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Downtown. He stated that he believes this section was included because it makes the City eligible for Federal tax credits; however, it also comes with a huge responsibility. He noted that a NRHD requires a lot of time and effort, and if the City becomes one, it must become a locally certified government; establish an entirely new Commission to regulate the District, otherwise, all decisions are done at the State level which can be cumbersome; and the new Commission must have a certain percentage of Commissioners with specific background and training on historic preservation. He likened it to reinstituting the Architectural Review Board, which the City has eliminated, but only for historic preservation matters. Mr. Dolan stated that there are other incentives not necessarily included here that are much easier, such as the Mills Act. He explained that through this Act, people can obtain relief through the County and their property bills in exchange for a commitment to do some preservation efforts that cost money. He indicated that this has not been adopted in the City but is something that does not take great effort to adopt and can be explored without a NRHD designation. Mr. Dolan then referred to the chapter on Design and Beautification, which relates mostly to urban design guidance. He indicated that it makes a lot of reference to historic preservation but does not add anything new that has not already been provided in the chapter on Historic Preservation chapter. Downtown Design Guidelines Mr. Dolan indicated that Downtown Design Guidelines (DTDG) is related and called for as part of the implementation of the DTSP. He stated that staff refers to this document when doing an architectural review. He noted that it is similar to the DTSP chapter on Design and Beautification but presented in a more generic fashion, with a little more detail on specific issues, and does not apply only to historic properties. CEQA Mr. Dolan stated that one of the last two documents is the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which is an overlap of State regulation. He indicated that this CEQA regulation for demolitions would exist whether or not staff has a Downtown Specific Plan or is having a historic dialogue. He explained that this section of CEQA basically evolved over time, and in the last 10-15 years, it got very explicit that some adverse impact to a historic resource would be considered an environmental impact under CEQA. He noted that this would require a CEQA analysis on many projects, including single-family residences, that would otherwise be exempt from consideration. He added that a structure cannot be demolished if the impacts are not mitigated, as demolishing a historic home presents a significant adverse environmental impact. He stated that the only way to move forward on something like this is to do an Environmental Impact Report (EIR), certify the EIR, and then adopt a Statement of Overriding Considerations. He stated that procedurally, this becomes a significant obligation. PLANNING COMMISSION REGULAR MINUTES, March 9, 2011 Page 10 of 24