Authorization to Acquire Property in the Unincorporated Area of French Valley, County of Riverside, California, on Assessor’s Parcel Number (APN) 476-090-013

2025050353

Riverside County

NOE - Notice of Exemption

5/8/2025

5/8/2025

Mike Sullivan

County of Riverside Facilities Management

Facilities Operations Manager

Lead/Public Agency

3450 14th Street
Riverside, CA 92501

(951) 955-4820

msullivan@rivco.org

APN 476-090-013

Southeast corner of Washington Street and Skinner Drive, unincorporated area of French Valley, Riverside County, California, on APN 476-090-013

Other

15061(b)(3)

The proposed project is categorically exempt from the provisions of CEQA specifically by the State CEQA Guidelines as identified below. The project will not result in any specific or general exceptions to the use of the categorical exemption as detailed under State CEQA Guidelines Section 15300.2. The project will not cause an impact to an environmental resource of hazardous or critical concern nor would the project involve unusual circumstances that could potentially have a significant effect on the environment. The project would not result in impacts to scenic highways, hazardous waste sites, historic resources, or other sensitive natural environments, or have a cumulative effect to the environment. No significant environmental impacts are anticipated to occur with acquisition of the Property. In accordance with CEQA, the use of the Common Sense Exemption is based on the “general rule that CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment.” State CEQA Guidelines, Section 15061(b) (3). The use of this exemption is appropriate if “it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment.” Ibid. This determination is an issue of fact and if sufficient evidence exists in the record that the activity cannot have a significant effect on the environment, then the exemption applies and no further evaluation under CEQA is required. See No Oil, Inc. v. City of Los Angeles (1974) 13 Cal. 3d 68. The ruling in this case stated that if a project falls within a category exempt by administrative regulation or 'it can be seen with certainty that the activity in question will not have a significant effect on the environment', no further agency evaluation is required. With certainty, there is no possibility that the project may have a significant effect on the environment. The acquisition of the Property for County Fire is an administrative function and would not result in direct effects. Indirect effects of the transfer would provide the County ownership of the property with a future plan to build a Fire Station. The project is limited to purchase of property and does not allow for any construction activity, change in use, or any other condition that may lead to a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical impacts to the environment. In addressing indirect effects of the acquisition, CEQA Guidelines 15004(b) identifies the necessity of balance in determining the timing of CEQA compliance, citing the need to enable environmental considerations to have influence on programming and design, while at the same time having enough detailed information for meaningful environmental assessment. The potential indirect effects from the acquisition would occur through series of discretionary actions that define a broader project, e.g., the construction and operation of a new fire station. The acquisition is not deemed to be an approval pursuant to CEQA for any specific development and does not commit the County, to a definite course of action regarding a project that may lead to an adverse effect on the environment or limit any choice of alternatives or mitigation measures prior to CEQA compliance. When considering future indirect effects from the construction and operation of a new fire station, at this point in the process, the design of the project is not substantive enough to provide a meaningful analysis of environmental effects. Future development of the site by the County as lead agency ensures the appropriate mechanism to provide the opportunity for environmental considerations to influence design and the characterization of effects associated with the development of the fire station as more foreseeable details become known through the conceptual design process. Therefore, the project is exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), General Rule or Common-Sense Exemption. Therefore, in no way, would the project as proposed have the potential to cause a significant environmental impact and the project is exempt from further CEQA analysis. Therefore, the County of Riverside hereby concludes that no physical environmental impacts are anticipated to occur and the project as proposed is exempt under CEQA. No further environmental analysis is warranted.