Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance #1800 ORDINANCE NO. 1800 AN EMERGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH AMENDING THE HUNTINGTON BEACH ORDINANCE CODE BY ADDING THERETO NEW ARTICLE 972 ENTITLED, "ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORTS" r The City Council of the City of Huntington Beach does ordain as follows : SECTION 1. The Huntington Beach Ordinance Code is hereby amended by adding thereto new Article 972 entitled, "Environ- mental Impact Reports " to read as follows : 9720 . INTENT. The purpose of this article is to protect the environment of the City of Huntington Beach by requiring environmental impact reports in all cases of proposed develop- ments which may have a significant effect on the environment . 9721. APPLICATION OF ARTICLE . This article shall apply to all permits or entitlements issued by the City relating to public or private land use , development of land, or the construction or alteration of buildings or structures , except where an environ- mental impact report has previously been adopted and filed for such project , unless substantial changes are proposed for the project which will require major revisions of the environmental impact report . 9721. 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW BOARD . There is hereby established an environmental review board composed of four ( 4) members , the Director of Planning, Director of Public Works , Director of Building, and Director of Environmental Resources . (a) Each member of the Board may act personally or by his designated representative . (b ) Members of the board shall perform their duties as a part of their City duties and without additional compensation . (c) Three (3) members shall constitute a quorum. (d) Concurrence of at least three ( 3) members shall be required for any action by the board. (e) The City Council may, by resolution, adopt policies , guidelines , regulations and procedures regulating the prep- aration of environmental impact reports including exemptions and exclusions . -1- (f) The board is authorized to call upon any City employee or official for information or assistance . 9721 . 2 . APPLICATION. FILING OF. Concurrently with the filing of an application for approval of any permit or other m relating public or private land use development i entitlement e ating to pu c p , p of land or construction or alteration of buildings or structures , the applicant shall furnish with his application such information, data and statements in such form as may be required by the City or the environmental review board. The application shall be referred to the environmental review board for review and determination whether the project is one which may have significant impact upon the environment . 9721. 3 . EXEMPTION DECLARATION. Prior to the issuance of any permit or entitlement the department to whom the application is submitted shall obtain a request for exemption declaration from the applicant and shall forward the application for said permit , the exemption declaration and any plans accompanying said permit to the environmental review board. The environmental review board shall review the plans for the proposed project to determine if the project if constructed in the location proposed may have a significant effect upon the environment . The term "significant effect upon the environment" as used herein shall mean any activity which has a nontrivial effect upon the environment . 9721 . 4 . ACTION OF BOARD . NOTICE . GRANTING EXEMPTION DECLARATION. If the environmental review board makes a preliminary determination that the proposed project will have a trivial or lesser effect on the environment , the environmental review board shall give notice : (a) That an exemption declaration has been filed. (b ) That the environmental review board has- -reviewed the exemption declaration and has determined that the proposed project will have a trivial or lesser effect upon the environment . (c) That the environmental review board solicits from the public and interested parties the filing, within a period of ten (10 ) days , of -information and comments in writing relative to the impact of the proposed project upon the environment and to any methods or alternatives by which any adverse consequences to the environment may be avoided or mitigated. Such notice shall be posted in the 'City Clerk' s office for a period of ten (10 ) days . A copy of the request for exemption declaration shall be on file at the City Clerk' s office during such time . Upon expiration of the posting period, the board shall review any comments and shall grant or reject the exemption declaration. If granted, the board may modify or condition the exemption. -2- 9721. 5 . DETERMINATION BY ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW BOARD THAT PROJECT MAY HAVE SIGNIFICANT EFFECT UPON ENVIRONMENT. If the environmental review board determines that the proposed project may have a significant effect upon the environment , an environ- mental impact report on such project must be prepared, adopted and filed and no permit or entitlement shall be approved or issued except in compliance with this article . 9721 . 6 . PREPARATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT. Environmental impact reports shall be prepared by the environ- mental review board for those projects which it determines may have a significant effect upon the environment . Applicants shall furnish such information and data, in the form of environ- mental impact statements , as shall be required by the environ- mental review board . 9721 . 