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4 1 <br /> effect as identified in the final EIR." (CEQA Guidelines §15091[a][1].) The second such finding <br /> is that"[s]uch changes or alterations are within the responsibility and jurisdiction of another <br /> public agency and not the agency making the finding. Such changes have been adopted by such <br /> other agency or can and should be adopted by such other agency." (CEQA Guidelines <br /> §15091[a][2].) The third potential conclusion is that"[s]pecific economic, legal, social, <br /> technological, or other considerations, including provision of employment opportunities for <br /> highly trained workers, make infeasible the mitigation measures or project alternatives identified <br /> in the final EIR." (CEQA Guidelines §15091[a][3].)Public Resources Code §21061.1 defines <br /> "feasible"to mean"capable of being accomplished in a successful manner within a reasonable <br /> period of time,taking into account economic, environmental, social and technological factors." <br /> CEQA Guidelines §15364 adds another factor: "legal" considerations. (See also, Citizens of <br /> Goleta Valley v. Board of Supervisors [1990] 52 Ca1.3d 553, 565 [Goleta II].) <br /> The concept of"feasibility" also encompasses the question of whether a particular <br /> alternative or mitigation measure promotes the underlying goals and objectives of a project. (City <br /> of Del Mar v. City of San Diego [1982] 133 Cal.App.3d 410, 417.) "`[F]easibility' under CEQA <br /> encompasses `desirability' to the extent that desirability is based on a reasonable balancing of the <br /> relevant economic, environmental, social, and technological factors." (Ibid.; see also,Sequoyah <br /> Hills Homeowners Assn. v. City of Oakland[1993] 23 Cal.App.4th 704, 715.) <br /> The CEQA Guidelines do not define the difference between"avoiding" a <br /> significant environmental effect and merely"substantially lessening" such an effect. The City <br /> must therefore glean the meaning of these terms from the other contexts in which the terms are <br /> used. Public Resources Code §21081, on which CEQA Guidelines §15091 is based,uses the term <br /> "mitigate"rather than"substantially lessen." The CEQA Guidelines therefore equate "mitigating" <br /> with"substantially lessening." Such an understanding of the statutory term is consistent with the <br /> policies underlying CEQA, which include the policy that"public agencies should not approve <br /> projects as proposed if there are feasible alternatives or feasible mitigation measures available <br /> which would substantially lessen the significant environmental effects of such Projects." (Pub. <br /> Res. Code §21002.) <br /> For purposes of these findings, the term"avoid"refers to the effectiveness of one <br /> or more mitigation measures to reduce an otherwise significant effect to a less-than-significant <br /> level. In contrast, the term"substantially lessen"refers to the effectiveness of such measure or <br /> measures to substantially reduce the severity of a significant effect, but not to reduce that effect to <br /> a less-than-significant level. These interpretations appear to be mandated by the holding in Laurel <br /> Hills Homeowners Association v. Planning Commission (1978) 83 Cal.App.3d 515, 519- 521, in <br /> which the Court of Appeal held that an agency had satisfied its obligation to substantially lessen <br /> or avoid significant effects by adopting numerous mitigation measures, not all of which rendered <br /> the significant impacts in question less than significant. <br /> Although CEQA Guidelines §15091 requires only that approving agencies specify <br /> that a particular significant effect is "avoid[ed] or substantially lessen[ed],"these findings, for <br /> purposes of clarity, in each case will specify whether the effect in question has been reduced to a <br /> less-than-significant level, or has simply been substantially lessened but remains significant. <br /> Moreover, although §15091,read literally, does not require findings to address <br /> 10 <br />