authority. This Resolution is adopted to implement the California Environmental Quality Act ( "CEQA "), Public Resources Code Section 21000 et seq., and the State CEQA Guidelines ( "State Guidelines "), 14 California Administrative Code Section 15000 et seq., as amended, and may be referred to as "E1 Segundo CEQA Resolution." SECTION 2. Relationship to State Guidelines. The State Guidelines are hereby incorporated by reference. This implementing Resolution is not meant to replace the State Guidelines but to implement and tailor the general provi- sions of the State Guidelines to the specific operations of the City. If any section of this Resolution is in conflict with or contrary to any provision of the State Guidelines as they now exist or may be amended hereafter, the State Guidelines shall control. SECTION 3. Definitions. The term "Director" as used in this Resolution shall mean the Planning Director who shall have overall responsibility for city CEQA functions on projects. The term "Environmental Quality Board" as used in this Resolution shall mean three members of technical city staff designated by the City manager to serve on the Environmental Quality Board. The Director of Planning shall serve as the Environmental Quality Board Secretary and shall be responsible for giving and filing all notices required by this Resolution, CEQA, or the State Guidelines. The members of the Environmental Quality Board may designate alternates who may serve on the Environmental Quality Board in their place. The Environmental Quality Board may adopt rules of procedure not inconsistent with this Resolution. The term "advisory body" as used in this Resolution . shall mean the person, committee, or commission which has authority by law or ordinance to comment upon or give an advisory decision on the project at issue. The term "decision- making body" as used in this Resolution shall mean the person, commission or council which has authority by law or ordinance to make a final decision to approve or disapprove the project at issue. SECTION 4. Delegation of Responsibility to PI nnin Director, and Environmental Quality Board. A. Responsibilities of Planning Director and Certain Officers and The officer or the depart for carrying out a city project or submitted to the city for approval LCD /RES0533 Departments ent having responsibility approving a project shall determine whether 1,4446 1 _1.x.4,7 or not the project is a ministerial or catagorically exempt (as provided herein) and shall submit such determination to the planning director on forms provided for that purpose within a time period specified by the Planning Director, but not less than thirty (30) days. The Planning Director shall maintain records of such determinations. All other projects where such a determination is not made shall be submitted to the Planning Director who shall be responsible for conducting an Initial Study to determine if the project may have a significant effect on the environment. The findings of the Initial Study shall be forwarded to the Environmental Quality Board in accordance with Section 6. The Planning Director as Secretary to the Environmental Quality Board shall have primary responsibility for requiring that all CEQA time limits are met and may require that additional information with respect to the project be submitted in order to evaluate it under CEQA. The Planning Director shall be available for consultation where it cannot be readily determined if a project is either ministerial or categorically exempt. C. Responsibilities of Environmental Quality Board Upon receipt of an initial study by the Director of Planning, the Environmental Quality Board shall be responsible for determining if a proposed project will require: (1) Preparation of a Negative Declaration; or, (2) Preparation of an Environmental Impact Report ( "EIR ") . SECTION 5. Preliminary Review. A. Review for Completeness The Planning Director shall review all submittals for completeness and shall give notice in writing within 30 days whether or not the submittal is complete. If it is incomplete, the notice shall specify the reasons therefor. B. Review for Exemptions (1) Where it can be seen with certainty that no substantial evidence existsthat the project may have a significant effect on the environment, the requirements of CEQA do not apply. Such projects include the statutory exemptions set forth in Article 18 of the State Guidelines, Projects which are found to be categorically exempt and the below defined ministerial exemptions. (2) Ministerial Project Exemptions The following projects are ministerial: (a) Building permits for all structures that are not considered buildings as identified in Section 20.08.075 of the El Segundo Municipal Code such as walls and fences. (b) Building permits for all: LCD /RES0533 _2 14.448 (i) Single family residences when not in conjunction with 10 or more residential units. (ii) Multi- family residences with not more than 6 units per building or when not in con- junction with two or more buildings. (iii) Commercial, institutional and industrial structures