Environmental Assessment No. 2024-11 and Environmental Assessment No. 2024-12 General Plan Amendment Application No. 2024-02 and Ordinance No. 2024-007

Environmental Assessment No. 2024-11 and Environmental Assessment No. 2024-12 General Plan Amendment Application No. 2024-02 and Ordinance No. 2024-007

[PROJECT TITLE CONTINUED: - (Housing Element Implementation Rezone Project) Environmental Assessment No. 2024-11 assesses the environmental effects of General Plan Amendment Application No. 2024-02 and Environmental Assessment No. 2024-12 assesses the environmental effects of Ordinance No. 2024-007 pertaining to the implementation of the 2023-2031 City of Reedley Housing Element (GPA 2022-01) and Zoning Map Cleanup. Environmental Assessment No. 2024-11 and 2024-12 are being assessed concurrently because implementation of Housing Element Program 15 includes both General Plan Amendment Application No. 2024-02 and Ordinance No. 2024-007. The City of Reedley committed to implementing Program 15 in the adopted Housing Element which requires the City to amend its General Plan Land Use Map and Official Zoning Map to provide adequate sites for at least 586 lower-income units through the following entitlement applications: General Plan Amendment Application No. 2024-02 pertains to a single General Plan Amendment Application reclassifying a significant number of parcels to meet State requirements implemented by the City of Reedley 2023-2031 Housing Element. Ordinance No. 2024-007 pertains to a single Rezone Application reclassifying a significant number of parcels to be consistent with the General Plan by removing references to the Reedley Specific Plan (SP) and to meet State requirements implemented by the City of Reedley 2023-2031 Housing Element. A list of the parcels included in GPA No. 2024-02 and Ordinance No. 2024-007 is available on the City’s website at this link: https://reedley.ca.gov/community-development-department/major-projects/. The City of Reedley is required to amend the General Plan and zoning code to address the RHNA to provide adequate sites for at least 586 lower-income units. Redesignating and rezoning parcels with APNs 3704310, 36338045, 36329117, 36338047, and 37012238 will address the shortfall of suitably designated and zoned sites to address the lower-income RHNA. The City of Reedley Community Development Department recommends that APN 370-427-01 also be reclassified consistent with Exhibit A because the parcel is adjacent to APN 370-431-01 and would likely be developed concurrently. Furthermore, the allowed base density in the land use designation and zoning district will be amended to permit 29 dwelling units per acre on the site zoned CC and 21.78 dwelling units per acre on sites zoned RM-2, with a minimum density of 20 dwelling units per acre on all sites. The adopted City of Reedley Housing Sites Inventory utilizes existing land use and zoning densities, however rezoning and redesignating is required to meet the City’s RHNA for lower income units. Although these changes would include amendments to the City’s zoning and general plan designations, these changes to facilitate housing development are done to be consistent with State housing law. With the proposed allowed density, each site will permit at least 16 units on the site. The proposed zone and land use changes promote more density and would result in more units to help the City meet its RHNA. The max units allowed from the existing land use to the proposed land use could allow development of up to 149 units, with the total number of units allowed by the change on these parcels would increase to 272 dwelling units max. This would increase the number of dwelling units by 123. The increase in these rezones and redesignations, as shown in Table 6 GPU Buildout Projections, of the General Plan Draft EIR, represents less than 1% of the total units assumed in the GP EIR. The additional proposed dwelling units are minor in nature and would not create potentially significant environmental impacts in addition to those already identified in the 2030 General Plan EIR. The project would also not substantially increase the magnitude or severity of impacts that were previously identified. Additionally, further cleanup of the Official Zoning Map of the City of Reedley is proposed to achieve consistency with the Reedley General Plan and to implement the City of Reedley Housing Element. When the City adopted the 2030 General Plan, the City incorporated policies from the 2008 Reedley Specific Plan into the General Plan. Such policies include properties that are zoned RM(SP) are required to be consistent with the High Density Residential General Plan Designation and RM-2 zone district. Since there are approximately 24 parcels in the City zoned RM(SP), per Program 15, the City will remove RM(SP) from the zoning map. Affected parcels will be zoned RM-2. If Ordinance No. 2024-001 is adopted by the City Council, then the RM-2 zone district would be renamed to the High Density Residential (HDR) zone district. Because the Reedley Specific Plan was incorporated into the General Plan and RM(SP) is proposed to be removed, there is also no longer a need for the R-1(SP) for the same reason. As such, the City of Reedley Community Development Department is recommending that the R-1(SP) zone district also be removed and replaced with the R-1-6 zone district. This proposed renaming of this zone district is a change in name only, which would maintain consistency with the adopted City of Reedley General Plan 2030 and its Final EIR. The Addendum has been prepared in accordance with the relevant provisions of CEQA and the CEQA Guidelines as implemented by the City of Reedley. According to Section 15164(a) of the CEQA Guidelines, “The lead agency or responsible agency shall prepare an addendum to a previously certified EIR if some changes or additions are necessary but none of the conditions described in Section 15162 calling for preparation of a subsequent EIR have occurred.” This Addendum does not require public circulation because it does not provide significant new information that changes the 2030 General Plan EIR in a way that deprives the public of a meaningful opportunity to comment upon a substantial adverse environmental effect of the Project or a feasible way to mitigate or avoid such an effect. The City of Reedley shall consider this Addendum to the 2030 General Plan EIR prior to making a decision on the project.

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