Title
Planning and Building Department, Planning Division, recommending the Board approve and authorize the Chair to sign the Lead Agency Agreement made between the County of El Dorado and the El Dorado Hills Community Services District to confirm that the Community Services District shall serve as the lead agency pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act for the Community Services District’s Bass Lake Regional Park Project (Supervisorial District 1).
FUNDING: General Fund.
Body
DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
The El Dorado Hills Community Services District (CSD) is proposing to construct an approximately 200-acre regional park in the Bass Lake area of El Dorado County (County). The proposed park would contain recreational fields, parking lots, restrooms, trails, and other amenities and would be developed on land located in the CSD service area within the County. The proposed park will require environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
As described in Public Resources Code (PRC) Section 21067, under CEQA a lead agency is, "the public agency which has the principal responsibility for carrying out or approving a project which may have a significant effect upon the environment" and a responsible agency is "a public agency, other than the lead agency, which has responsibility for carrying out or approving a project" (PRC § 21069). Under CEQA Guidelines, where two (2) or more public agencies will be involved with a project, the determination of the designation of the lead agency may be made by agreement. The proposed agreement will specify that the CSD is the designated lead agency and the County as a responsible agency for the proposed Bass Lakes Regional Park project. CEQA guidelines require collaboration and consultation on the proposed project between the CSD and County as lead and responsible agencies.
Pursuant to Board Policy J-6, at the request of the CSD, staff conducted voluntary conceptual review workshops under (Pre-Application PA20-0006) for the proposed 200-acre Bass Lake Regional Park to expand the recreational opportunities offered within the El Dorado Hills Specific Plan area. The purpose of Board Policy J-6, Section 1.E., is to provide a framework for applicants to follow when voluntarily requesting a conceptual review before the Planning Commission (Commission) or the Board of Supervisors (Board) for any development project as part of a pre-application process. These applicant-initiated voluntary conceptual review workshops were held on February 25, 2021 (File No. 21-0234, Item No. 3) before the Commission and May 4, 2021 (File No. 21-0565, Item No. 41) before the Board. No formal action was taken by the Commission or Board for these voluntary conceptual reviews.
Planning staff have examined the roles and responsibilities of the CSD in the development, design, implementation, and overall responsibilities for the proposed Bass Lake Park project and recommend the Board approve the Lead Agency Agreement (Attachment A) designating the CSD as the lead agency for the project.
ALTERNATIVES
The Board may choose not to approve the proposed Lead Agency Agreement and request that the County serve as Lead Agency pursuance to CEQA. The County serving as Lead Agency to conduct the Environmental Review under CEQA would result in delays in completing this and/or other projects by Department Staff.
PRIOR BOARD ACTION
See Discussion/Background Above.
OTHER DEPARTMENT / AGENCY INVOLVEMENT
County Counsel, El Dorado Hills Community Services District
CAO RECOMMENDATION / COMMENTS
Approve as recommended.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
There is no change to Net County Cost associated with this item. There may be an impact to the General Fund for staff time related to the County’s responsibilities per State CEQA Guidelines Section 15096 as a Responsible Agency. Section 15096 requires a Responsible Agency to respond to any request for consultation received from the lead agency in order to assist with preparing adequate environmental documentation for the project. Staff time spent responding to the request for consultation would not be billable to the project proponent prior to submittal of a formal application for the project.
CLERK OF THE BOARD FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
1) The Clerk of the Board will obtain the Chair’s signature on one (1) original copy of the Agreement; and
2) The Clerk of the Board will forward the executed Agreement to the Planning and Building Department, Current Planning Division, Attention: Gina Hamilton, for further processing.
STRATEGIC PLAN COMPONENT
Infrastructure: Analyze need, coordinate and plan for County facilities, parks and trails including ongoing maintenance, operations and replacement.
Good Governance. Incorporate benchmarks (to other agencies) and best practices to provide context to decisions, using data to inform discussions while promoting efforts to creatively address service delivery.
CONTACT
Rob Peters, Deputy Director of Planning
Planning and Building Department