which do not exceeed: A maximum occupant load of 100 persons; or A floor area of 15,000 square feet; or A parking requirement of 75 parking spaces. (c) Business Licenses when issued in accordance with allowed land -use regulations for the zone as indicated by the Planning Department. (d) Certificate of Occupancy (e) Construction Fencing (f) Curb, Gutter or Sidewalk Construction or Reconstruction (g) Driveway Construction or Reconstruction (h) Encroachments (Code Regulated) (i) Electrical Permits (j) Equipment or Materials Street Use Permits (k) Excavation, Shoring and Street Use Permits (1) Final Tract Maps (m) Fire Extinguisher Systems and Alarms (n) Heating, Air Conditioning, Refrigeration (o) Heavy Hauling (p) House Moving (q) Fire Hydrant Installations (r) Individual Water Service Installation (s) Newsrack Permits (t) Plumbing Permits (u) Sign Permits (v) Soil Borings -3- LCD/RES0533 L] .1.4449 (w) Street Lights (x) Utility Installation (3) Categorical Exemptions The City Council of the City of E1 Segundo hereby finds those classes of activities set forth in Article 19 of the State Guidelines to be categorically exempt with the following exceptions: • (a) Location: Classes 3, 4, 5, 6 and 11 of the State Guidelines. Where a project in those classes that is ordinarily insignificant in its impact on the environment may in a particularly sensitive environment (location) be significant, such projects shall not be categorically exempt. These classes shall apply to projects in all instances, except where the project may impact on an environmental resource of hazardous or critical concern where designated, precisely mapped, and officially adopted pursuant to law by federal, state or local agencies. (b) Cumulative Im act: All exemptions for these classes are inapplicable when the cumulative impact of successive projects of the same type, over time is significant - for example, annual additions to an existing building under Class I of the State Guidelines. (c) Significant Effect: A categorical exemption shall not be used for an activity where it can be fairly argued that the activity will have a significant effect on the environment due to unusual circumstances. (4) Specific Prc Impact Repor Be Prepared. ects For Which Environmental or Negative Declarations Shall An EIR or a negative declaration shall be required by the Environmental Quality Board for the following projects: (a) Amendments to the zoning of the "E1 Segundo Municipal Code." (b) Amendments to the City zoning map. (c) The adoption of a general plan or any element thereof. (d) Amendments to the general plan or any element thereof. (f) (g) (h) (i) (j) (k) Conditional Use Permits. variances Precise Plans and amendments thereto. Unclassified Use Permits. Franchises. Oil Well Permits. Subdivisions. -4- LCD/RES0533 14459 (1) Any approval of a project where it can be shown that substantial evidence exists that such project has the potential to have a significant effect on the environment. (5) Procedure, and Notice of Exemption If a project has been determined to be exempt under these Procedures and the State Guidelines, the Director of Planning shall file notice of such determination with the Planning Commission in writing for information purposes not less than every 60 days. The Director shall cause to be filed a Notice of Exemption after approval of the project in the form and manner required by Section 15062 of the State Guidelines. SECTION 6. Procedures for the Conduct of Initial Studies A. Determination that Initial Study should be Conducted If a project is subject to the requirements of CEQA and not exempted by this Resolution, the Planning Director shall conduct an Initial Study to determine if the project may have a significant effect on the environment. The Initial Study shall be forwarded to the Environmental Quality Board. If the Planning Director can determine that an EIR clearly will be required for the project, an Initial Study is not required but may still be made if determined to be desirable. If it is determined that an Initial Study is required for a project, all phases of project planning, implementation and operation shall be considered. B. Results of Initial Study The Initial Study shall be used to provide a written determination of whether a Negative Declaration or an EIR shall be prepared for a project. If the Environmental Quality Board determines that there is substantial evidence that any aspect of the project, either individually or cumulatively, may cause a significant effect on the environment, the Board shall cause an EIR to be prepared. A new EIR need not be prepared if the Environmental Quality Board determines that a previously prepared EIR would adequately analyze the project under consideration. If the Environmental Quality Board determines that there is no substantial evidence that the project or any of its aspects may cause a significant effect on the environ- ment, the Board shall cause a Negative Declaration to be prepared. C. Determining Significant Effect The determination of whether or not a project may have a significant effect on the