(e) The site can be adequately served by all required utilities and public services. Does the project fall into any CEQA exemption? Addition and removal of trees and other plant materials on private property does not require a permit. Categorical exemptions are identified by the State Resources Agency and are defined in the CEQA Guidelines (14 CCR Section 15300-15331). 8. Replacement of existing drainage facilities. 15300.1. (2) 10,000 square feet if: No exceptions apply that would . Street openings for the purpose of work under this item are included in this item. (a) Actions by regulatory agencies to enforce or revoke a lease, permit, license, certificate, or other entitlement for use issued, adopted, or prescribed by the regulatory agency or enforcement of a law, general rule, standard, or objective, administered or adopted by the regulatory agency. The term "filling" does not include operation of a dump. (2) A categorical exemption shall not be used for a project located on a site which is included on any list of hazardous waste sites compiled pursuant to Section 65962.5 of the Government Code. School additions are further covered by Class 14. Certain other changes of use are included under Class 3(c). (a) Loans made by the Department of Veterans Affairs under the Veterans Farm and Home Purchase Act of 1943. (h) The creation of bicycle lanes on existing rights-of-way. This exemption shall also apply to leases and concessions of all departments, boards, and commissions. CLASS 24: REGULATIONS OF WORKING CONDITIONS. These may be strictly for information gathering purposes, or as part of a study leading to an action which a public agency has not yet approved, adopted, or funded. Section 15304 of the CEQA Guidelines considers as exemptions: "minor public or private alteration in the condition of land, water, and/or vegetation which do not involve removal of mature, scenic trees except for . CEQA Guidelines, Article 19, Section 15332, Class 32. The Secretary of the California Resources Agency has determined that the projects in these classes do not have significant effect on the environment, and therefore are categorically exempt from CEQA. The numbers of structures described in this section are the maximum allowable on any legal parcel. (b) Operation of the generating facilities will not change the flow regime in the affected stream, canal, or pipeline including but not limited to: The acquisition or sale of land in order to establish a park where the land is still in its natural condition may be exempted under Class 16. CEQA will apply when a management plan is proposed that will change the area from its natural condition or cause substantial adverse change in the significance of the historic or archaeological resource. Section 15304 of the CEQA Guidelines permits, as a categorical exemption, the minor alteration of land or vegetation that does not involve removal of mature, scenic trees. Motels and commercial structures are covered in Class 3(c) below. NO: Preliminary CEQA analysis is required This Class, as a whole, includes a wide range of activities concerning existing structures and facilities. Where grading is done for construction of a building exempted by Class 3, and is covered by the construction permit, such grading is exempt under that Class even if on a slope of 10 percent or more. Also included are additions of new decks, where they are not accessory structures covered under Class 3(e), and enclosures of existing decks or patios. The "same site" shall be deemed to mean the same lot or lots as were occupied by the original structure(s). (1) Meet all the criteria described in Subsection (a), Street vacations of undeveloped streets rights-of-way are included under this item. CEQA applies to certain activities of state and local public agencies. CLASS 12: SURPLUS GOVERNMENT PROPERTY SALES. Class 2 consists of replacement or reconstruction of existing structures and facilities where the new structure will be located on the same site as the structure replaced and will have substantially the same purpose and capacity as the structure replaced, including but not limited to: Class 30 consists of any minor cleanup actions taken to prevent, minimize, stabilize, mitigate, or eliminate the release or threat of release of a hazardous waste or substance which are small or medium removal actions costing $1 million or less. In an area where services are not available for maximum permitted development, the 50 percent or 2,500-square-foot limitation will apply. CLASS 28: SMALL HYDROELECTRIC PROJECTS AT EXISTING FACILITIES. (3) Amounts of dissolved oxygen to a degree that could adversely affect aquatic life, and Class 25 consists of the transfers of ownership of interests in land in order to preserve open space, habitat, or historical resources. Thus, the restoration of a building after a fire which destroyed all but the foundations is exempt under this item, but had the foundation also required reconstruction, the rebuilding would be exempt under Class 2. The CEQA Guidelines (Title 14, Division 6, Chapter 3 of the California Code of Regulations) are administrative regulations governing implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act. 4. Water mains are also an exception where the size increase is necessary to bring old mains up to the current minimum standard to serve existing development, or to provide adequate capacity for fire protection for such development. . Section 15304, Minor Alterations to Land Reasons for Exemption . ther, staff has determined that there is no substantial evidence indicating that any of the exceptions to the categorical exemptions apply to the proposed project pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15300.2 - Exceptions. Grading on land with a slope of 10 percent or more for more buildings than are exempted under Class 3 will not be exempt, however. This is a form of subdivision involving no new construction. This item is applicable mainly to property owned by the City and County of San Francisco outside