80 Willow Rd.

The City deemed the application complete on November 14, 2024 as all required items have been submitted per established City and Senate Bill 330 (SB 330 or Housing Crisis Act of 2019) guidelines. SB 330 allows a preliminary application process and streamlined review for eligible housing development projects.

The determination of application completeness begins the next phase of consistency review.

The City reviewed the project for consistency with applicable development standards. The Housing Accountability Act requires the City to identify a housing development project’s inconsistency with objective development standards.  A determination of inconsistency does not amount to a denial of the project.

On Jan. 13, 2025, the City found the application to be inconsistent with multiple City development standards.

The project is subject to review pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). As a first step, the CEQA consultant prepares an Initial Study (IS) that serves as a preliminary analysis to determine the relative environmental impacts associated with a proposed project. It is designed as a measuring mechanism to determine if a project could have a significant adverse effect on the environment.

 If the IS results show that mitigation would not be possible or feasible for any of the topics, or would still result in a significant environmental impact, preparation of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is required. If mitigation is possible or feasible, a mitigated negative declaration may be prepared. If the IS results show no potential for environmental impacts, a negative declaration may be prepared.

Consultant Selection – Request for Proposals (RFP)

The City is beginning the environmental review process, which starts with issuance of a Request for Proposal (RFP) to potential CEQA consultants to prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The RFP is expected to be released in late January 2025. The RFP will be distributed to the City’s short list of qualified CEQA consultants through PlanetBid, an online procurement platform. Once a qualified consultant is selected, City Council approval of a professional services contract would follow, and the CEQA work would thereafter begin.

Environmental review typically covers a wide range of topic areas, such as:

• Aesthetics
• Agriculture and Forestry Resources
• Air Quality
• Biological Resources
• Cultural Resources
• Geology and Soils
• Greenhouse Gas Emissions
• Hazards and Hazardous Materials
• Hydrology and Water Quality
• Land Use and Planning
• Mineral Resources
• Noise and Vibration
• Population, Housing, and Employment
• Public Services and Recreation
• Transportation and Traffic
• Utilities and Service Systems

Public Participation and Timeline

Public participation is an essential part of the CEQA process. The City will issue and publicize notices to announce various milestones in the CEQA process such as:

• Consultant Selection – The City Council agenda will be published 72 hours in advance of the meeting. This agenda item will be only for the consultant selection and not about the proposed project. 
• If it is determined that an EIR must be prepared:
  • Notice of Preparation and EIR Scoping Session – This notice confirms the preparation of an EIR and announces a public scoping session. An EIR scoping session provides an opportunity early in the environmental review process for the Planning Commission and the public to comment on specific topics that they believe should be addressed in the environmental analysis.
  • Notice of Availability of Draft EIR – This notice announces the availability of the Draft EIR document and begins a public review and comment period.
  • Notice of Release of Final FEIR – This notice announces the availability of the Final EIR document, which may contain additional information about potential environmental impacts and responds to substantive comments received during the public comment period.
  • Public hearings with the Planning Commission and City Council will be held to evaluate/certify the environmental review documents along with review for the project application itself. A summary timeline of environmental review milestones will be developed by the City and the CEQA consultant and posted to this webpage. Please check back and subscribe to the project email list for updates.

The City will determine any special status during the initial study portion of the environmental review process. The City has received notice(PDF, 5MB) that the State Historical Resources Commission will be holding a meeting to consider a nomination to place the property on the National Register of Historic Places. The new, tentative date for this meeting is May 9, 2025, pending date confirmation with the Commission.

California Government Code § 65589.5(d)(5) of the Housing Accountability Act (HAA), provides that a local agency shall not disapprove a housing development project for very low-, low-, or moderate-income households, or an emergency shelter, or condition approval in a manner that renders the housing development project infeasible, based on the project’s inconsistency with zoning and General Plan standards, if the local agency had not timely adopted a “substantially compliant” housing element.

Visit the Builder’s Remedy webpage to learn more.