Vacaville City Zoning Code

An activity that is not a project, including:

Ministerial Projects. Ministerial projects or actions involve the use of set standards or objective measurements to evaluate the feasibility of granting an approval. Such projects do not require discretionary or subjective judgment on the part of the decision-maker on whether or how a project should be carried out. A ministerial project would be required to be approved if those set standards were complied with and, therefore, would not be subject to CEQA review. Ministerial projects include, but are not limited to, the following activities:

Additional Ministerial Projects. The Director, upon review of the provisions contained in this division and in the CEQA Guidelines, may make a determination that a particular project not specifically itemized in Section 14.03.021.010(B) above, is in fact a ministerial project. The determination that a particular project is a ministerial project shall be based on an examination of the law or ordinance authorizing the permit and a determination by the Director that the approval of the project or activity does not involve discretion in granting the permit. Upon making a finding that a project, or activity, is ministerial, the Director may file a notice of exemption with the County Clerk that the project or activity has been determined to be ministerial.

Emergency Projects. Emergency projects are in response to an occurrence or a situation that involves a clear and imminent danger, requiring immediate action to prevent or reduce the loss or damage to life, health, property, or essential public services. Projects determined by the Director of Public Works to be emergency projects are exempt from the requirements of CEQA. Substantial evidence must be present in the record to support the findings that there is, or will be, imminent danger or that an emergency situation has occurred, or will be prevented in order for this exemption to apply. The following shall be deemed to be emergency projects:

Categorical Exemptions. CEQA does not apply to a class of projects listed in the Guidelines as categorical exemptions. These projects, which are not ministerial projects, have been determined by the State to have no significant effect on the environment, and therefore, are exempt from CEQA. In addition to the State list of categorically exempt projects, the following City projects shall be exempt from the provisions of CEQA:

An otherwise categorically exempt project shall be subject to CEQA if:

Projects which the City, acting as lead agency, denies or rejects.

A brief description of the project;

A finding that the project is exempt from CEQA, including a citation to the applicable section of the CEQA Guidelines;

A brief statement of reasons to support the finding of exemption.

The project has the potential to substantially degrade the quality of the environment, substantially reduce the habitat of a fish or wildlife species, cause a fish or wildlife population to drop below self-sustaining levels, threaten to eliminate a plant or animal community, reduce the number or restrict the range of a rare or endangered plant or animal, or eliminate important examples of major periods of California history or prehistory;

The project has the potential to achieve short-term environmental goals to the disadvantage of long-term goals;

The project has possible environmental effects which are individually limited but are cumulatively considerable;

The environmental effects of the project will cause substantial adverse effects on human beings, either directly or indirectly.

A description of the project, project name, and project location; project location may be given by street address, assessor's parcel number, shown on a map, or any other method which adequately identifies where the project is located;

The name of the project proponent;

A finding that the project will not have a significant effect upon the environment;

A copy of the initial study shall be attached to the negative declaration; and

A description of proposed mitigation measures, if any.

The period during which comments will be received on the draft negative declaration;

The location where copies of the draft negative declaration and all documents referenced in the draft are available for review;

The date, time, and location of any public hearing on the proposed project;

If a public hearing is held on a project, the hearing shall include consideration of the negative declaration.

Filed with the office of the County Clerk;

Posted in a prominent location in City Hall; and

Given by at least one of the following methods:

The project does not have the potential to substantially degrade the quality of the environment, substantially reduce the habitat of a fish or wildlife species, cause a fish or wildlife population to drop below self-sustaining levels, threaten to eliminate a plant or animal community, reduce the number or restrict the range of a rare or endangered plant or animal, or eliminate important examples of major periods of California history or prehistory;

The project does not have the potential to achieve short-term environmental goals to the disadvantage of long-term goals;

The project does not have environmental effects which are individually limited but are cumulatively considerable;

The project will not have environmental effects which will cause substantial adverse effects on human beings, either directly or indirectly;

The negative declaration reflects the independent judgment of the City of Vacaville, acting as lead agency for the project.

Project name and a brief description of the project;

The date on which the project was approved;

The determination by the decision-maker that the project will not have a significant effect on the environment;

A statement that the negative declaration has been prepared pursuant to the provisions of CEQA;

The address where a copy of the negative declaration may be examined.

That an initial study has been prepared to evaluate the potential for adverse environmental impact; and

That there is no evidence before the City that the proposed project involves the potential for any adverse effect, either individually or cumulatively, on wildlife resources; and

That the decision-maker has, on the basis of substantial evidence, rebutted the presumption of adverse effect; and

Any other findings made to support the determination of no significant adverse impacts.

