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 A focus group composed of non-profit and market-rate developers; and, <br /> Additional outreach activities such as pop-up events, an online survey, and meetings and input <br />from public bodies of the City including the City Council, Planning Commission, Board of Zoning <br />Adjustments, Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee, and the Youth Advisory Commission. <br />1.2 Purpose and Legal Authority <br />The proposed project – adoption of the Bay Fair TOD Specific Plan – requires the discretionary <br />approval of the San Leandro City Council; therefore, the project is subject to the environmental <br />review requirements of CEQA. In accordance with CEQA Guidelines Section 15121 (California Code <br />of Regulations, Title 14), the purpose of this EIR is to serve as an informational document that: <br />“...will inform public agency decision makers and the public generally of the significant <br />environmental effects of a project, identify possible ways to minimize the significant effects, and <br />describe reasonable alternatives to the project.” <br />This EIR fulfills the requirements for a Program EIR. Although the legally required contents of a <br />Program EIR are the same as those of a Project EIR, Program EIRs are typically more conceptual and <br />may contain a more general discussion of impacts, alternatives, and mitigation measures than a <br />Project EIR. As provided in CEQA Guidelines Section 15168, a Program EIR may be prepared on a <br />series of actions that may be characterized as one large project. Use of a Program EIR provides the <br />City (as Lead Agency) with the opportunity to consider broad policy alternatives and program-wide <br />mitigation measures and provides the City with greater flexibility to address environmental issues <br />and/or cumulative impacts on a comprehensive basis. Agencies generally prepare Program EIRs for <br />programs or a series of related actions that are linked geographically; are logical parts of a chain of <br />contemplated events, rules, regulations, or plans that govern the conduct of a continuing program; <br />or are individual activities carried out under the same authority and having generally similar <br />environmental effects that can be mitigated in similar ways. By its nature, a Program EIR considers <br />the “macro” effects associated with implementing a program (such as a general plan) and does not, <br />and is not intended to, examine the specific environmental effects associated with individual actions <br />that may be undertaken under the guise of the larger program. <br />Once a Program EIR has been prepared, subsequent activities within the program must be evaluated <br />to determine what, if any, additional CEQA documentation needs to be prepared. If the Program EIR <br />addresses the program’s effects as specifically and comprehensively as possible, many subsequent <br />activities could be found to be within the Program EIR scope and additional environmental <br />documents may not be required (CEQA Guidelines Section 15168(c)). When a Program EIR is relied <br />on for a subsequent activity, the Lead Agency must incorporate feasible mitigation measures and <br />alternatives developed in the Program EIR into the subsequent activities (CEQA Guidelines Section <br />15168(c)(3)). If a subsequent activity would have significant effects not addressed in the Program <br />EIR, the Lead Agency must prepare a new Initial Study leading to a Negative Declaration (ND), <br />Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND), or project level EIR. In this case, the Program EIR still serves <br />a valuable purpose as the first-tier environmental analysis. The CEQA Guidelines (Section 15168(h)) <br />encourage the use of Program EIRs, citing five advantages: <br /> Provision of a more exhaustive consideration of impacts and alternatives than would be 1. <br />practical in an individual EIR <br /> Focus on cumulative impacts that might be slighted in a case-by-case analysis 2. <br />91