The CEQA Technical Advice Series is intended to offer CEQA practitioners, particularly at the local level, concise information about some aspect of the California Environmental Quality Act. This series of occasional papers is part of OPR's public education and training program for planners, developers, and others. Contents Introduction Negative Declarations Use With Other Documents Court Scoreboard Final Words Appendix: Selected Excerpts from the Public Resources Code

Acknowledgements

OPR sincerely thanks the following people who generously reviewed and commented on the draft of this advisory memo or who provided materials for inclusion in the appendix. Although the final version does not always reflect their views, their thoughtful contributions were extremely valuable. We appreciate their assistance. Curtis Alling, Dames and Moore DeAnn Baker, California State Association of Counties Ron Bass, Jones and Stokes Associates Ann R. Danforth, McCutchen, Doyle, Brown, and Enersen Jim Ellis, Kern County Department of Planning Tim Haddad, Marin County Community Development Department Michael Niblock, City of Stockton Al Herson, Jones and Stokes Associates Gary Patton, Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors John Patton, Santa Barbara County Resource Management Dept. Michael H. Zischke, Landels, Ripley, and Diamond

Introduction

For many years, public agencies have adopted so called "mitigated Negative Declarations" in conjunction with project revisions which prospectively avoid or mitigate all of a project's potential significant effects. In 1993, Senate Bill 919 (Chapter 1131, Stats. of 1993) and Assembly Bill 1888 (Chapter 1130, Stats. of 1993) enacted several amendments to CEQA which further encourage and support the use of mitigated Negative Declarations. Mitigated Negative Declarations discusses Negative Declarations and mitigated Negative Declarations in light of these statutes. This brief advisory paper is aimed primarily at local public agencies and CEQA practitioners. It is intended to offer basic guidance in the preparation of mitigated Negative Declarations and to encourage their use under the proper circumstances. Mitigated Negative Declarations is neither a replacement of, nor an amendment to the CEQA Guidelines. All code citations refer to the Public Resources Code unless otherwise noted.

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