environment shall be made as required by the State Guidelines. The type of EIR or negative Declaration required shall be determined according to State Guidelines. D. Contents An Initial Study shall contain in brief form: -5- LCD /RES0533 14 4 :t (1) A description of the project including the location of the project; (2) An identification of the environmental setting; (3) An identification of environmental effects by use of a checklist, matrix, or other method. (4) A discussion of ways to mitigate the significant effects identified, if any; • (5) An examination of whether the project is compatible with existing zoning, plans, and other applicable land use controls; and (6) The name of the person or persons who prepared or participated in the Initial Study. E. Submission of Data If the project is to be carried out by a private person or private organization, the Planning Director may require such person or organization to submit data and information which will enable the Director to prepare the Initial Study. Any person may submit any information in any form to assist the Planning Director in preparing an Initial Study. All Departments and officers of the City shall provide such information as may be necessary to enable the Director to prepare an Initial Study on a public project. F. Format Forms for submittal of a project and a review form for use by the Planning Director shall be provided by the Planning Department. when used together, these forms meet the requirements for an Initial Study. If an EIR has been previously prepared which adequately analyzes the project, it may be used as the Initial Study. G. Consultation As soon as a Director has determined that a project is not exempt and that an Initial Study will be required to determine whether a Negative Declaration or an EIR is required, the Planning Director shall consult informally with all Responsible Agencies and all Trustee Agencies responsible for resources affected by the project to obtain the recommendations of those agencies as to whether an EIR or a Negative Declaration should be prepared. During or immediately after preparation of an Initial Study for a private project, the Planning Director may consult with the applicant to determine if the applicant is willing to modify the project to reduce or avoid the significant effects identified in the Initial Study. SECTION 7. Procedures for the Preparation of Negative Declarations A. Determination to Prepare Negative Declaration The Environmental Quality Board shall cause a proposed Negative Declaration to be prepared for a project under the following circumstances: -6- LCD/RES0533 .14 4 5 ".. (1) The Initial Study shows there is no substantial evidence that the project may have a significant effect on the environment; or (2) Pursuant to revisions in the project plans, the potentially significant effects identified in the Initial Study can be avoided or mitigated to a point where clearly no significant effects occur, and then if no substantial evidence before the Environmental Quality Board that the agreement would have a significant effect on the environment. B. Submission of Additional Information The Environmental Quality Board may at any time before completion of the Negative Declaration or the EIR require the applicant to furnish additional information useful in reaching the determination and preparing the Negative Declaration or Draft EIR required by the Environmental Quality Board. C. Contents A Negative Declaration circulated for public review shall include: (1) A brief description of the project, including a commonly used name for the project if any; (2) The location of the project and the name of the project proponent; (3) A proposed finding that the project will not have a significant effect on the environment; (4) An attached copy of the Initial Study documenting reasons to support the finding; (5) Mitigation measures, if any, included in the project to avoid potentially significant effects. D. Public Review of a Negative Declaration (1) Public review of Environmental Quality Board recommendation. The Environmental Quality Board shall provide a public review period for a proposed Negative Declaration. The noticed public review period shall be long enough to provide members of the public with sufficient time to respond to the proposed finding before the Negative Declaration is approved. (2) Public Hearing required. Upon completion, the Negative Declaration shall be forwarded to the Planning Commission. A public hearing shall be conducted on the Negative Declaration by the Planning Commission. The public notice of the proposed Negative Declaration shall include the date and time of the hearing, and shall be published within a reasonable period of time -7- LCD/RES0533 14453 • before the hearing. The Planning Commission may decide that an EIR is required and direct its preparation or it shall promptly in writing forward its recommendations to the decision - making body, or if there is an advisory body to that body. Where the Planning Commission is either the decision - making body or the advisory body, the Commission