PLANNING DEPARTMENT TRANSMITTAL TO THE CITY CLERK S OFFICE

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1 PLANNING DEPARTMENT TRANSMITTAL TO THE CITY CLERK S OFFICE CITY PLANNING CASE: ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENT: COUNCIL DISTRICTS: CPC CA ENV CE All PROJECT LOCATION: Citywide APPLICANT TELEPHONE NUMBER: ADDRESS: City of Los Angeles i New/Changed APPLICANT S REPRESENTATIVE TELEPHONE NUMBER: ADDRESS: APPELLANT TELEPHONE NUMBER: ADDRESS: APPELLANT S REPRESENTATIVE TELEPHONE NUMBER: ADDRESS: PLANNER CONTACT INFORMATION: TELEPHONE NUMBER: ADDRESS: Phyllis Nathanson phyllis.nathanson@lacity.og ENTITLEMENTS FOR CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERATION Poposed Odinance Tansmittal Rev 04/05/17 1

2 FINAL ENTITLEMENTS NOT ADVANCING: ITEMS APPEALED: ATTACHMENTS: REVISED: ENVIRONMENTAL CLEARANCE: REVISED: 7 Lette of Detemination 7 Findings of Fact 7 Staff Recommendation Repot Conditions of Appoval 7 Odinance Zone Change Map GPA Resolution P Land Use Map Exhibit A - Site Plan 7 Mailing List P Land Use Othe NOTES / INSTRUCTION(S): 7 Categoical Exemption Negative Declaation P Mitigated Negative Declaation P Envionmental Impact Repot Mitigation Monitoing Pogam Othe FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT: Yes m no *lf detemination states administative costs ae ecoveed though fees, indicate Yes. PLANNING COMMISSION: 7 City Planning Commission (CPC) Cultual Heitage Commission (CHC) Cental Aea Planning Commission East LA Aea Planning Commission ~ Habo Aea Planning Commission Noth Valley Aea Planning Commission South LAAea Planning Commission South Valley Aea Planning Commission West LAAea Planning Commission PLANNING COMMISSION HEARING DATE: Tansmittal Rev 04/05/17 2 COMMISSION VOTE:

3 August 23, LAST DAY TO APPEAL: TRANSMITTED BY: APPEALED: No TRANSMITTAL DATE: James K. Williams Commission Executive Assistant II August 30, 2018 Tansmittal Rev 04/05/17 3

4 OS SS 1 Los Angeles City Planning Commission 200 Noth Sping Steet, Room 272, Los Angeles, Califonia, , (213) LETTER OF DETERMINATION MAILING DATE: Case No. CPC CA CEQA: ENV CE Plan Aeas: All Council Disticts: All Poject Location: Applicant: Citywide City of Los Angeles At its meeting of August 23, 2018, the Los Angeles City Planning Commission took the actions below in conjunction with the appoval of the following: An odinance establishing a new Section within Aticle 1.5 to the Los Angeles Municipal Code, stating that when a decision-make othe that the City Council cetifies an EIR, appoves an ND, MND, o SCEA, o detemines that a poject is exempt, that envionmental cleaance may be appealed to the City Council within 15 days of the poject s appoval Detemined based on the whole of the administative ecod, that the poposed odinance is not a poject unde CEQA pusuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b) and is exempt fom the Califonia Envionmental Quality Act (CEQA) pusuant to CEQA Guidelines, Section (Class 8); Appoved and ecommended that the City Council adopt the poposed odinance; Adopted the staff epot as the Commission epot on the subject; and Adopted the attached Findings. The vote poceeded as follows: Moved: Second: Ayes: Absent: Dake Wilson Choe Khosand, Millman, Mitchell, Padilla Campos Mack, Pelman Vote: 7-0 James K. Willtems, Commission Executive Assistant II Los Angeles City Planning Commission

5 CPC CA Page 2 Effective Date/Appeals: The decision of the Los Angeles City Planning Commission is not appealable. If you seek judicial eview of any decision of the City pusuant to Califonia Code of Civil Pocedue Section , the petition fo wit of mandate pusuant to that section must be filed no late than the 90th day following the date on which the City's decision became final pusuant to Califonia Code of Civil Pocedue Section Thee may be othe time limits which also affect you ability to seek judicial eview. Attachments: Odinance, Findings c: Thomas Rothmann, Pincipal City Planne Phyllis Nathanson, Senio City Planne

6 Modified by the City Planning Commission on August 23, 2018 ORDINANCE NO. An odinance adding Section to Aticle 1.5 of Chapte 1 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code to allow appeals to the City Council fom CEQA cleaance appovals by lowe decision-making bodies. THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. A new Section is added to Aticle 1.5 of Chapte 1 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code to ead as follows: SEC CEQA Appeals. A. Pupose. This section is intended to implement Califonia Public Resouces Code Sections (c) and (b)(5). B. Appeal. When any decision-make in any action authoized by this Chapte, othe than the City Council, cetifies an envionmental impact epot, adopts a negative declaation, mitigated negative declaation o a sustainable communities envionmental assessment, o detemines that the poject subject to appoval unde this Chapte is not subject to the Califonia Envionmental Quality Act, that cetification, appoval, o detemination may be appealed to the City Council povided no futhe appeals ae available on the poject appoval fo which the cetification, appoval o detemination unde CEQA was made, the appeal is filed with the Depatment of City Planning within 15 days of the poject appoval becoming final, and the appeal is filed in a fom and manne equied by the Depatment of City Planning. C. Stay. Upon the filing of an appeal pusuant to Subsection B, thee shall be a stay on the poject appoval and any discetionay o ministeial pemits issued in eliance upon the poject appoval. D. Heaing and Decision. The City Council shall act on the CEQA appeal within 75 days afte the expiation of the appeal peiod o within any additional peiod mutually ageed upon by the applicant and the City Council. The City Council shall hold a heaing befoe acting on the appeal. Notice of the heaing shall be given at least 10 days befoe the heaing. Notice by mail shall be given to the applicant, appellant, any peson o entity that has equested notice in witing of CEQA notices, and esponsible and tustee agencies, if any. Failue by the City Council to ende a decision within 75 days shall esult in the denial of the appeal. Sec. 2. The City Clek shall cetify... 1

