Final Words

 

The use of mitigated Negative Declarations is nothing novel, having been affirmed by the courts as long ago as 1982 (Perley v. County of Calaveras (1982) 137 Cal.App.3d 424). AB 1888, by explicitly defining this term in CEQA, and SB 919, by establishing standards by which to judge the existence of substantial evidence and narrowing the importance of public controversy in the decision to require an EIR, have strengthened the grounds for using a mitigated Negative Declaration. As a result, Lead agencies should feel more confident with this CEQA tool.

The prerequisites for adopting a mitigated Negative Declaration include:

  1. Making a good faith effort to determine whether there is substantial evidence that the project would result in any significant environmental effect.
  2. Incorporating effective revisions or mitigation measures into the project to alleviate potential significant effects prior to circulating the draft Negative Declaration for public review.
  3. Evidence in the record to support the agency's determination that there will be no significant effect as a result of the final project.

Next: Appendix -- Selected Excerpts from the Public Resources Code

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STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Governor's Office of Planning and Research
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Sacramento, CA 95814
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