Acquisition of 470 Sebastopol Road

2023060229

City of Santa Rosa

NOE - Notice of Exemption

6/7/2023

6/7/2023

Monet Sheikhali

City of Santa Rosa

Environmental Coordinator

Lead/Public Agency

100 Santa Rosa Ave
Santa Rosa, CA 95404

(707) 543-4698

msheikhali@srcity.org

38°25'47.9"N 122°43'33.7"W

Dutton Ave

95407

.41

125162031

Categorical Exemption

15301, 15323

The purchase of the Property and future conversion for a police substation have been reviewed pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and found to be exempt from further environmental review as follows: 1. The purchase and future conversion of the Property qualifies for categorical exemptions from the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") under CEQA Guidelines Section 15301 (Existing Facilities) and Section 15323 (Normal Operations of Facilities for Public Gatherings). The purchase of the Property will result in the continued operation of the existing library for a period of time. The future police station conversion would be located within the existing structure, resulting in a negligible expansion of an existing use and no new significant impacts. The police station operation would be restricted to the project site, would result in fewer trips for traffic, and would require no off-site improvements to accommodate the proposed conversion. The demand for utility services such as waste, water, sewage, and electricity could be accommodated without expanding or constructing new facilities. No exceptions to the exemptions apply and there is no reasonable possibility that the activity will have a significant effect on the environment due to unusual circumstances. (CEQA Guidelines section 15300.2.). 2. The purchase and future conversion of the Property also qualifies for an exemption pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15183 in that the Project is consistent with the City's General Plan and the Roseland Area/Sebastopol Road Specific Plan for which environmental impact reports ("ElRs") were prepared and certified. There are no new project-specific conditions or effects that are peculiar to the Project or the Property that were not analyzed in the General Plan or Specific Plan ElRs. The Property is no different than other properties in the surrounding area, and the Project does not include any new land use that could create effects beyond those previously analyzed by the Specific Plan or General Plan ElRs. There are no potentially significant off-site and/or cumulative impacts which the General Plan or Specific Plan ElRs failed to evaluate. The proposed Project is within the scope of the General Plan and Specific Plan ElRs and would represent a small part of the growth that was forecasted for the build-out of the General Plan. 3.There are no Project specific effects that are peculiar to the Project or its site. The proposed Project consists of the continued operation of the existing library with a plan to convert it into a police substation in the near future. The continuation of the library use and conversion to a police station has been found to comply with the General Plan as the Project site's CG (General Commercial) zoning designation is considered an implementing zoning district of the Retail and Business Services land use designation. Since no subsequent EIR is necessary pursuant to CEQA Section 15162 and since the City can approve the Project as being within the scope of the analysis covered by the ElR, no new environmental document is required.