Subsequent changes are proposed in a project and the impacts of which are not considered in a previous EIR or negative declaration; or

Substantial changes occur in the circumstances under which the project will develop; or

New information of substantial importance to the project becomes available which was not known at the time the previous EIR was certified or the previous negative declaration was adopted.

A project description detailed enough for a reviewing agency to determine whether there is the potential for resources within the agency's jurisdiction to be impacted;

The location of the project given by street address or shown on a map, preferably on a United States Geological Survey topographic map;

Describe the probable environmental effects of the project. This requirement may be satisfied by attaching a copy of the initial study to the notice.

Publication at least one time in a newspaper of general circulation of the City; or

Posting of notice on and off the site in the area where the project is to be located; or

Direct mailing to the owners and occupants of contiguous property shown on the latest equalized assessment roll.

Provide a brief description of the project and its location;

Indicate where a copy of the draft EIR and documents referenced in the draft are available for review;

Specify the date, time, and location of the public hearing, if any, on the proposed draft EIR;

Briefly describe the significant effects on the environment, if any, anticipated as a result of the project; and

Indicate the time period during which written comments will be received on the draft EIR.

If the Planning Commission is authorized to make a recommendation on the entire project, the Planning Commission shall forward to the City Council, a recommendation on the entire project and a recommendation on certification of the EIR;

If the Planning Commission is authorized to approve the entire project, the Commission shall certify the final EIR prior to approving the project;

If the Planning Commission is authorized both to approve and make a recommendation on applications that constitute the project, the Commission shall:

A revised draft EIR with changes made to the text in response to comments received, or a draft EIR with a section added which specifically addresses the comments received;

Copies of the comments that were received on the draft EIR, either verbatim or in summary;

The responses to the significant environmental issues raised during the public review period;

A list of persons, organizations, and public agencies which commented on the draft EIR.

The final EIR has been completed in compliance with CEQA; and

The City Council or the Planning Commission has reviewed and considered the information contained in the EIR prior to approving a project; and

The final EIR reflects the independent judgment of the City acting as lead agency for the project.

Changes or alterations have been incorporated into the project which mitigate or avoid the significant effects on the environment;

Those changes or alterations are within the responsibility and jurisdiction of another public agency and have been, or can and should be, adopted by that other agency;

That specific economic, legal, social, technological, or other considerations make infeasible the mitigation measures or alternatives identified in the final EIR.

Whether mitigation measures were made as a condition of approval;

Whether findings were made;

Whether the project in its approved form will have significant effects on the environment;

Whether a Statement of Overriding Considerations was adopted as part of the project approval.

Revisions are required in the previous EIR, negative declaration, or mitigated negative declaration due to the identification of new significant environmental impacts related to the project or circumstances under which the project would occur that were not considered in the previous environmental document; or

New information of substantial importance becomes available that indicates any of the following:

No substantial changes have occurred with respect to the circumstances under which the previous environmental document was certified or adopted; or

The previous documentation is still adequate and no new substantial information as described under Subsection B.2. above, has become available.

That the activity is within the scope of the project covered by the previous EIR, negative declaration, or mitigated negative declaration;

That no new significant effects would occur or no new mitigation measures would be required;

That the Statement of Overriding Considerations, if any, adopted with the previous project for which the EIR was prepared has been incorporated into the project approval;

That feasible mitigation measures or alternatives adopted with the previous EIR or mitigated negative declaration have been incorporated into the project approval; and

That no new environmental document would be required.

Mitigation measures shall be identified for each significant environmental effect and shall relate directly to specific impacts caused by the project;

Substantial evidence shall be provided to support selection of a specific mitigation and its effectiveness in changing environmental conditions;

If more than one mitigation is available, a reason should be given for the selection of one measure over the others;

The mitigation measure should be clear, understandable, and provide quantifiable results;

The discussion shall distinguish between measures proposed by the applicant to be included in the project and those that are not included but could reasonably be expected to reduce adverse impacts if required as conditions of approval;

The mitigation shall be capable of being accomplished in a successful manner within a reasonable period of time;

All aspects of the mitigation program should be set forth in the draft EIR or mitigated negative declaration to allow the public to comment on its adequacy or likely effectiveness.

Implementing an action that will result in an impact being reduced to a level where it is no longer significant or where the impact will be avoided altogether;

Minimizing impacts by limiting the degree or magnitude of the action and its implementation;

Repairing, rehabilitating, or restoring an impacted environment;

Reducing or eliminating the impact over time by preservation and maintenance operations during the life of the action;

Compensating for the impact by replacing or providing substitute resources or environments.