may hear and consider the issues related to the negative declaration at the same time it considers the project itself. A decision of the Planning Commission may be appealed to the City Council within 10 days after a final decision by the Planning Commission. Concurrently with the circulation of the Negative Declaration to public agencies, a copy shall be delivered to the City Librarian to be available for public inspection while the matter is being processed. Twenty -one days after a Negative Declaration has been adopted, the City Librarian may discard the copy of the Negative Declaration on file in the library. E. Consideration Prior to recommending approval or disapproval of a project, the advisory shall consider the proposed Negative Declaration. F. Public Notice Notice that the decision - making body proposes to adopt a Negative Declaration shall be provided to the public within a reasonable period of time prior to adoption by the decision - making body of the Negative Declaration. Notice shall be given to all organizations and individuals who have previously requested such notice and shall also be given by: (1) Publication at least one time by the lead agency in a newspaper of general circulation in the area affected by the proposed project; and (2) Direct mailing to owners of property contiguous to the project as such owners are shown on the latest equalized assessment roll. The public notice shall state that the Negative Declaration is available for inspection at the Planning Department office and at any other location or locations determined by the Secretary to the Environmental Quality Board to be beneficial to adequate public review. The Notice may contain the following language: "If you challenge the [name of project] in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing described in this notice, or in written correspondence delivered to the [Planning Commission, or entity conducting the hearing] at, or prior to, the public hearing" -8- LCD /RES0533 J-4 • G. Approval Prior to approving the project, the decision making body shall consider the proposed Negative Declaration together with any comments received during the public review process. The decision making body shall approve the Negative Declaration if it finds on the basis of the Initial Study and any comments received that there is no substantial evidence that the project will have a significant detrimental effect on the environment. • The decision- making body shall be the body vested with final authority to approve the project. Should the Negative Declaration require mitigation measures the city and the applicant shall at the request of the decision - making body enter into an Agreement Effecting Real Property, which may be recorded and which shall implement the mitigation measures decided upon by the decision making body. H. Notice of Determination After the decision making body has made a decision to carry out or approve a project for which a Negative Declaration has been prepared, the Secretary to the Environmental Quality Board shall file a Notice of Determination. The Notice of Determination shall include: (1) An identification of the project including its common name where possible and its location; (2) A brief description of the project; (3) The date on which the project was approved; (4) A determination that the project will not have a significant effect on the environment; (5) A statement that a Negative Declaration has been prepared pursuant to the provisions of CEQA; and (6) The address where a copy of the Negative Declaration may be examined. The Notice of Determination shall be filed with the County Clerk of the County of Los Angeles. If the project requires a discretionary approval from any State agency, the Notice of Determination also shall be filed with the Secretary for Resources and the Office of Planning and Research. I. Federal Projects For projects where federal involvement might require the preparation of a finding of no significant effect, the provisions of Article 14 of the State Guidelines shall be followed in addition to the procedures set forth in this Section. -9- LCD/RES0533 4. SECTION 8. Procedures for the Preparation of EIR's A. Decision to Prepare an EIR When the Environmental Quality Board decides that an EIR will be required for a project, it shall follow the procedures contained in this section and the State Guidelines. B. Notice of PreDaration • (1) Immediately after determining that an EIR will be required for a project, the Secretary of the Environmental Quality Board shall send a Notice of Prepara- tion by certified mail or other method of transmittal which provides it with a notice that the Notice has been received, to each Responsible Agency, Trustee Agency responsible for resources affected by the project and to each federal agency involved in approving or funding the project and consult with those agencies as required by Section 15083 of the State Guidelines. (2) The contents of the Notice of Preparation shall be as set forth in Section 15082(a) of the State Guidelines. (3) The agencies to which a Notice of