RDA RES 1999-008RESOLUTION NO. RDA 99 -08
A RESOLUTION OF THE RANCHO PALOS VERDES
REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY CERTIFYING THE FINAL
SUPPLEMENT TO THE FINAL SUPPLEMENTAL
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FOR THE ABALONE
COVE SEWER PROJECT; ADOPTING THE MITIGATION
MONITORING PROGRAM AND ADOPTING THE
STATEMENT OF FINDINGS AND FACTS IN SUPPORT OF
FINDINGS AS REQUIRED BY THE CALIFORNIA
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT.
THE RANCHO PALOS VERDES REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY HEREBY
FINDS, ORDERS AND RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The Rancho Palos Verdes Redevelopment Agency (the
"RDA "), has proposed the installation of a sanitary sewer system in the Abalone
Cove area of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes ( "the Project ") as part of a
program of ground stabilization methods intended to mitigate landslide hazards
in the Abalone Cove area.
Section 2. Various elements and cumulative impacts of proposed
ground stabilization methods were previously studied in the Final Environmental
Impact Report for the Abalone Cove Landslide Stabilization Project (State
Clearinghouse No. 88092820), which was certified by the County of Los Angeles
on December 4, 1990 ( "the 1990 County EIR "). While the environmental impacts
of a sanitary sewer system in the area were studied in the 1990 EIR, actual
sewer line alignments and project specifications were not in place at the time the
1990 EIR was certified.
Section 3. The 1990 County EIR reached a conclusion that a
sanitary sewer system would have a positive effect on efforts to stabilize the
ground in the Abalone Cove area of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes ( "the City "),
and identified a number of environmental consequences that could be mitigated
through future design -level and construction -level measures to be imposed once
the sewer system's alignment and design were in place.
Section 4. Upon completion of a design and proposed alignment
for the Project, the RDA caused a Final Supplemental Environmental Impact
Report ( "FSEIR ") to be prepared for the Project pursuant to Section 15063 of the
State Guidelines for implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act
( "CEQA "). The Agency Board certified the FSEIR on August 6, 1996. The
FSEIR adopted the 1990 County EIR by reference, and indicated that the FSEIR
was supplementing information and analysis contained in the 1990 County EIR.
Section 5. Subsequent to the certification of the FEIR, certain
design revisions in the Project and new environmental information created the
necessity to prepare a Supplemental EIR pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section
15163(a). Certain additional Project revisions caused the Agency to prepare the
"Final Supplement to the Final Supplemental EIR" (hereinafter, "the
Supplement," or occasionally referred to as "F2SEIR ").
Section 6. With the addition of the supplemental documents
referred to herein, the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Report
( "FSEIR ") for the Abalone Cove Sewer Project shall be comprised of the Initial
Study; the 1990 County EIR; the Draft EIR dated June 22, 1995, including any
revisions thereto; the FEIR certified August 6, 1996; ; the Supplement; the Staff
Reports which were prepared for each RDA meeting at which environmental
impacts of the Project were considered and relevant portions of the minutes of
such meetings; the Statement of Findings and Facts in Support of Findings,
attached hereto as Exhibit "A "; the Mitigation Monitoring Program ( "MMP "); the
list of persons, organizations and public agencies which have commented on the
NOP, Initial Study, Draft EIR, Draft Supplemental EIR and the Draft Supplement;
the comments which have been received regarding each of the aforementioned
documents and the Agency's responses thereto; each of which is incorporated
herein and made a part hereof by this reference.
Section 7. The RDA met and considered the Supplement at its
meeting on May 4, 1999, at which time evidence, both written and oral, was duly
presented to and considered by, the RDA Board. Notice of the time, place and
purpose of the hearing was provided in accordance with applicable law.
Section 8. The findings made in this Resolution are based upon
the information and evidence set forth in the FSEIR and upon other substantial
evidence which has been presented in the record of this proceeding. The
documents, staff reports, plans, specifications, and other materials that constitute
the record of proceedings of the RDA on which this Resolution is based and the
FSEIR for the Project are on file and available for public examination during
normal business hours in the Office of the City Clerk of the City of Rancho Palos
Verdes, 30940 Hawthorne Boulevard, Rancho Palos Verdes, California 90275.
The custodian of said records is the City Clerk of the City of Rancho Palos
Verdes.
Section 9. The RDA finds that the public and government agencies
have been afforded ample notice and opportunity to comment on the Initial
Study, DEIR, FSEIR and the Supplements thereto.
Resol. No. RDA 99 -08
Page 2
Section 10. The RDA finds, pursuant to Public Resources Code
Section 15084(e), that the FSEIR has been independently analyzed by the RDA
Board and its Staff, and that the FSEIR represents the independent judgment of
the RDA as lead agency with respect to the Project. The RDA further finds that
the additional information provided in the staff reports accompanying the Project
descriptions and FSEIR, the corrections and modifications to the FSEIR and
Supplements made in response to comments, and the evidence presented in
written and oral testimony presented at the above - referenced meeting does not
represent significant new information so as to require further recirculation of the
Supplement or any portion of the FSEIR pursuant to Public Resources Code
Section 21092.1.
