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city's Sphere of Influence and Urban Growth Boundary. The Council's direction largely aligned with the Planning Commission's recommendation with the following changes: remove Site 10 - Valley Care, add Site 18 - Valley Plaza, and add Site 26 - St. Augustine; and to make some modest adjustments to proposed density ranges. See Exhibit A for the comprehensive list of potential Housing Element sites. The DEIR will focus on the land use changes for the 25 sites identified by the City Council for potential inclusion in the Housing Element Update (and rezoned for residential use) and will evaluate the potential environmental impacts of those land use and zoning changes, as well as the implementation of policies and programs included in the updated Housing Element. SCOPE OF ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW The intent of this CEQA Scoping Session is to inform the Commission that the City will be evaluating the 6th Cycle Housing Element update pursuant to CEQA. The Scoping Session also provides a forum to solicit Commission feedback and public comment regarding the type and extent of environmental analyses to be undertaken. The Commission is asked to provide feedback on the potential environmental effects of the project that should be analyzed in the Draft Programmatic EIR. Purpose of the EIR The EIR serves several functions but is principally an informational document that identifies and discloses the environmental impacts of the proposal (in this case, adoption of the Housing Element, associated land use designation changes, and implementation of policies and programs), the mitigation measures for those impacts, and the impacts that cannot be mitigated and are therefore unavoidable. As an informational document, the EIR does not formulate recommendations on a project or proposal. By law, the City Council must "certify" the EIR prior to taking any action on the adoption of the Housing Element, including adopting findings that the document was prepared in conformance with the requirements of CEQA, was duly considered in its decision on the project, and is reflective of the independent judgement and analysis of the City, as the "lead agency." A program EIR is a comprehensive environmental document prepared on a series of related activities that can be characterized as a single large project — for example, a plan or program that includes multiple future rezonings or land use changes. The program EIR analyzes all of the development allowable with the rezonings contemplated in the Housing Element; it can be used to facilitate subsequent review of individual development proposals or projects when they come forward for approval. Although such individual projects are typically subject to some level of additional CEQA review, if the project is consistent with the Housing Element, it can reduce the amount and scope of subsequent analysis required. Environmental Topics to be Addressed The following areas of potential environmental impacts have been identified by the City, for which detailed analysis is recommended to be included in the DEIR. Additional detail on the scope of topics proposed to be addressed under each of these categories is provided in the Notice of Preparation, Exhibit A. As a result of comments received during the scoping period, including at this scoping session, additional issues may be identified that may be added to this list: Housing Element Update, P21-0751 Planning Commission 3 of 5 is approach is being taken by some cities in light of the more stringent"no net loss" provisions of state law. However, this decision would rest with the City Council, among its considerations when adopting the Housing Eleme it. Housing Element Update, P21-0751 Planning Commission 2 of 5