Preparation is sent shall have 30 days to respond in the form and manner set forth in Section 15082(b) of the State Guidelines. If an agency fails by the end of the 30 day period to respond, or make a well - justified request for additional time to respond, it shall be presumed that the agency has no response to make. (4) The Environmental Quality Board shall not circulate a draft EIR for public review before the time period for responses to the Notice of Preparation has expired. C. Early Public Consultation Prior to completing the draft EIR, the Secretary of the Environmental Quality Board may consult directly with any person or organization it believes will be concerned with the environmental effects of the project. In the case of a project involving the issuance to a person of a loan, permit, license, certificate, or the entitlement for use by one or more public agencies, the Secretary of the Enrivonmental Quality Board shall, upon the request of applicant, provide for an early consultation, pursuant to and consistent with Section 1153 of CEQA. Where the Secretary of the Environmental Quality Board, a Responsible Agency, a Trustee Agency or the project applicant has requested a meeting between representatives of the agencies involved to assist in determining the scope and content of a proposed EIR, the Environmental Quality Board shall convene such a meeting as soon as possible, but not later than thirty (30) days after the meeting is requested. For projects where federal involvement might require preparation of a federal EIS, the Environmental Quality Board shall consult with the appropriate federal agencies as provided in Article 14 of the State Guidelines. -10- LCD/RES0533 14456 • D. Preparation of Draft EIR (1) One of the following methods or a combination of them may be used for preparing a draft EIR: (a) Preparing the draft EIR directly with City staff. (b) Contracting with another entity, public or private, to prepare the draft EIR. • (c) Executing a third party contract or memorandum of understanding with the applicant to govern the preparation of a draft EIR by an independent contractor. (d) using a previously prepared EIR. (2) If a draft is prepared by a person other than the City staff, the draft shall be reviewed and analyzed by the Secretary of the Environmental Quality Board and any other City Department which may have concerns before it is sent out for public review to ensure its adequacy and objectivity. (3) The Secretary of the Environmental Quality Board may require the project applicant to supply data and information to determine whether the project may have a significant effect on the environment and to assist in preparing the draft EIR. The project applicant shall also be required to identify any other public agencies which will have jurisdiction by law over the project. (4) The Secretary of the Environmental Quality Board shall consider information or comments submitted by any person, whether requested or not, to assist in the preparation of the draft EIR. The information or comments may be submitted in any form and may be included in or in part in the draft EIR. E. Notice of Completion As soon as the draft EIR is completed, the Secretary to the Environmental Quality Board shall file a Notice of Completion with the State Office of Planning and Research in the form specified in Section 15085 of the State Guidelines. F. Consultation Concerning Draft EIR The Secretary of the Environmental Quality Board shall consult with and request comments on the draft EIR • from Responsible Agencies, Trustee Agencies with resources affected by the project, and other state, federal, and local agencies which exercise authority over resources which may be affected by the project. The Secretary of the Environmental Quality Board also may consult directly with any person who has special expertise with respect to any environmental impact involved. G. Public Review of Draft EIR The Secretary to the Environmental Quality Board shall provide public notice of the completion of a draft EIR at the same time as the Secretary sends a Notice of LCD /RES0533 -11- 14457 • Completion to the Secretary for Resources. Notice shall be mailed to owners of property contiguous to the proposed project and to all organizations and individuals who have previously requested such notice and shall also be given by publication, no fewer times than required by Section 6061 of the Government Code, in a local newspaper. Said notice shall state that the draft EIR is available for public inspection at the Department office and at the Public Library. The Secretary to the Environmental Quality Board • shall use the State Clearinghouse to distribute the documents to state agencies and the areawide clearinghouse to distribute documents to regional and local agenicies. Concurrently with the circulation of the EIR to public agencies, a copy shall be delivered to the City Librarian to be available for public inspection in the public library while the matter is being processed. One hundred twenty days after an EIR has been adopted, the City Librarian may discard the