7 CPC LAND USE FINDINGS 1. In accodance with Chate Section 556, the poposed odinance (Appendix A) is in substantial confomance with the puposes, intent and povisions of the Geneal Plan. In the Intoduction section, the Geneal Plan Famewok Element states that: The Geneal Plan Famewok Element is a stategy fo long-tem gowth which sets a citywide context to guide the update of the community plan and citywide elements...it defines city wide policies that will be implemented though subsequent amendments of the City's community plans, zoning odinances, and othe petinent pogams. In ode fo any stategy contained within the Geneal Plan to be implemented, a new odinance will have to be adopted containing new egulations, new specific plans, o updates to existing egulations o Community Plans. These egulations will shape futue development within the city by egulating the use of land and pivate land development. All discetionay actions, including pivate development pojects equiing discetionay actions, ae equied by State law to have CEQA cleaances. Cuently, the City of Los Angeles is hampeed in utilizing all available CEQA cleaances, due to the inefficient wokflow esulting fom cuent egulations equiing Sustainable Communities Envionmental Assessments (SCEA) to be appoved by the City Council befoe a poject entitlement is detemined by the appopiate decisionmake. By adding a section to the Zoning Code to affimatively state that CEQA cleaances made by decision-makes othe than the City Council can be appealed to the Council will allow SCEAs to be head and appoved by a planning commission, making it both easie to use and moe time-efficient. By steamlining the CEQA cleaance pocess, the poposed odinance will help to facilitate development pojects which implement the vision of the Geneal Plan. By helping to implement the vision the Geneal Plan, the poposed Code amendment is theefoe in confomance with the puposes, intent, and povision of the Plan. 2 In accodance with Chate Section 558 (b)(2), the poposed odinance will be in confomance with public necessity, convenience, geneal welfae and good zoning pactice. As stated above, all discetionay actions, including development pojects which equie City appoval, need a CEQA cleaance. Howeve, the City of Los Angeles is hindeed in utilizing all available CEQA cleaances, since Sustainable Communities Envionmental Assessments (SCEA) need to be appoved by the City Council befoe a poject entitlement is detemined by the appopiate decisionmake. By adding a section to the Zoning Code to affimatively state that CEQA cleaances made by decision-makes othe than the City Council can be appealed

8 CPC CA Page 2 to the Council will allow SCEAs to be head and appoved by a planning commission, making it easie to use. This will esult in both time savings fo applicants, moe efficient time use among City staff, and add a new tool fo accuately and effectively assessing and mitigating potential envionmental impacts fom new development pojects. By making SCEAs easie to use, the poposed amendment will be in confomance with the public convenience by ceating a simple pocess. Futhe, by making a new tool fo assessing and mitigating potential envionmental impacts easie to use, the poposed amendment is in confomance with the public necessity. In addition, State law equies that when CEQA cleaances ae made by a decisionmake othe than the City Council, then those cleaances shall be appealable to the Council. Cuently the Zoning Code is silent on CEQA appeals. Howeve, in compliance with State law, the City accepts appeals of CEQA cleaances to the City Council. This new odinance will codify existing City pactice and applicable State law equiements egading CEQA appeals. Moeove, the poposed odinance will set clea guidelines establishing a time limit fo filing appeals, clea guidelines as to when a CEQA appeal can be filed, and a cap on all futue CEQA appeals fees. By binging claity and tanspaency to the CEQA appeals pocess, the poposed odinance is in confomance with the geneal welfae, as all inteested paties can clealy infomed of the pocess fo filing a CEQA appeal. Futhemoe, by codifying a equiement in State law, the poposed odinance is in confomance with good zoning pactice by ensuing State law equiements ae clealy implemented in the City. ENVIRONMENTAL FINDING The poject is a Code amendment which claifies povisions in the Zoning Code petaining to appeals of CEQA cleaances made by decision-makes othe than the City Council without changing the substance of the egulations. The Code Amendment codifies existing City pactice in compliance with Califonia Public Resouces Code Section (c), affimatively stating that CEQA cleaances made by decision makes othe than the City Council ae diectly appealable to the Council. Pusuant to CEQA Guidelines, Sections 15060(c)(2) and 15378(a), the poposed Code amendment is not consideed a Poject unde CEQA because it does not have the potential fo esulting in eithe a diect physical change in the envionment, oa easonably foeseeable indiect physical change in the envionment. This is due to the fact that the Code amendment does not change any pactice o pocedue, but athe claifies and codifies existing pactice based on State law. The Code amendment also meets the equiements of the Class 8 Categoical Exemption pusuant to CEQA Guidelines, Section Class 8 consists of actions taken by egulatoy agencies, as authoized by state o local odinance, to ensue the maintenance, estoation, enhancement, o potection of the envionment whee the egulatoy pocess involves pocedues fo potection of the envionment. This poject

9 CPC CA Page 3 initiated by the City Council to povide claity and guidance to the geneal public as to how appeals of CEQA deteminations can be made. Theefoe, the Code amendment is not consideed a Poject unde CEQA. Howeve, if it wee a poject, it would be exempt fom CEQA unde the Class 8 Categoical Exemption and none of the exceptions to exemption unde CEQA Guidelines Section apply.