its borders. Class 28 consists of the installation of hydroelectric generating facilities in connection with existing dams, canals, and pipelines where: PRC Section 21084 requires the CEQA Guidelines to include a list of classes of projects which have been determined not to have a significant effect on the environment and which shall be exempt from the provisions of CEQA. CLASS 8: ACTIONS BY REGULATORY AGENCIES FOR PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT. Such maintenance pertains primarily to existing landscaping, but when combined with Classes 2 and 4(b), this item includes replacement with similar landscaping. Note that this Class concerns one single-family residence. The types of utilities covered under this item are indicated under Class 1(b). Finally, exemptions shall not be applied in the following circumstances: (1) A categorical exemption shall not be used for a project which may result in damage to scenic resources, including, but not limited to, trees, historic buildings, rock outcroppings, or similar resources, within a highway officially designated as a state scenic highway. Demolition of any structure determined by the San Francisco Fire Department to be a health and safety hazard is statutorily exempt as an emergency project (Guidelines Section 15071(c)). ENVIRONMENTALSTATUS: Categorical exemption for replacement landscaping, per State CEQA Guidelines Sections 15304(b)--this proposal falls within a class of projects which the State has determined not to have a significant effect on the environment. Makes findings that a class of projects given categorical exemptions will not have a significant effect on the environment; 2) Certifies state environmental regulatory . This item is applicable to many instances of proposed school and hospital replacement and reconstruction in San Francisco. 12. Such actions include, but are not limited to, the following: The Executive Order suspends Public Resources Code, Division 13 (commencing with section 21000, also known as the California Environmental Quality Act or CEQA) and regulations adopted pursuant to that Division under specified circumstances. We are thrilled to welcome the TLG team to CEQA Chronicles and look forward to sharing their updates on important CEQA developments, new case law, legislation, and guidance. (b) Any of the following conditions exist: 5. Therefore, these classes will not apply where the project may impact an area of special significance that has been designated, precisely mapped, and officially adopted pursuant to law by federal, state, or local agencies. Covered by the . the classes of categorical exemptions may be excluded from using a categorical exemption based on a series of exceptions identified in CEQA Guidelines 15300.2, that if triggered, prohibit the application of a categorical exemption. In such cases any special permit for grading will not be reviewed separately. Landscaping includes walls, fences, walkways, placement of statues and similar commemorative objects, irrigation systems, and similar features, as well as plant materials. (d) Acquisition, sale, or other transfer to prevent encroachment of development into flood plains. Under D.12-06-009, the CPUC determined that the projects proposed by Sonic would qualify as exempt under one or more CEQA categorical exemptions. Sections 15301(h) and 15304(b) of California CEQA Guidelines Priya Macwan Management Assistant, , Special Operations Branch, presented Board Report No. Project - Commitment of Park Fees - Categorical Exemption from the Provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Pursuant to Article III, Section 1, . A categorical exemption shall not be used for a project located on a site which is included on any list compiled pursuant to 65962.5 of the Government Code. . Categorical Exemption Type, Section or Code. CEQA Guidelines. CEQA's categorical exemptions are set forth in sections 15301 to 15333 of the Guidelines. There is no substantial evidence indicating that any of the exceptions to the categorical exemptions apply to the proposed . (3) A categorical exemption shall also not be used for a project which may cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a historical resource. Class 25 includes open space acquisition in some special circumstances. 15304, 15306, 15311, 15312, 15314, 15322, 15323, & 15332) YES: No further CEQA analysis is required. Class 12 consists of sales of surplus government property except for parcels of land located in an area of statewide, regional, or areawide concern identified in Section 15206(b)(4). LAKE COUNTY, Calif. The Lake County Sheriff's Office has identified the driver killed when the tanker truck he was driving overturned and went off Highway 20 early Saturday morning. Kountz was driving a 2013 Kenworth tanker truck westbound on Highway 20 east of . In a partially published opinion in Save Lafayette v.City of Lafayette (2022) 85 Cal.App.5th 842, the First District Court of Appeal upheld approval of an affordable housing project in the face of the third in a series of lawsuits filed by a citizens group against it.The Court held that the applicant could resume processing of its application after several years pursuing an alternative . The following exceptions, however, are noted in the State Guidelines. Categorical Exemption Type, Section or Code. Two indexes (page-based and code section-based) developed and refined by CEQA practitioners. (i) Fuel management activities within 30 feet of structures to reduce the volume of flammable vegetation, provided that the activities will not result in the taking of endangered, rare, or threatened plant or animal species or significant erosion and sedimentation of surface waters. The City and County of San Francisco meets the definition of an "urbanized area" (CEQA Guidelines Section 15387). (i) Construction will not occur in the vicinity of any endangered, rare, or threatened species. Acquisition of urban open space. Sales of surplus land may be physical actions, but most such sales are exempt