copy of the EIR on file in the Library. Upon completion of a draft EIR, a public hearing shall be conducted on the draft EIR by the Planning Commission. The public notice of the completion of the draft EIR shall include the date and time of the hearing, which shall not be less than thirty days nor more than ninety days from the date of filing the notice of completion. The Planning Commission shall promptly in writing forward its recommendations to the decision making body or if there is an advisory body, to that body. Where the Planning Commission is the decision making body, or the advisory body, the Commission may hear and consider the issues related to the EIR at the same time it considers approval of the project itself. A decision of the Planning Commission may be appealed to the City Council within 10 days after a final decision by the Planning Commission. H. Evaluation and Responses to Comments The Secretary of the Environmental Quality Board shall evaluate and cause a response to comments received from persons who received the draft EIR and make any significant changes resulting from the response to comments by revising the text in the body of the EIR or including marginal notes showing that the information is revised in response to comments. When the Secretary of the Environmental Quality • Board causes significant new information to be added to the draft EIR pursuant to public review and /or comments from responsible agencies or any other public agencies, then notice shall be given again and a public hearing shall be held again pursuant to Section 7G. I. Preparation of Final EIR It shall be the responsibility of the Environmental Quality Board to prepare (or cause to be prepared) a final EIR. The contents of a final EIR are specified in Section 15132, et seq. of the State Guidelines. -12- LCD/RES0533 i4 An opportunity for review of the final EIR by the public or by commenting agencies before the project is approved may be provided. J. Certification of Final EIR The final EIR shall be presented to the decision making body and that body shall certify that the final EIR has been completed in compliance with CEQA and the State Guidelines and that the decision making body has reviewed and considered the information contained in the EIR prior to • the approval of the project. The decision- making body shall be the body vested with final authority to approve the project. Should the EIR identify significant detrimental environmental effects requiring mitigation measures, the City and the applicant shall enter into an Agreement Affecting Real Property.Jwnich may be recorded, and which shall implement those mitigation measures decided upon by the decision making body. K. Notice of Determination After approval of a project for which an EIR has been prepared, the Secretary to the Environmental Quality Board shall file a Notice of Determination. Such notice shall include: (1) An identification of the project including its common name where possible and its location; (2) A brief description of the project; (3) The date when the appropriate decision making body approved the project; (4) The determination of the appropriate decision making body of whether the project in its approved form will have a significant effect on the environment. T5+ A sltatement that an EIR was prepared and certified pursuant to the provisions of CEQA. (6) Whether mitigation measures were made a condition of the approval of the project. (7) Whether findings were made pursuant to Section 15091 of the State Guidelines; (8) Whether a Statement of Overriding Considerations was adopted for the project; and the The County Clerk working days requires dis notice shall (9) The address where a copy of the EIR and record of project approval may be examined. Notice of Determination shall be filed with the of the County of Los Angeles within five of the approval of the project. If the project --retionary approval from a state agency, the also be filed with the Secretary for Resources. LCD /RES0533 -13- .144 i19 SECTION 9. Time Limits A. General Preparation and review of environmental documents shall be done within a reasonable period of time. Prepara- tion of an EIR should not cause undue delays in the processing of applications for permits or other entitlements to use. B. Review of Application for Completeness • The Secretary of the Environmental Quality Board shall determine whether an application for a permit or other entitlement for use is complete and notify the applicant in writing within 30 days from the receipt of the application except as provided in Sub - section 9L. If the application is incomplete, the notice shall specify the reasons therefor. If no written determination of the completeness of the application is made within that period, the application will be deemed complete on the 30th day. C. Initial Stud The Secretary of the Environmental Quality Board shall determine within 45 days after the Planning Director accepts an application as complete whether it intends to prepare an EIR or a Negative Declaration or use a previously prepared EIR or Negative