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attached to this report as Attachment 9, Exhibit H, and was also published in the local <br /> newspaper. After the Planning Commission hearing, staff has received several emails <br /> in regard to this project. The full text of these emails is attached to this report as <br /> Attachment 8. <br /> ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT <br /> On January 4, 2012, the City Council certified a Supplemental Environmental Impact <br /> Report (SEIR) and adopted the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Findings <br /> and a Statement of Overriding Considerations for the Housing Element update and <br /> Climate Action Plan General Plan Amendment and Rezonings. This SEIR was a <br /> supplement to the EIR prepared for the Pleasanton 2005-2025 General Plan which was <br /> certified in July 2009. The subject property was one of 21 potential housing sites <br /> analyzed in the SEIR. Up to 345 multi-family housing units and 59,000 sq. ft. of retail <br /> space were analyzed in the SEIR for this site. <br /> Under CEQA, once an EIR has been prepared for a project, the lead agency (in this <br /> case, the City) is not required to prepare a subsequent or supplemental EIR unless <br /> certain conditions are met as specified in CEQA. Staff believed that the conditions <br /> described in CEQA have not occurred and that a subsequent or supplemental EIR was <br /> not required for this project. CEQA further states that a lead agency shall prepare an <br /> addendum to a previously certified EIR if some changes or additions are necessary, but <br /> none of the conditions calling for the preparation of a subsequent EIR have occurred. <br /> Therefore, an addendum to the SEIR was prepared for this project. <br /> The analysis in the Addendum to the SEIR (Attachment 9, Exhibit E) determined that <br /> the proposed project will not trigger any new or more severe significant environmental <br /> impacts as compared to those analyzed in the context of the SEIR and confirmed that <br /> none of the conditions requiring the preparation of a subsequent or supplemental EIR <br /> occurred. Therefore, the previously prepared SEIR and Addendum to the SEIR, taken <br /> together, are determined to be adequate to serve as the environmental documentation <br /> for this project and satisfy all the requirements of CEQA. <br /> The SEIR for the Housing Element update included a Statement of Overriding <br /> Considerations for two significant and unavoidable impacts: development facilitated by <br /> the General Plan Amendment and rezonings could potentially add traffic to the regional <br /> roadway network to the point at which they would operate unacceptably under <br /> Cumulative Plus Project conditions; and development facilitated by the General Plan <br /> Amendment and rezonings has the potential to adversely change the significance of <br /> historic resources (staff notes that the subject site was not one of the housing sites that <br /> contained older structures that may be historic). The Council needs to reaffirm the <br /> earlier overriding considerations for this project. <br /> CONCLUSION <br /> Staff analysis concludes that the project is consistent with the Housing Site <br /> Development Standards and Design Guidelines with the acceptable exceptions referred <br /> to in this report and is consistent with City policies for creating higher-density housing <br /> near transportation corridors and hubs. Staff finds the site layout to be acceptable and <br /> Page 10 of 11 <br />