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PC RES 2022-011 P.C. RESOLUTION NO. 2022-11 A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES RECOMMENDING THAT THE CITY COUNCIL CERTIFY A NEGATIVE DECLARATION AND APPROVE A GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT FOR THE FINAL 2021-2029 HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE(CASE NO. PLGP2022-0001) WHEREAS, the City of Rancho Palos Verdes is required by State Housing law to update the Housing Element of its General Plan for the next planning period covering 2021- 2029 (6th Cycle) to include policies, strategies, and actions to facilitate the construction of new housing and preservation of existing housing to meet the needs of the City's population during the 6th Cycle period as well as to accommodate the City's Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) allocation for new housing units in various income categories throughout the City; and, WHEREAS, on August 25, 2021, the City Council and the Planning Commission conducted a joint-study session as part of an extensive community engagement process, which also included on-line surveying, messaging, stakeholder interviews and workshops to collect public comments on the drafting of the 2021-2029 Housing Element Update; and WHEREAS, on October 12, 2021, the Planning Commission held a duly noticed public hearing to hear public testimony, review and comment on the Draft Housing Element; and, WHEREAS, on October 19, 2021,the City Council held a duly noticed public hearing to hear public testimony, review and comment on the Draft Housing Element. The City Council directed Staff to make minor modifications and forward the revised Draft Housing Element to the California Department of Housing and Community Development(HCD)for review; and, WHEREAS, on November 19, 2021, the Draft Housing Element was transmitted to HCD for review and comment; and, WHEREAS, on January 18, 2022, HCD provided written comments to the City on the Draft Housing Element; and, WHEREAS, on May 17, 2022, HCD staff visited the City of Rancho Palos Verdes, which included a tour of the City to better understand site constraints and challenges facing the City in the identification of new housing sites; and WHEREAS, on July 25, 2022, a public notice was published in the Daily Breeze informing the public of the Planning Commission's consideration of recommendations to the P.C. Resolution No. 2022-11 Page 1 of 4 City Council to adopt a Negative Declaration and approve a General Plan Amendment for the City's 2021-2029 Housing Element Update; and WHEREAS, pursuant to the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act, Public Resources Code Sections 21000 et. seq. ("CEQA"), the State CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Sections 15000 et. seq., the City's Local CEQA Guidelines, and Government Code Section 65952.5(e) (Hazardous Waste and Substances Statement), the City of Rancho Palos Verdes prepared an Initial Study and determined that, there is no substantial evidence that the approval of the General Plan Amendment for the updated Housing Element would result in a significant adverse effect on the environment. More specifically, the Housing Element is a policy document that will guide the process of developing residential units within the City into the foreseeable future and does not include any physical changes to the environment at this time including mandating the construction of new housing units. The City's General Plan Housing Element will not result in or create any significant impacts to Aesthetics, Agriculture Resources, Air Quality, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Geology/Soils, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Hazards/Hazardous Materials, Hydrology/Water Quality, Land Use/Planning, Mineral Resources, Noise, Population/Housing, Public Services, Recreation,Transportation/Traffic, or Utilities/Service Systems. Accordingly, a Negative Declaration was prepared and notice of that fact was given in the manner required by law; and, WHEREAS, the Initial Study was prepared and distributed for circulation and review from January 13, 2022 through February 14, 2022; and, WHEREAS, after issuing notice pursuant to the requirements of the City's Zoning Code and the State CEQA Guidelines, the Planning Commission of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes held a public hearing on August 9, 2022, at which time all interested parties were given an opportunity to be heard and present evidence. NOW, THEREFORE, THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES DOES HEREBY FIND, DETERMINE, AND RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS: Section 1: The above recitals are true and correct and are incorporated herein by reference. Section 2: The update to the City's General Plan Housing Element is necessary to comply with State law and is consistent with the General Plan. Section 3: The proposed project is an amendment to the Rancho Palos Verdes General Plan Housing Element in accordance with State Law requirements. The Housing Element is a policy document that includes policies, strategies, and actions to facilitate the construction of new housing and preservation of existing housing to meet the needs of the City's population. As such, the proposed amendment will not create or result in any significant impacts to the General Plan, Zoning Code, nor be in conflict with any applicable P.C. Resolution No. 2022-11 Page 2 of 4 environmental plans or policies, be incompatible with existing land uses, affect agricultural resources, or disrupt the physical arrangement of the established community. Therefore, there will be no significant land use or planning impacts associated with this project. Section 4: The proposed project does not include any physical modifications or alterations of the existing land or structures. Any physical modifications or alterations to existing land and/or structures as a result of the project objectives will be addressed through separate environmental analysis consistent with CEQA. As such, there will be no significant exposure to Aesthetics, Agriculture Resources, Air Quality, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Geology/Soils, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Hazards/Hazardous Materials, Hydrology/Water Quality, Land Use/Planning, Mineral Resources, Noise, Population/Housing, Public Services, Recreation,Transportation/Traffic, or Utilities/Service Systems, as a result of the proposed project. Further,for this reason, the proposed project does not have impacts that are individually limited but cumulatively considerable, nor have environmental impacts that would cause substantial adverse effects on human beings, directly or indirectly. Section 5: As discussed in the Initial Study, which is incorporated herein by reference, the project does not have any potential to achieve short-term, to the disadvantage of long-term, environmental goals, nor will the project have impacts which are individually limited, but cumulatively considerable. Section 6: The Planning Commission finds that the Final Housing Element, which includes all revisions to the Draft Housing Element that was originally submitted to HCD on November 19, 2021, adequately responds to the concerns addressed by HCD. Section 7: For the foregoing reasons and based on its independent review and evaluation of the information and findings contained in the Initial Study, Staff Reports, minutes, and records of the proceedings, the Planning Commission has determined that the project will not result in a significant adverse impact on the environment. Therefore,the Planning Commission hereby recommends that the City Council certify the Negative Declaration/Initial Study (Attached Exhibit A) and approve the Final Housing Element (Attached Exhibit B), which includes revisions requested by HCD, in order to further encourage the provision of housing in a manner which adequately serves the needs of all present and future community residents in compliance with State law. P.C. Resolution No. 2022-11 Page 3 of 4 PASSED,APPROVED,AND ADOPTED this 9th day of August 2022, by the following vote: AYES: COMMISSIONERS NELSON, NULMAN, PERESTAM, SAADATNEJADI, SANTAROSA, VICE-CHAIR CHURA, AND CHAIR HAMILL NOES: NONE ABSTENTIONS: NONE RECUSALS: NONE ABSENT: NONE iyj Juli Hamill Chair Ken Rukavina, PE Community Development Director; and, Secretary of the Planning Commission P.C. Resolution No. 2022-11 Page 4 of 4