Specifically, with reference to the most recent minor modifications
and corrections to the FSEIR regarding the alignment of the Project and the
types of sewer systems to be installed, said Project revisions and the new and /or
amended mitigation measures imposed were circulated to interested persons
and agencies for the 30 -day public review period mandated by CEQA. Written
comments were received from four (4) agencies, and said comments have been
incorporated into the Supplement and responded to by the Agency. In response
to comments from, and at the request of, the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service and the California Department of Fish and Game, Supplement Mitigation
measures D and E were amended to be more clear and more protective of
biological resources. However, said revisions, added to the Supplement as a
result of public review, do not constitute "significant new information" requiring
recirculation under any of the criteria listed in CEQA Guidelines Section 15088.5.
Because this information is a minor clarification to the prior analysis and does not
change the conclusion which was reached in the EIR, recirculation of the EIR is
not required by CEQA.
Section 11. The RDA finds that the comments regarding the
Supplement and the responses to those comments have been received by the
RDA; that the RDA has received public testimony regarding the adequacy of the
Supplement and FEIR; and that the RDA Board of Directors, as the final
decision - making body for the lead agency, has reviewed and considered all such
documents and testimony prior to acting on the Project. Pursuant to State
CEQA Guidelines Section 15090, the RDA therefore certifies that the
Supplement and the FEIR have been completed in compliance with CEQA.
Section 12. The documents made a part of the FSEIR in Section 6
hereof and the Agency's previous findings, memorialized in Resolutions No. RDA
96 -16 indicat that the Project will not cause significant environmental impacts in
Resol. No. RDA 99 -08
Page 3
the areas of Soil Resources, Water Resources and Drainage, Plant Life, Animal
Life, Light and Glare, Land Use, Natural Resources, Risk of Upset, Housing,
Public Services, Energy, Utilities, Human Health, and Recreation. Explanations
for why the foregoing impacts were found to be insignificant are contained in the
Initial Study in Appendix A of the Draft EIR, in Pages 7.0 through 7.5, inclusive,
of the FEIR, and in the previous Resolutions of the Agency cited above. Said
conclusions are not changed by the Supplement.
Section 13. Based upon the Initial Study, the DEIR, FSEIR and
Supplements thereto, public comments and the record before the RDA Board of
Directors, the RDA finds that the Project may create significant impacts in the
areas of air quality (construction impacts and odor), construction noise, traffic
and circulation (construction crew parking, lane closure, and restricted access),
aesthetics (construction staging, above - ground facilities), and cultural resources.
The FSEIR identifies feasible mitigation measures for each impact that will
reduce each impact to a level of insignificance. Said mitigation measures may
be found in Section 2.0 of the FSEIR, in each applicable Section of the FSEIR, in
the MMP, and in Exhibit A to this Resolution. In accordance with the
requirements of Public Resources Code Section 21081.6, a Mitigation Monitoring
Program has been developed for the Project. The Mitigation Monitoring Program
as set forth in Exhibit "B" to this Resolution is hereby adopted and approved by
the RDA and is hereby incorporated herein by this reference and is a condition of
the approval of the Project. RDA Staff are hereby directed to implement the
Mitigation Monitoring Program as set forth therein.
Section 14. In response to each potentially significant impact
identified in the FSEIR, and listed in Section 13 of this Resolution, changes or
alterations are hereby required to be made, or incorporated into, the Project
which will avoid or substantially lessen the significant environmental impacts
which have been identified. These changes or alterations to the Project,
constitute the mitigation measures listed in the FSEIR and the Supplement. As
to each impact previously identified as significant, brief explanations of the
rationale for this finding and the findings contained in Section 13 of this
Resolution are set forth in the "Statement of Findings and Facts in Support of
Findings," which is attached hereto as Exhibit "A" and incorporated herein by this
reference.
Section 15. The FSEIR described, and the RDA has previously
considered, a reasonable range of alternatives to the Project which might fulfill
the basic objectives of the Project. The Supplement did not analyze additional or
different alternatives to the Project, and the Agency Board hereby finds that its
Resol. No. RDA 99 -08
Page 4
previous consideration of Project alternatives was legally adequate and remains
in full force and effect. No additional analysis of alternatives to the Project was
made necessary as a result of the new information included in the Supplement.
A good faith effort was made to incorporate alternatives into the preparation of
the FSEIR, and that all reasonable alternatives were considered in the review
process of the FSEIR and the ultimate decision on the project.
Section 16. The RDA hereby makes the findings contained in the
"Statement of Findings and Facts in Support of Findings" attached hereto as
Exhibit "A" with respect to each of the significant impacts defined in the FSEIR
and the Supplement. Further, the RDA hereby finds that each fact in support of
finding is true and is based upon substantial evidence in the record including,
without limitation, the documents made a part of the FSEIR pursuant to Section
6 of this Resolution.
Section 17. Upon approval of this Resolution and the Project, the
RDA Secretary is hereby directed to file a Notice of Determination with the
County Recorder's Office, County of Los Angeles, and the California State
Clearinghouse pursuant to Section 21152 of the Public Resources Code.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND A
ST:
A NCY SECRETARY
TED thi - th day of May, 1999.
State of California }
County of Los Angeles } ss
City of Rancho Palos Verdes }
Chairman
1, JO PURCELL, Secretary of the Rancho Palos Verdes Redevelopment
Agency, hereby certify that the above Resolution No. RDA 99 -08 was duly and
regularly passed and adopted by the said Redevelopm i Agency a regular
meeting thereof held May 4, 1999.
Agency Secretary
Resol. No. RDA 99 -08
Page 5