CEQA and General Plans
CEQA and Sustainable Development
Many local governments have begun to recognize the benefits of addressing greenhouse gas emissions during the general plan update at the programmatic or "big picture" level. More and more, cities and counties are creating "Climate Action Plans" and "Sustainability Plans" that reduce community-wide emissions through a broad range of integrated goals, objectives, policies and implementation measures.
Sustainability and General Plan Updates
Under California law, cities and counties are required to prepare a general plan and to update it regularly. General plans are in the nature of a "constitution" for development, shaping the community for decades to come. Because general plan updates are "projects" under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and because most such updates may have significant impacts, a local government updating its general plan usually is required to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIR).
Under CEQA, we must consider not only the short-term impacts of the decisions we make today, but also their potential to affect the quality of life of our children and grandchildren. "The maintenance of a quality environment for the people of this state now and in the future is a matter of statewide concern." (Pub. Res. Code, § 21000, subd. (c).(emphasis added).) Simply permitting "business as usual" land use and development is not sustainable.
The update process and the accompanying EIR provide a significant opportunity for local governments to consider long-term sustainability. In some communities, the long-term sustainability of water supplies may be particularly important, especially in our changing climate. In others, there may be a desire to maintain a sustainable agriculture industry, or to create a sustainable forest products industry based on smaller diameter timber and biomass. Every community, however, has an obligation to consider how its general plan update may affect its community-wide greenhouse gas emissions and to take affirmative, decisive action to reduce and control these emissions. As the Air Resources Board has stated, "[l]local governments are 'essential partners' in achieving California's goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They have broad influence and, in some cases, exclusive authority over activities that contribute to significant direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions through their planning and permitting processes, local ordinances, outreach and education efforts, and municipal operations."
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Plans
Addressing cumulative impacts at the programmatic, general plan level - provided it's done right - allows for the streamlined CEQA review of individual projects. Where emissions are adequately addressed at the plan level, a lead agency may determine that projects that are consistent with the plan will not have significant greenhouse gas-related impacts.
In its March 2009 CEQA Guidelines update, the Resources Agency added a new provision, Section 15183.5, which provides a framework for programmatic greenhouse gas emissions reduction plans. An adequate plan must:
- Quantify existing and projected community-wide greenhouse gas emissions;
- Establish greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets over the life of the plan which, if achieved, would render the community's greenhouse gas emissions to be less than significant;
- Identify and analyze the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from sources in the community;
- Identify a suite of specific, enforceable measures that, collectively, will achieve the emissions targets;
- Establish a mechanism to monitor the plan's progress and to require amendment if the plan is falling short;
- Be adopted in a public process following environmental review.
For more information, including specific examples of greenhouse gas emissions reduction strategies, see CEQA and General Plans - Additional Resources.