7 . CONTENTS OF REPORT. Environmental impact reports prepared pursuant to this article shall contain a detailed state- ment setting forth the following: (a) The environmental impact of the proposed action. (b ) Any adverse environmental effects which cannot be avoided if the proposal is implemented. (c) Mitigation measures proposed to minimize the impact . (d) Alternatives to the proposed action. (e) The relationship between local short-term uses of man' s environment and the maintenance and enhancement of long-term productivity . (f) Any irreversible environmental changes which would be involved in the proposed action should it be implemented . (g) The growth-inducing impact of the proposed action . (h) The boundaries of the area which may be significantly affected by the proposed action. (i) Any other information or data that may be required by the environmental review board by resolution in accordance with Section 9721. 1(e) of this article . 9721 . 8 . FINDINGS . As a part of the environmental impact report , the environmental review board shall make findings sup- ported by the information and data contained in the report . Said board shall, be required to find whether the proposed project is likely to cause substantial environmental damage after consider- ing alternatives to the proposed project (including abandonment ) and mitigating measures proposed to minimize the impact of such proposed project . -3- In the event such required finding is that such proposed project is likely to cause substantial damage, said board must find whether such damage is outweighed by substantial benefits to the community resulting from such proposed project . 9721 . 9 . EFFECT OF FINDINGS . No permit or entitlement shall be approved or issued by any department , board, commission or the City Council if a finding is made pursuant to this article that the proposed project is likely to cause substantial environ- mental damage after considering alternatives to the proposed pro- ject (including abandonment ) and mitigating measures proposed to minimize the impact of such proposed project , which is not outweighed by substantial benefits to the community resulting from such proposed project . 9721 . 10 . NOTICE AND ADOPTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT . The environmental review board shall give notice : (a) That the environmental impact statement has been filed. (b ) That the environmental impact report will be prepared by the board . (c ) That the environmental review board solicits from the public and interested parties the filing, within a period of thirty (30 ) days , of information and comments in writing relative to the impact of the proposed project upon the environment and to any methods or alternatives by which any adverse consequences to the environment may be avoided or mitigated. Such notice shall be posted in the City Clerk ' s office for a period of thirty (30 ) days . A copy of the environmental impact statement shall be on file at the City Clerk' s office during such time . Such notice shall be given one publication in a news- paper of general circulation published in the City . Following the expiration of the time for receipt of information and comments , as specified in the notice , the environmental review board shall adopt an environmental impact report . 9721 . 11 . FILING OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT . A copy of the environmental impact report adopted by the environmental review board shall be filed in the office of the environmental review board and in the office of the City Clerk. A notice of adoption of such report , together with a copy of the report , shall be mailed to the applicant at the mailing address shown on the application . The report shall become a part of the file on the application and shall be submitted to any board, commission, officer , or the City. Council , exercising discretionary authority with respect to the application. 9721 . 12 . ACTION ON APPLICATION. DISCRETIONARY MATTERS . The City Council, or any board, commission, or officer exercising discretion with respect to any application which is the subject of this article and for which an environmental impact report has been adopted and filed, shall consider such report in making the -4- decision whether to grant , conditionally grant, or deny the application and shall accept , reject , or modify the findings of the environmental review board, or may refer the environ- mental impact statement back to the environmental review board for additional data. 9721. 13 . ACTION ON APPLICATION. NONDISCRETIONARY MATTERS . In all cases in which the issuance of a permit or entitlement by a city department is nondiscretionary and such application is not pending before any board or commission other than the environmental review board, the findings of the environmental review board shall control the granting or denial of such application. 9721 . 14 . FEES . The City Council may, by resolution, estab- lish fees and charges to be paid by the applicant covering the costs of administration of this article . 9721 . 