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City of Pleasanton 2023-2031 (6th Cycle) Housing Element Update CEQA Findings of Fact and Statement of Overriding Considerations FirstCarbon Solutions 7 Https://adecinnovations.sharepoint.com/sites/PublicationsSite/Shared Documents/Publications/Client (PN-JN)/2148/21480022/FOF/21480022 Pleasanton Housing Element FOF.docx 1.4.1 - Disagreement Among Experts As reflected in comments, there are disagreement among various parties regarding particular conclusions in the Program EIR. CEQA and relevant case law interpreting the CEQA statute and Guidelines provide the standards for treating disagreement among experts in the context of an EIR, as follows: Where evidence and opinions conflict on an issue concerning the environment, and the lead agency knows of these controversies in advance, the Program EIR and/or related findings must acknowledge the controversies, summarize the conflicting opinions of the experts, and include sufficient information on the controversy. In making a decision on a project where there is disagreement among experts, the lead agency is not obligated to select the viewpoint that purports to be the most environmentally sensitive. Instead, decision-makers are vested with the discretion to weigh expert opinion and choose which they intend to rely on and are not required to resolve a dispute among experts. In their proceedings, decision-makers must consider comments received concerning the adequacy of the Program EIR and address any objections raised in these comments. However, decision-makers are not obligated to follow any directives, recommendations, or suggestions presented in comments on an EIR, and can certify an EIR without needing to resolve disagreements among experts. In making its decision to certify the Program EIR and approve the Housing Element Update, the City of Pleasanton recognizes that a range of technical and scientific opinion exists with respect to certain environmental issues, particularly with respect to water supply impacts and analysis of density bonus units. The lead agency has acquired a comprehensive and well-rounded understanding of the range of this technical and scientific opinion by its review of the Program EIR; as well as by its review of the information provided by the experts who prepared the Program EIR; the lead agency's other consultants and its staff; along with testimony, letters, reports, and other relevant materials in the administrative record, as well as its own experience and expertise in these matters. The materials reviewed by the lead agency include conflicting expert opinions and conflicting statements of facts, as well as other comments on the environmental issues set forth in the Program EIR. This comprehensive review has enabled the lead agency to make its decisions after weighing and considering the various viewpoints on these important issues, and the lead agency has made determinations of significant effects based on substantial evidence, not public controversy or speculation. Accordingly, the lead agency hereby certifies that its Findings and determinations are based on all of the evidence contained in the Program EIR, as well as the evidence and other information in the record addressing the environmental impacts of development consistent with the Housing Element Update, and hereby elects to rely on the analysis and evidence set forth in the Program EIR. The Program EIR is incorporated into these Findings in its entirety. Without limitation, this incorporation is intended to elaborate on the scope and nature of mitigation measures, the basis for determining the significance of impacts, the comparative analysis of alternatives, and the reasons for approving the Housing Element Update in spite of the potential for associated significant and unavoidable adverse impacts.