Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, sets forth various requirements relating to the review of development project permit applications and the issuance of development permits for specified classes of development projects.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment.
CEQA, until January 1, 2030, exempts from its requirements certain transportation-related projects if specified requirements are met. CEQA includes within these exempt transportation-related projects a public project for the institution or increase of bus rapid transit, bus, or light rail service, which will be exclusively used by low-emission or zero-emission vehicles, on existing public rights-of-way or existing highway rights-of-way.
This bill would require a lead agency to provide a written notice with specified information to a third-party entity, defined by the bill to mean a local agency, electrical corporation, or private telecommunications provider, regarding its need to use, relocate, alter, change, or otherwise improve facilities, publicly owned and managed utilities, public spaces, or other publicly or privately owned facilities under the third-party entity's jurisdiction or ownership for the implementation of a sustainable transportation project. This bill would define "sustainable transportation project" to mean a project where the lead agency is a state agency, operator, or local agency that proposes the construction or modification of facilities meeting at least one of several specified criteria, including that it is exempt from CEQA pursuant to the above-described provisions. The bill would define "large sustainable transportation project" to mean a sustainable transportation project that, based on the project engineer's cost estimate at the time the lead agency completes environmental review, costs more than $25,000,000, and meets other specified criteria.
This bill would require a lead agency to provide a written notice with specified information to a third-party entity regarding its need to use, relocate, alter, change, or otherwise improve facilities, publicly owned and managed utilities, public spaces, or other publicly or privately owned facilities under the third-party entity's jurisdiction or ownership for the implementation of a sustainable transportation project. Within 30 calendar days of receiving that notice, the bill would require the third-party entity to provide a written response to the lead agency, as provided, and, within 30 calendar days of determining the notice is complete, would require the third-party entity to take certain actions, including providing as-built plans to the lead agency for all third-party entity facilities that will be impacted by the work described in the written notice. The bill would also prohibit a third-party entity from requiring, among other things, as a condition for issuance of certain permits, conformance with or the performance of any conditions, except under certain circumstances.
This bill would require a lead agency responsible for a large sustainable transportation project to seek to enter into a cooperative agreement with each third-party entity through which the project passes. The bill would also require the lead agency to provide a written notice with specified information to the third-party entity of its intent to enter into a cooperative agreement with the third-party entity. Within 30 calendar days of receiving the notice, the bill would require the third-party entity to provide a written response to the lead agency, as provided, and within 60 calendar days of determining the notice is complete, would require the third-party entity to enter into a cooperative agreement with the lead agency that contains certain provisions, including that it meets applicable federal requirements, standards, or guidelines. The bill would also prohibit a third-party entity from requiring, among other things, as a condition to the issuance of certain permits, conformance with or the performance of any conditions that the third-party entity could have lawfully imposed as a condition to the design or construction of the project after the process described above is completed.
By imposing additional duties on local entities, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.