15 . APPEAL TO COUNCIL. An appeal may be taken, from any decision or action made or done pursuant to this article , to the City Council by an applicant , any interested party residing in this City, or any member of the City Council . Any failure to make a decision or to act as required by this article may be appealed to the City Council by an applicant , any interested party residing in the City , or any member of the City Council, within ten (10 ) days following the expiration of the time within which any such decision or action must take place as pro- vided by this article . Said appeals shall be filed in writing with the City Clerk within ten (10 ) days after such decision, action or inaction, and shall be set for hearing by the City Council by the City Clerk within thirty (30 ) days . The hearing shall be open to the public, shall take place during a regular City Council meeting and shall be upon not less than ten (10) days written notice to all parties . The City Council shall hear and determine the appeal and shall make findings supporting their decision. The City Council may accept, reject , or modify the findings made by the environ- mental review board and any other board or commission or the Council may make new and different findings . All findings shall be sup- ported by substantial evidence . 9721. 16 .. LIMITATION OF TIME FOR BRINGING LEGAL ACTION. In all cases in which any person challenges any decision made, action done , or failure to act or decide, by any City board, commission, or officer, or the City Council, pursuant to any provision of the Huntington Beach Ordinance Code or any reso- lution, or any permit or entitlement issued or approved by the City , no action thereon shall be commenced by any person in any court after the expiration of thirty (30) days following the date of such decision or action. In any case in which a challenger alleges such failure to act or decide , no action shall be -5- commenced by any person in any court following thirty (30) days after the Council has decided on appeal to it or, in the event such failure to act or decide is by Council, thirty (30 ) days after such action or decision should have been made . 9721. 17 . SEVERABILITY. If any section, subsection, sentence , clause , phrase or portion of this article , or any future amend- ments or additions thereto, is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this article , or any future amendments or additions hereto. The City Council of the City of Huntington Beach hereby declares that it would have adopted this article and each section, subsection, sentence , clause, phrase or portion or any future amendments or additions thereto, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections , subsections , clauses , phrases , portions or any future amendments or additions thereto be declared invalid or unconstitutional. SECTION 2 . This ordinance is declared to be an ordinance necessary for the immediate preservation of the public health and safety within the meaning of Section 511 of the City Charter and shall take effect immediately. The facts constituting such necessity are as follows : The provisions of this ordinance are necessary because AB 889 (Knox) amending the California Environmental Quality Act of 1970 was adopted by the state legislature as an emergency measure on December 1, 1972 , and said bill brings into effect a one hundred twenty (120) day moratorium upon the environmental impact report requirement of the California Environmental Quality Act of 1970. Such moratorium is nonmandatory and the City Council of Huntington Beach not desiring such moratorium must enact this ordinance as an emergency measure to avoid the effect of this moratorium. Additionally , this ordinance creates the environ- mental review board and the procedures necessary for the imple- mentation of the local environmental impact report policy and enables the environmental review board to implement guidelines adopted and approved by the City Council on November 20 , 1972 . In the absence of this ordinance important decisions hitherto made respecting the need for environmental impact reports for major projects which the City has already decided "may have a significant effect upon the environment" will be suspended and such projects could go forward to construction during the one -6- hundred twenty ( 120) day moratorium period without environ- mental impact reports . Such result will be injurious to the environment of this City and the health , safety and welfare of its residents . The City Clerk shall certify to the passage of this ordinance and shall cause same to be published within fifteen days of its passage in the Huntington .Beach News , a newspaper of general cir- culation, printed and published in Huntington Beach, California. PASSED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Huntington Beach at a regular meeting thereof held on the 4th day of December, 1972. Mayor ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM: Paul C. Jones • City Clerk City Attorney By Assistant City Clerk -7- Emergency Ord. No. 1800 STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF ORANGE ) ss. CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH ) I, PAUL C. JONES, the duly elected, qualified, and acting City Clerk of the City of Huntington Beach and ex-officio Clerk of the City Council of the said City, do hereby certify that the foregoing ordinance was read to the City Council of the City of Huntington Beach at a regular meeting thereof held on the 4th day of December, 1972, and was passed and adopted by at least 5 affirmative votes of said City Council. AYES: Councilmen: Shipley, Bartlett, Gibbs, Green, Matney, Duke, Coen NOES: Councilmen: None ABSENT: Councilmen: None Paul C. Jones City Clerk and ex-officio Clerk of the City Council of the City of Huntington Beach, California B Assista;ETTEyTlerk 1. PAUL C. JONES, CITY CLERK of the City of Huntington Beach and ex-officio Clerk of the City Council, do hereby certify that this ordinance has been publish e in the Huntington Beach News on In accordance with the City Charter of said City. r (AUL C. JONE_9 . ....�..................... ..--- ---•----.City-Clerk Deputy City Clerk