V. CEQA

The larger Whispering Hills Estates development has been subject to review under CEQA. The City of San Juan Capistrano prepared an EIR, and the Capistrano Unified School District prepared two Addendums to the City's EIR. (State Clearinghouse No. 1998-031150.) This Commission's role accordingly is that of a responsible agency under CEQA. In that role, the Commission has reviewed and considered the information in the EIR prepared by the City of San Juan Capistrano and the Addendums prepared by the Capistrano Unified School District. (See, CEQA Guideline 15050(b).)

Because our approval is limited to the grading of specific property, the grading is the "project" for which we must perform a CEQA review. (See, CEQA Guideline 15378(c).) As a responsible agency, we must consider the environmental effects of the grading as shown in EIR and Addendums, and make the appropriate findings. (CEQA Guidelines 15096(f) and 15096(h).)

The EIR and Addendums do not separately analyze the environmental impacts of the grading that we are approving today from the more widespread grading required by the larger development project. We base our findings upon the EIR and Addendums, as required by CEQA, and we look to their analysis of the environmental impacts of grading. Accordingly, to the extent there is any error in our analysis, we may be overestimating, rather than underestimating, the environmental impacts of the grading that we approve today.

The EIR identifies potentially significant environmental effects relating to grading activities in the areas of Land Use and Planning, Geology and Soils, Hydrology and Water Quality, Air Quality (short term), Biological Resources, Utilities, Aesthetics, Cultural Resources. For the project ultimately approved, however, the EIR finds that all of these impacts can be reduced to less-than-significant levels with the implementation of mitigation measures. (EIR, pp. 5-34.) The EIR sets forth specific mitigation measures for each of these potential impacts, and repeatedly makes the finding that: "Changes or alternations have been required in, or incorporated into, the project which avoid or substantially lessen many of the significant environmental effects as identified in the EIR." (Id.)

The original Addendum finds that the environmental effects in the area of Biological Resources will actually be less than identified in the EIR, but in all other relevant respects, this Addendum makes no substantial change from the EIR's previous analysis. The scope of the second Addendum is limited to reviewing the impact of the temporary relocation of SDG&E's transmission lines, which was not previously reviewed, as the EIR only reviewed the permanent relocation. The second Addendum finds that there is no substantial change from the EIR's previous analysis.

Mitigation measures adopted related to grading activities include: implementation of design techniques to protect ridgelines such as blending contours and use of variable gradients (Aesthetics and Land Use & Planning); incorporation of recommendations from the Preliminary Geotechnical Investigation (Geology); maintenance of historical peak flows by the use of detention basins or other structures, approval of a Water Quality Management Plan and Storm Water Pollution Protection Plan (Hydrology); compliance with fugitive dust and wind control measures consistent with the South Coast Air Quality Management District Rule 403 (Air Quality); re-vegetation, site restoration, weed control, preconstruction surveys and compensation for loss of certain habitat (Biology); ensurance of access easements (Utilities); and on-site paleontologist and archaeologist to ensure proper exploration and salvage of any discovered resources (Cultural).

Based upon our review of the EIR and Addendums, and the mitigation measures required by those documents, we find that reasonable and feasible mitigation measures were adopted to avoid or reduce any potentially significant environmental impacts from grading to less-than-significant levels. Accordingly we find that the grading we approve today has no significant environmental impact and we adopt the applicable grading mitigation measures for purposes of our approval.