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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1803 - Mitigation Monitoring/Permit Compliance Program CITY OF REDDING, CALIFORNIA COUNCIL POLICY SUBJECT RESOLUTION POLICY EFFECTIVE PAGE NUMBER NUMBER DATE MITIGATION MONITORING/ PERMIT COMPLIANCE PROGRAM 92-232 1803 05/19/92 1 BACKGROUND In 1988, the State legislature added a requirement to the Califor- nia Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) that a public agency, in approving mitigation measures contained in Environmental Impact Reports (EIRs) and negative declarations, must also adopt a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program. EIRs have sections dealing specifically with mitigations which include mitigation monitoring. For most. initial studies done by the Planning Depart- ment, a negative declaration is issued based upon the fulfillment of certain permit or map conditions. While the City does not typically call these conditions mitigations, the conditions designed to alleviate possible environmental effects are, in fact, mitigations. Examples of such conditions are erosion-con- trol measures, traffic-control measures, noise barriers, or visual screening. Under CEQA, the City must have an adequate system to ensure that such conditions are fulfilled. A simple checklist system has been adopted by many lead agencies in Cali- fornia, and the State Clearinghouse has confirmed the acceptabili- ty of such checklists. This policy incorporates the checklist designed for use by City departments together with instructions for using the form. PURPOSE It is the purpose of this policy tO establish a checklist and associated procedures to ensure monitoring of environmental mitigations related to "projects" (as defined by CEQA) approved by the City. POLICY 1. For each initial study involving mitigations and each environ- .mental impact report (EIR) completed, a copy of the Mitiga- tion Monitoring/Permit Compliance Checklist must be completed by the project planner. 2. The checklist shall clearly identify parties responsible for monitoring the mitigation, identify time lines for compliance checks, and require the responsible parties to sign when the mitigation is complete or fulfilled. 3. The completed checklist shall be forwarded to all identified responsible parties. 4. City of Redding staff or applicable Responsible Agency shall establish a system to check mitigation compliance according to the established time lines. CR 0O49 CITY OF REDDING, CALIFORNIA COUNCIL POLICY SUBJECT RESOLUTION POLICY EFFECTIVE PAGE NUMBER NUMBER DATE MITIGATION MONITORING/ PERMIT COMPLIANCE PROGRAM 92-232 1803 05/19/92 2 5. Once all compliance checks have been completed by a particu- lar responsible party, that party shall return the checklist to the project planner, signing and dating the certification of mitigation compliance. 6. After the final mitigation compliance check, the project planner or other assigned person shall ensure that all respon- sible parties have returned their copy of the Mitigation Monitoring/Permit Compliance Checklist with certification of mitigation compliance. All copies of the checklist with certifications shall be maintained in the permanent record of the project file. PROCEDURE 1. The project planner shall complete' a copy of the "Mitigation Monitoring/Permit Compliance Checklist." This form may be amended from time to time by approval of the Director of the Department of Planning and Community Development. All chang- es must be consistent with this policy. 2. Instructions for completing the Mitigation Monitoring/Permit Compliance Checklist and instructions for those that carry out the mitigation checks are attached to the form. These instructions may be amended from time to time, consistent with this listed policy, by the Director of the Department of Planning and Come,unity Development. The following is the mitigation monitoring/permit compliance program applied to a hypothetical subdivision: o Tentative Map is submitted to the Planning Department. o The initial study identifies concerns about soil erosion, creek sedimentation, and noise impacts from the adjoining highway. o A negative declaration is issued for the subdivision depen- dent on map conditions that require erosion-control measures, greenway dedication, expanded setback along creek corridors, and a noise wall adjacent to the highway. o The tentative map is approved. Within one week the project Planner prepares the Mitigation Monitoring/Permit Compliance Checklist. ~Copies are sent to the Department of Public Works and to the developer. CR 0049 ~CITY OF REDDING, CALIFORNIA COUNCIL POLICY SUBJECT RESOLUTION POLICY EFFECTIVE PAGE NUMBER NUMBER DATE MITIGATION MONITORING/ PERMIT COMPLIANCE PROGRAM 92-232 1803 05/19/92 3 o Mitigation Monitoring: a. The proposed grading and improvement plans are reviewed by Department of Public Works staff for inclusion of erosion- control measures. The proposed noise wall plans are re- viewed by Department of Public Works staff for adequate design. b. During grading and subdivision construction, erosion-con- trol measures are reviewed regularly by Department of Public Works staff for consistency with the approved plans and effectiveness of the erosion control measures. Depart- ment of Public Works staff ensures that greenway and creek areas are not encroached upon by construction activities. c. The noise wall is constructed, and Planning Department staff measure noise on the subdivision side of the noise wall to ensure its effectiveness. d. When the subdivision improvements are complete and the final subdivision map is being readied for recordation, Department of Public Works and Planning Department staff will review the plans to ensure that greenway areas and creek-protection setbacks are recorded with the map. e. As each house is built within the subdivision, Building Division staff will ensure that structures do not encroach on greenway and setback areas. o Checklist Completion. As each of the mitigation monitoring steps listed above is completed, the Department of Public Works or Planning Department staff member involved will sign off the relevant condition. After all mitigation monitoring involving a particular staff member is complete, that staff member will return the checklist to the project Planner. o When it is time for the subdivision file to be archived, a check will be made to ensure that all required mitigations have been signed off. For some mitigations such as the erosion-control measures in this hypothetical subdivision, a final mitigation monitoring check may be made. If all mitiga- tions are complete, the file will be archived. If mitiga- tions have failed, staff will have to seek remedy. It is likely that bonding requirements related to mitigations will increase substantially. CR OO49