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Avoidance of continual reconsideration of recurring policy issues 3. Consideration of broad policy alternatives and programmatic mitigation measures at an 4. early stage when the agency has greater flexibility to deal with them Reduction of paperwork by encouraging the reuse of data (through tiering) 5. As a “macro” level environmental document, for some impacts, this EIR uses macro level thresholds as compared to the project-level thresholds that might be used for an EIR on a specific development project. 1.3 Scope and Content of the EIR In accordance with the CEQA Guidelines, a Notice of Preparation (NOP) of a Draft EIR was circulated to potentially interested parties and agencies on March 3, 2017. The NOP, included as Appendix A, indicated that the following issue areas would be discussed in the EIR:  Aesthetics  Air Quality  Biological Resources  Cultural Resources  Geology/Soils  Greenhouse Gas Emissions  Hazards and Hazardous Materials  Hydrology/Water Quality  Land Use and Planning  Noise  Population and Housing  Public Services, Schools, and Recreation  Transportation and Traffic  Utilities and Service Systems The EIR evaluates potential impacts in each of these areas. Other issue areas are discussed in Section 4.15, Effects Found Not to be Significant. The City received eleven written responses to the NOP regarding the scope and content of the EIR. These responses are included in Appendix A. The City also held an EIR scoping meeting as part of the regularly scheduled Planning Commission meeting on March 16, 2017. Approximately 40 people attended the hearing, 16 of whom provided verbal comments on the scope and content of the EIR. Verbal comments from the scoping meeting attendees and written comments received by the City are summarized in Table 2. Verbal and written comments are addressed, as appropriate, in the analysis contained in the various subsections of Section 4, Environmental Impact Analysis. Table 2 NOP Comments and EIR Response Commenter Comment/Request How and Where it was Addressed Agency Comments Alameda County Planning Department Evaluate both center-line and other Bus Rapid Transit lane configurations in the Specific Plan Area adjacent to unincorporated East 14th Street in Ashland, including any conflicts between the various modal types. Where any internal new roads/connections between the BART and Mall property are proposed, include an evaluation of potential traffic impacts in the adjacent neighborhoods. Comments are addressed in Section 4.13, Transportation and Traffic. 92