PC-98-31 - Laserfiche WebLink

EXHIBIT B STATEMENT OF OVERRIDING CONSIDERA nONS Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") Guideline Section 15093, the City Council of the City of Pleasant on adopts and makes the following Statement of Overriding Considerations regarding unavoidable environmental impacts of the Happy Valley Specific Plan project ("Project") and the anticipated social, economic and other benefits of the Project. The City Council finds and determines, based on the evidence set forth in the Draft EIR and Final EIR Chapters 3 and 5, as well as the evidence set forth below, that to the extent that any significant environmental impacts (e.g. conversion of agricultural land to urban uses; and exposure of structures and persons to injuries and death from seismic events) attributable to the Project remain umnitigated, the benefits of the Specific Plan Project outweigh such unavoidable adverse environmental effects relating to the conversion of agricultural land to urban use, and the exposure of structures and populations to risk of injury and death from seismic activity. In addition, the City Council finds and determines that the measures suggested by the Draft EIR to reduce the cumulative regional impacts (e.g. conversion of agricultural land to urban uses; traffic volumes on 1-580 and 1-680 which exceed adopted standards; need to expand available water supply resources; need to expand wastewater treatment capacity; need to expand wastewater export capacity; and exposure of portions of the fire service area to response times exceeding 5 minutes) cannot be implemented in the absence of regional solutions, or are the responsibility of one or more other public entities. The City Council also finds and determines that the Project Alternatives ("Alternatives"), as set forth in Chapter 4 of the Draft EIR, are unfeasible and/or less desirable than the Project itself. Such Alternatives would create undesirable impacts (e.g. noise and traffic) on existing residential development, as well as additional significant environmental impacts. The City Council finds that the Alternatives would preclude obtaining specific social, economic and other benefits of the Project. Specifically, the City Council finds and determines that the following social, economic and other considerations warrant approval of the Project, notwithstanding any unavoidable or unmitigated project level, or regional cumulative impacts, resulting from the Project: A. Recreation and Communitv Activitv. The City Council finds and determines that the Project provides for well-planned recreational amenities, such as the municipal golf course, local and regional trails, and open space which meet the needs of the City and the region, while maintaining environmental quality. The Project provides social benefits to those residing in the City and those choosing to reside in the City in the future by providing areas for outdoor recreation available to all members of the public. In the General Plan, the City Council adopted policies to enhance recreational opportunities and promote the development of a municipal golf course. (See 1996 General Plan, Public Facilities Chapter, Policies 13 and 14.). In addition, open Exhibit B 1