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Public Review Draft <br />Page 16 San Leandro 2021 Climate Action Plan <br />efficiency standards for new and significantly renovated buildings, the Renewable Portfolio <br />Standard, Clean Car Standards, Low Carbon Fuel Standard, and Innovative Clean Transit <br />Regulations, described in detail in Chapter 4. <br />California Environmental Quality Act <br />CEQA requires that many proposed development projects conduct an environmental review to <br />identify how the project may impact the environment. SB 97 directed the Governor’s Office of <br />Planning and Research to amend the State CEQA Guidelines to address GHG emissions, requiring <br />proposed projects to analyze their GHG emissions and contribution to climate change. The Office <br />of Planning and Research adopted the CEQA Guidelines in December 2009, and they went into <br />effect March 18, 2010. The guidelines include provisions for local governments to use adopted <br />plans for the reduction of GHG emissions to address the cumulative impacts of individual future <br />projects on GHG emissions (see State CEQA Guidelines Section 15183.5(b)(1)). <br />Consistent with the State CEQA Guidelines, lead agencies may use adopted GHG reduction plans <br />to assess the cumulative impacts of discretionary projects on climate change. In addition, the CEQA <br />Guidelines provide a mechanism to streamline development review of future projects. <br />Specifically, lead agencies may use adopted plans consistent with State CEQA Guidelines Section <br />15183.5 to analyze and mitigate the significant effects of GHGs under CEQA at a programmatic <br />level by adopting a plan for the reduction of GHG emissions. Later, as individual projects are <br />proposed, project-specific environmental documents may tier from and/or incorporate by reference <br />that existing programmatic review in their cumulative impact analysis. Project-specific <br />environmental documents prepared for projects consistent with the General Plan and the CAP may <br />rely on the programmatic analysis of GHGs in this document. <br />A project-specific environmental document that relies on this CAP for its cumulative impacts <br />analysis must identify specific GHG reduction strategies applicable to the project and demonstrate <br />the project’s incorporation of the strategies. Project applicants and City staff will identify specific <br />strategies applicable to each project during project review. If applicable strategies are not otherwise <br />binding and enforceable, they must be incorporated as mitigation strategies for the project. If <br />substantial evidence indicates that the GHG emissions of a proposed project may be cumulatively <br />considerable, notwithstanding the project’s compliance with specific strategies in this CAP, an <br />Environmental Impact Report (EIR) must be prepared for the project. <br />This 2021 CAP meets the CEQA Guidelines and commitments, as follows: <br /> Quantifies emissions, both existing and projected over a specified time period, resulting from <br />activities within a defined geographic area. <br /> Establishes a level, based on substantial evidence, below which the contribution of emissions <br />from activities covered by the plan would not be cumulatively considerable. This CAP identifies <br />three targets, consistent with State guidance: <br />− Reduce emissions to 25 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 <br />− Reduce emissions to 40 percent below 2005 levels by 2030 <br />60