Land Use and CEQA Environmental Review

Land use is the general name for how a community uses its land: what is built, where. Land use decisions are generally made by the city for incorporated areas and by the county in unincorporated areas. City and county land use agencies have long-term land use plans and permit processes in place to guide the building decisions made by the land use agency staff, Planning Commissions, City Councils, or Board of Supervisors. Sometimes, other agencies such as the Coastal Commission, State Lands Commission, or federal land agencies also have a say in land use decisions.

Land use decisions affect air quality. Air pollution may result from a specific project, such as the construction of a new business that will emit air pollution, or may be related to the growth and transportation patterns of many new projects over a long period of time. More cars on the road lead to more air pollution. Because cars and trucks cause more than half the smog-forming pollution in our county, the impacts of land use decisions are important.

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), is the state law that requires state and local agencies to identify and reduce, if feasible, the significant, negative environmental impacts of land use decisions. The documents prepared under CEQA are called Environmental Impact Reports, or EIRs. For more information on CEQA, see the California Environmental Resources Evaluation System (CERES) CEQA home page or CEQA frequently asked questions. Also see the Land Use and Air Quality handbook developed by the state Air Resources Board.

The APCD assumes the following roles in the implementation of CEQA.

As a lead agency, the APCD analyzes and prepares environmental documents on its own discretionary activities, such as, air quality plans, rule development activities and discretionary APCD permits which do not require a land use or other agency permit.
As a responsible agency under CEQA, the APCD reviews environmental documents prepared by other lead agencies or jurisdictions to reduce or avoid impacts to air quality and to ensure that the lead agency’s environmental document is adequate to fulfill the CEQA requirements for APCD permits. The APCD’s permit jurisdiction area encompasses the unincorporated areas of Santa Barbara County, and the cities of Santa Maria, Guadalupe, Lompoc, Buellton, Solvang, Santa Barbara and Carpinteria, as well as offshore sources.
As a concerned agency, the APCD provides guidance to mitigate adverse impacts to air quality from development projects in the county as well as offshore sources.

APCD Environmental Review Guidelines

On October 19, 1995 the APCD Board adopted APCD Environmental Review Guidelines pursuant to CEQA. These APCD Guidelines contain definitions of commonly used terms, procedures for environmental review, adopted thresholds of significance, time limits, fees, forms and APCD approved exemptions to CEQA review. The guidelines also address joint CEQA/NEPA projects.

Download CEQA Guidelines:

Scope and Content of Air Quality Sections in Environmental Documents

This informational document contains criteria for evaluating the significance of adverse air quality impacts from land use projects, and discusses the latest version of URBEMIS 2002, version 9.2 (for more information, see www.aqmd.gov/ceqa/urbemis.html). Mitigation measures including energy conservation measures and Innovative Building Review Committee (IBRC) review are also discussed.

This APCD document, updated July 2007, can be downloaded here: Scope and Content of Air Quality Sections in Environmental Documents (a PDF file).

Note: Air Quality Significance Thresholds used by the County of Santa Barbara for projects where the County is a lead agency under CEQA can be found here.

To request a print copy of either of these documents, contact Vijaya Jammalamadaka at 805-961-8893, or e-mail vlj@sbcapcd.org.

CEQA and Climate Change

The California Air Pollution Control Officers Association (CAPCOA) has released a resource guide to addressing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from projects subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

This resource guide has been prepared to support local governments as they develop their programs and policies around climate change issues. It is not a guidance document. It is not intended to dictate or direct how any agency chooses to address GHG emissions. Rather, it is intended to provide a common platform of information about key elements of CEQA as they pertain to GHG, including an analysis of different approaches to setting significance thresholds.

The resource guide also contains an organized review of available tools and models for evaluating GHG emissions, and an overview of strategies for mitigating potentially significant GHG emissions from projects. As we note, these tools need to be updated and improved, however they can be used now. CAPCOA intends to revise the resource guide periodically to include updated tools and models, and the most current mitigation strategies.

This is an evolving policy area, especially in light of the passage of the Global Climate Change Solutions Act of 2006 (AB-32). As the California Air Resources Board and other state agencies and offices develop policies and regulations to address GHG emissions, the interface between CEQA and these other programs may change. This resource guide is offered in the spirit of making tools and information available in a straightforward and useful manner to help us all move forward in a coordinated and collaborative way.

This CAPCOA document, released January 2008, can be downloaded here: CEQA and Climate Change (a pdf file).

Additional Links and Resources

See this page for answers to Frequently Asked Questions.
For more information on CEQA, go to the California Environmental Resources Evaluation System (CERES) CEQA home page or CEQA Frequently Asked Questions.
For more information and links, see this page on this website.

For more information on the APCDs Land Use and Environmental Review program, contact Vijaya Jammalamadaka at 805-961-8893, or vlj@sbcapcd.org.