Declaration except as provided in Sub - section 9L. D. Response to Notice of Preparation Responsible Agencies and Trustee Agencies shall provide a response to a Notice of Preparation to the lead agency within 30 days after receipt of the Notice. If an agency fails to reply within the 30 days with either a response or a well justified request for additional time, the Environmental Quality Board may assume that the agency has no response to make and may ignore a late response. E. Convening of Meetings The Environmental Quality Board shall convene a meeting with agency representatives to discuss the scope and content of the environmental information as soon as possible but no later than 30 days after receiving a request for the meeting. The meeting may be requested by the lead agency, a responsible agency, a trustee agency, or by the project applicant. F. Public Review (1) The public review period for a draft EIR should be not less than 30 days nor longer than 90 days except in unusual circumstances. (2) The public review period for a Negative Declaration shall be a reasonable period of time sufficient to allow members of the public to respond to the proposed finding before the Negative Declaration is approved. (3) If a draft EIR or Negative Declaration has been submitted to the State Clearinghouse for ireview by state agencies, the public review period -14- LCD/RES0533 14460 • shall be at least as long as the review period established by the State Clearinghouse. G. Review by State Agencies When a draft EIR or Negative Declaration is submitted to the State Clearinghouse for review, the normal review period is 45 days for draft EIR's and 30 days for Negative Declarations. The State Clearinghouse may set shorter review period when requested by the lead agency due to exceptional circumstances. • H. Completion of Negative Declaration With a private project, the Negative Declaration must be completed and ready for approval within 105 days from the date when the Planning Director accepted the application as complete. The Negative Declaration may be approved at a later time when the permit or other entitlement is approved. I. Completion and Certification of EIR With a private project, the decision - making body shall complete and certify the final EIR within one year after the date when the Planning Director accepted the application as complete. The one -year time limit may be extended once for a period of not more than 90 days upon consent of the lead agency and the applicant. J. Suspension of Time Periods An unreasonable delay by an applicant in meeting requests by the Director or Environmental Quality Board necessary for the preparation of a Negative Declaration or an EIR shall suspend the running of the time periods described in Sections H and I for the period of the unreasonable delay. Alternatively, a decision - making body may disapprove a project application where there is unreasonable delay in meeting requests. The decision- making body may allow a renewed application to start at the same point in the process where the application was when it was disapproved. K. Projects with Federal Involvement (1) At the request of an applicant, the lead agency may waive the one -year time limit for completing and certifying a final EIR or the 105 -day period for completing a Negative Declaration if: • (a) The project will be subject to CEQA and to the National Environmental Policy Act; (b) Additional time will be required to prepare a combined EIR -EIS or combined negative declaration- finding of no significant impact as provided in Section 15222; and (c) The time required to prepare the combined document will be shorter than the time required to prepare the documents separately. LCD /RES0533 -15- 1.44fit (d) The time limits for taking final action on a permit for a development project may also be waived where a combined EIR -EIS will be prepared. (e) The time limits for processing permits for development projects under Government Code Sections 65950 -65960 shall not apply if federal statutes or regulations require time schedules which exceed the state time limits. In this event, any state agencies involved shall make a final decision on the project within the federal time • limits. L. Projects With Short Time Periods For Approval Where a statute or ordinance requires a public agency to make decisions on permits within time limits that are so short that review of the project under CEQA would be difficult, the Planning Director shall deem an application for a project not received for filing under the permit statute or ordinance until such time as progress toward completing the environmental documentation required by CEQA is sufficient to enable the lead agency to finish the CEQA process within the short permit time limit. This section will apply where all of the following conditions are met: (1) The enabling legislation for a program, other than Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 65920) of Division 1 of Title 7 of the Government Code, requires the lead agency to take action on an application within a specified period of time that