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May 6, 2021 <br />Page 14 <br /> <br /> <br />5005-003acp <br /> <br /> printed on recycled paper <br />generally no longer the purview of the CEQA process to evaluate the impact of <br />existing environmental conditions on any given project. As a result, while the noise <br />from existing sources is taken into account as part of the baseline, the direct effects <br />of exterior noise from nearby noise sources relative to land use compatibility of the <br />project is no longer a required topic for impact evaluation under CEQA and no <br />determination of significance is required.”58 <br /> <br />Reliance on CBIA is misplaced here. CBIA explicitly provides that when a <br />proposed project risks exacerbating environmental conditions that already exist, an <br />agency must analyze the potential impacts on future residents or users.59 “In those <br />specific instances, it is the project's impact on the environment—and not the <br />environment's impact on the project—that compels an evaluation of how future <br />residents or users could be affected by exacerbated conditions.”60 Here, the <br />increased traffic resulting from Project construction and operation will constitute an <br />exacerbation of noise impacts in the area and must be analyzed. It is not sufficient <br />that the Checklist relies on the analysis in the 2035 General Plan EIR, because this <br />Project will exacerbate existing noise impacts. An Infill EIR must be prepared to <br />adequately analyze and mitigate the exacerbation of noise impacts from this <br />Project. <br /> <br />iii. Traffic Impacts <br /> <br />The Project will have significant new impacts from traffic. Our traffic expert <br />Mr. Smith determined that the Project’s non-residential component would create a <br />significant transportation impact. The increased transportation impact would be an <br />exacerbation of existing environmental conditions in San Leandro and requires <br />adequate analysis under an Infill EIR. <br /> <br />The Zoning Code provides that the Board can only approve a project if they <br />determine “[t]hat the proposed use will not create adverse impacts on traffic or <br />create demands exceeding the capacity of public services and facilities...”61 The <br />Project cannot be approved by the Board because the Project would create adverse <br />impacts on traffic and are not adequately mitigated in the Checklist. <br /> <br /> <br />58 Checklist p. 4-92. <br />59 California Building Industry Association (CBIA) v. Bay Area Air Quality Management District <br />(BAAQMD), 62 Cal. 4th 369. <br />60 Id. <br />61 San Leandro Zoning Code § 5.08.124(A)(4). <br />104