under this Class. Note that this item applies to restoration or rehabilitation of an existing structure, rather than replacement or reconstruction, which is exempt under Class 2. (b) Replacement of a commercial structure with a new structure of substantially the same size, purpose, and capacity. The amendment and (b) Existing facilities of both investor and publicly-owned utilities used to provide electric power, natural gas, sewerage, or other public utility services. Search for jobs related to Ceqa categorical exemptions 15303 or hire on the world's largest freelancing marketplace with 20m+ jobs. An example would be the statutory CEQA exemption found in Senate Bill 35 (2017). Projects as proposed may not be approved if there are feasible alternatives or feasible mitigation measures available which would substantially lessen the project's significant environmental impacts (Public Resources Code 21002). If grading is part of a larger project requiring environmental review, the grading will be considered as part of such project, regardless of slope. Accessory structures for any residential structures and for some new non-residential structures are exempt under Class 3(e). Examples include but are not limited to: This class also includes maintenance and repair of pier aprons, piers, boat ramps, and other pile-supported structures in areas that are not environmentally sensitive. (d) Approval of the project would not result in any significant effects relating to traffic, noise, air quality, or water quality. tit. 1. (p) Use of a single-family residence as a small family day care home, as defined in Section 1596.78 of the Health and Safety Code. (b) Maintenance or stabilization of berms, dikes, or surface impoundments; SB 35 requires . Read Section 15304 - Minor . (b) Hours of work, or (626) 588-5317 If Filed by Applicant: Installation and alteration of signs are ministerial and therefore exempt from CEQA, except for signs on designated landmarks or in historic districts, signs on sites regulated by prior stipulations under the City Planning Code, and signs that are part of a larger project requiring environmental review. In the downtown area, parking lots of up to approximately 50 parking spaces are considered small and are therefore exempt. Class 15 consists of the division of property in urbanized areas zoned for residential, commercial, or industrial use into four or fewer parcels when the division is in conformance with the General Plan and zoning, no variances or exceptions are required, all services and access to the proposed parcels to local standards are available, the parcel was not involved in a division of a larger parcel within the previous two years, and the parcel does not have an average slope greater than 20 percent. Projects that have no physical effects, or that involve only ministerial government action, are excluded; such projects are shown on a separate list. Occasional temporary facilities set up at City museums and on piers along the Port of San Francisco waterfront to accommodate special exhibits and events are included in this Class. G Section: 15301, 15303, 15304. This item includes landscaping of parks, rights-of-way, and other public areas, except for grading that is otherwise limited by this Class. The housing units may be either in existence or possessing all required permits for construction when the agency makes its final decision to acquire the units. Notations of authority cited within the CEQA guidelines. In urbanized areas, this exemption applies to duplexes and similar structures where no more than six dwelling units will be demolished. 15304.) Class 20 consists of changes in the organization or reorganization of local governmental agencies where the changes do not change the geographical area in which previously existing powers are exercised. This Class includes activities such as an energy-conservation program funded by a regulatory agency. Categorical exemption is anticipated for this option. (b) Law enforcement activities by peace officers acting under any law that provides a criminal sanction. Key resources for understanding and implementing CEQA. 3. The pro: ject is categorically exempt from CEQA under the "Class 4" (14 CCR 15304) exemption per the CEQA Guidelines because the project involves the minor alteration of the condition of land and/or vegetation within a densely developed oil field and does not require the removal of healthy, mature This item covers only the granting of lot line adjustments and variances, not construction that could occur as a result of such approvals. (A) The project is in an area where all public services and facilities are available to allow for maximum development permissible in the General Plan and First, Classes 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, and 32 are qualified by consideration of where the project is to be located. Department of Public Health permits: temporary establishment for food preparation and service or food products and marketing. To be exempt under this section, the proposed use of the facility: In certain cases, the review must also meet federal requirements pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 42 U.S. Code Sections 4321-4347. (3) A store, motel, office, restaurant, and similar small commercial structure if designed for an occupant load of 30 persons or less. (g) Controls for surface water run-on and run-off that meets seismic safety standards; Changes in traffic and parking regulations, including installation and replacement of signs in connection therewith, where such changes do not establish a higher speed limit along a significant portion of the street and will not result in more than a negligible increase in use of the street. (3) Be contiguous to other commercial or institutional structures. Construction activities are not included in this exemption. (c) Placement of seasonal or temporary use items such as lifeguard towers, mobile food units, portable restrooms, or similar items in generally the same locations from time to time