is six months or less; (2) The enabling legislation provides that the project will become approved by operation of law if the lead agency fails to take any action within such specified time period; and (3) The project involves the issuance of a lease, permit, license, certificate, or other entitlement for use. Examples of time periods subject to this section includes but is not limited to an action within 50 days on a tentative subdivision map for which an EIR is being or will be prepared pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 66452) of Chapter 3, Division 2, Title 2 of the Government Code but a negative declaration for a subdivision map must be completed within the 50 day period (see Government Code Section 66452.1(c)). In any case subject to this Section, the environmental document shall be completed or certified and the decision on the application shall be made within one year from the date on which an application requesting approval of such project has been received and accepted as complete for CEQA processing by such agency. This one -year time limit may be extended once for a period not to exceed 90 days upon consent of the public agency and the applicant. M. Development Projects If an EIR is required for a development project, the project shall be approved or disapproved within one year from the date on which an application requesting approval of -16- LCD/RES0533 I! a project has been received and accepted as complete by the Director. If a Negative Declaration is prepared or if the project is exempt from CEQA, the development project shall be approved or disapproved within six months from the date on which an application requesting approval of the project has been received and accepted as being complete by the Director. If there has been an extension of time pursuant to . Section 21100.2 or 21151.5 of the Public Resources Code to complete and certify an EIR, the project shall be approved or disapproved within 90 days after certification of the EIR. The time limits in this section may be extended once for a period not to exceed 90 days upon consent of the Director and the applicant. SECTION 10. Fees If a project is to be carried out by any person or entity other than the City, the Planning Director shall assess and such person or entity shall pay a reasonable fee to the City to cover the estimated costs of preparing an EIR or Negative Declaration once the costs are final, such person or entity shall promptly pay the actual costs involved, or the City shall promptly refund any payment, made in excess of the estimated payment. In addition, such person or entity may be assessed and such person or entity shall pay a reasonable fee to recover the costs to the City for the preparation and finalization of any Agreement Running With The Land. SECTION 11. Appeals The decision of the Planning decision making body, with respect to Negative Declaration or certification appealed to the City Council in the s decision to approve or disapprove the be appealed. Commission or other the approval of a of an EIR may be ame manner that the proposed project may In the event that a decision on a proposed project is not appealable to the City Council, the decision with respect to the Negative Declaration or EIR may nevertheless be appealed to the City Council by the project applicant or other interested party by filing a notice of appeal in writing to the Planning Director within ten days after the decision is made. The City Council shall hold a public hearing on the appeal, after which it shall rule on the appeal. The public hearing shall not be conducted less than ten days after notice has been given pursuant to Section 7F. SECTION 12. Resolution No. 3184, passed and adopted the 21st day of December, 1982, is hereby rescinded. SECTION 13. The City Clerk shall certify to the passage and adoption of this resolution; shall enter the same in the book of original resolutions of said City; and shall make a minute of the passage and adoption thereof in the records of LCD /RES0533 -17 the proceedings of the City Council of said City, in the minutes of the meeting at which the same is passed and adopted. PASSED, APPROVED and ADOPTED this= l6-day of JULY , 1985. (SEAL) LCD /RES0533 14 1 14464 • r STATE OF CALIFORNIA } COUNTY OF LOS ANGE LES ) SS CITY OF EL SEGUNDO ) I RONALD L. HART , City Clerk of the City of El Segundo, California, DO HERESY CERTIFY that the whole number of members of the City Council of the said City is five; that the foregoing resolution, being Resolution No. 3319 was duly passed and adopted by the said City Council, approved and signed by the Mayor of said City, and attested by the City Clerk of said City, all at a regular meeting of the said Council held on the 16th day of JULY '19 85 and that the same was so passed and adopted by the following vote: AYES: Councilmen JACOBSON, SCHULDT, SIADEK, MAYOR PRO TEM SYNADINOS AND MAYOR ARMSTRONG NOES: ABSENT: Councilmen NONE Councilmen NONE WITNESS MY HAND AND THE OFFICIAL SEAL OF SAID CITY this 23rd day of AUGUST 19 85 (SEAL) City Clerk of the City of El Segundo, California