in publicly owned parks, stadiums, or other facilities designed for public use. Note that new installations, as opposed to replacements, are not covered by this item. This exemption does not cover expansions in use or capacity of the facility to be replaced or reconstructed. Read Section 15302 - Replacement or Reconstruction, Cal. (e) Excavation and/or off site disposal of contaminated soils or sludges in regulated units; The environmental hazards referenced under this Class, as they apply in San Francisco, are primarily geologic hazards. (h) Maintenance of existing landscaping, native growth, and water supply reservoirs (excluding the use of economic poisons, as defined in Division 7, Chapter 2, California Agricultural Code). A project that would ordinarily be insignificant in its impact on the environment may, in a particularly sensitive or hazardous area, be significant. Painting of curbs, crosswalks, bus stops, parking spaces and lane markings, not including traffic rechannelization. This item is not applicable to activities of the City and County of San Francisco. CLASS 7: ACTIONS BY REGULATORY AGENCIES FOR PROTECTION OF NATURAL RESOURCES. Construction activities and relaxation of standards allowing environmental degradation are not included in this exemption. (1) Result in no net increases in air emissions from the industrial facility, or will produce emissions lower than the amount that would require review under the new source review rules applicable in the county, and 5. Second, all classes of exemption are inapplicable when the cumulative impact of successive projects of the same type in the same place over time is significant -- for example, annual additions to an existing building under Class 1. 15300. (c) A store, motel, office, restaurant and/or similar small commercial structures not involving the use of significant amounts of hazardous substances, and not exceeding 2,500 square feet in floor area. Street openings for the purpose of work under this item are included in this Class. (1) 50 percent of the floor area of the structures before the addition, or 2,500 square feet, whichever is less; or A statutory exemption, not to be confused with a categorical exemption (more on that below), is any provision in state law that takes a project either totally out of the CEQA process or exempts it from certain requirements of that process. (4) Accessory (appurtenant) structures including garages, carports, patios, swimming pools, and fences. This Class applies only to land that is presently in its natural condition and/or contains historic or archaeological sites. (a) Minor lot line adjustments, side yard and setback variances not resulting in the creation of any new parcel. 3. CLASS 27: LEASING NEW FACILITIES (a) Class 27 consists of the leasing of a newly constructed or previously unoccupied privately owned facility by a local or state agency where the local governing authority determined that the building was exempt from CEQA. CLASS 30: MINOR ACTIONS TO PREVENT, MINIMIZE, STABILIZE, MITIGATE OR ELIMINATE THE RELEASE OR THREAT OF RELEASE OF HAZARDOUS WASTE OR HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES. Class 5 consists of minor alterations in land use limitations in areas with an average slope of less than 20%, which do not result in any changes in land use or density, including but not limited to: Examples include but are not limited to: 14 15302, see flags on bad law, and search Casetext's comprehensive legal database The utilities systems covered include, in addition to those named above, telephone, radio, television, alarms and signals, other communications, water, and electricity for transit vehicles and street lights. However, even if the surplus property to be sold is located in any of those areas, its sale is exempt if: In St. Ignatius Neighborhood Assn. 2. Repair and replacement of bicycle ways, pedestrian trails, and dog exercise areas, and signs so designating, where to do so will not involve the removal of a scenic resource. Categorical Exemptions: Article 19. Use of street and sidewalk space during construction. Removal of dead, seriously damaged, and incurably diseased trees is exempt under this Class. This Class ordinarily will not apply in the City and County of San Francisco. (B) The area in which the project is located is not environmentally sensitive. NOE filed . This item is applicable mainly to property owned by the City and County of San Francisco outside its borders. Who Is Affected by CEQA And How Does CEQA Work in Real Estate Development? Movement of trees in planter boxes is not deemed to be tree removal or installation. Certain utilities under the jurisdiction of the State Public Utilities Commission are not subject to local control and therefore do not require local environmental review. 17. A categorical exemption from CEQA rests on a finding by the Resources Agency that a class or category of projects does not have a significant adverse environmental effect; a lead agency's finding that a proposed project falls within one of the exempt classes thus includes an implied finding that the project has no significant environmental . (This does not apply to improvements which are required as mitigation by an adopted negative declaration or certified EIR.) The AEP CEQA Statute & Guidelines is Updated Annually and Provides the Following: Summaries of relevant legislation and court cases from the previous year. The key consideration is whether the project involves negligible or no expansion of an existing use. Class 31 consists of projects limited to maintenance, repair, stabilization, rehabilitation, restoration, preservation, conservation or reconstruction of historical resources in a manner consistent with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties with Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitating, Restoring, and Reconstructing Historic Buildings (1995), Weeks and Grimmer. In urbanized areas, up to three single-family residences may be constructed or converted under this exemption.