Department of Conservation and Development
County Planning Commission
|
|
|
|
Project Title: |
Envision Contra Costa |
|
County File Number: |
GP18-0001 |
|
Applicant/Owner: |
County-initiated |
|
Project Location: |
All unincorporated areas |
|
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Status: |
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) |
|
Project Planner: |
Will Nelson, Principal Planner, (925) 655-2898 Jody London, Sustainability Coordinator, (925) 655-2815 |
|
Staff Recommendation: |
Accept public comments and recommend adoption of the Contra Costa County 2045 General Plan and Contra Costa County Climate Action and Adaptation Plan 2024 Update, and certification of the accompanying Final Environmental Impact Report, to the Board of Supervisors. |
I. ENVISION CONTRA COSTA BACKGROUND
Envision Contra Costa is the County’s program to update its General Plan, Zoning Code, and Climate Action Plan (CAP). These planning documents were adopted in 1991, 1947, and 2015, respectively. Piecemeal amendments to the General Plan and Zoning Code have been adopted over the years, but they have never been comprehensively updated. The CAP, while adopted much more recently, has become dated because of changes in State law, continued growth in our understanding of climate change, and technological advancements that have provided new tools and methods for addressing climate change. The Board of Supervisors in December 2017 directed the Department of Conservation and Development (DCD) to prepare comprehensive updates to all three documents.
Substantive work on Envision Contra Costa began in September 2018. Public outreach began in February 2019 and has continued throughout the process. Staff from DCD and other County departments, particularly Public Works and Health Services, as well as the County’s Envision Contra Costa consultant, PlaceWorks, have since conducted or otherwise been involved in over 170 public and community-sponsored meetings whereat community members, advocates, stakeholders, and decision-makers had opportunities to provide comments. Numerous letters and emails have also been received. The public’s robust participation has profoundly influenced the final drafts of the Contra Costa County 2045 General Plan (Attachment A) and Contra Costa County Climate Action and Adaptation Plan 2024 Update (CAAP; Attachment B).
II. RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the County Planning Commission adopt Resolution No. 3-2024 (Attachment C) to:
A. Recommend to the Board of Supervisors that the Contra Costa County 2045 General Plan and Climate Action Plan Final EIR, State Clearinghouse No. 2023090467 (Attachment D, which includes the Draft EIR [Attachment E]), be certified, and that the associated CEQA Findings of Fact and Statement of Overriding Considerations (Attachment F) and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (Attachment G) be adopted.
B. Recommend to the Board of Supervisors that the Contra Costa County 2045 General Plan and Contra Costa County Climate Action and Adaptation Plan 2024 Update be adopted.
A draft resolution of the Board of Supervisors (Attachment H), and draft findings to adopt the 2045 General Plan (Attachment I), are provided for the Commission’s review.
III. CEQA ANALYSIS
The project is subject to the requirements of CEQA. The Draft EIR prepared for the project identifies potentially significant impacts in the following environmental topic areas:
|
Agricultural and Forestry Resources |
Mineral Resources |
|
Air Quality |
Noise |
|
Biological Resources |
Transportation |
|
Cultural and Tribal Resources |
Wildfire |
|
Geology and Soils |
|
While most impacts identified in the Draft EIR are either less-than-significant or can be mitigated to less-than-significant levels, 12 impacts in the topic areas italicized above are considered significant and unavoidable. Though some mitigation exists for some of these impacts, they cannot be mitigated to less-than-significant levels. Each impact identified in the Draft EIR is discussed in detail in Attachment F, as is the justification for adopting the 2045 General Plan despite its significant and unavoidable impacts. Also presented in Attachment F is a discussion of the various project alternatives that were analyzed in the Draft EIR and the reasons for rejecting these alternatives.
The Draft EIR was made available for public review and comment between February 9 and April 8, 2024. On March 18 the Zoning Administrator held a hearing to provide members of the public with an opportunity to submit oral comments; one person testified. The County ultimately received fifteen comment letters on the Draft EIR, with most coming from public agencies. Section 2 of the Final EIR includes responses to all written and oral comments received during the comment period. None of the public comments necessitated significant changes to the project or Draft EIR, and all Draft EIR edits made in response to public comments are shown in Section 3 of the Final EIR. Staff notes that the Final EIR and accompanying documentation, being Attachments F and G, were prepared in compliance with CEQA and the State and County CEQA Guidelines.
IV. DISCUSSION OF FINAL EDITS TO THE CONTRA COSTA COUNTY 2045 GENERAL PLAN AND CLIMATE ACTION AND ADAPTATION PLAN 2024 UPDATE
A. County Planning Commission Meeting to Review Draft Plans
On August 28, 2024, the County Planning Commission held a public meeting to review staff’s recommended edits to the Draft 2045 General Plan and Draft CAAP following the public comment period that ran from October 2023 to April 2024. After accepting public testimony, the Commission voted unanimously to recommend that the Board of Supervisors accept staff’s recommended edits with the following additions:
1. General Plan: Include the Franklin Canyon area along State Route 4 east of Hercules in the Alhambra Valley, Reliez Valley, and Briones Community Profile and revise the text of the Profile to further emphasize the importance of emergency response services and evacuation planning in that part of the county.
2. CAAP: Include a provision for development of a comprehensive funding strategy.
3. CAAP: Include provisions aimed at incentivizing and increasing participation in public-private partnerships to facilitate implementation.
Not reflected in the Commission’s recommendation were suggestions by a member of the public that the El Sobrante Community Profile be revised to include additional policy language promoting bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure improvements, particularly along San Pablo Dam Road.
B. Board of Supervisors Meeting to Review Draft Plans
On September 10, 2024, the Board of Supervisors held a public meeting to review the CPC’s recommended edits to the Draft 2045 General Plan and Draft CAAP. After accepting public testimony, the Board voted unanimously to direct staff to prepare final drafts of both plans incorporating the edits recommended by the CPC, with the following additional edits to the General Plan:
1. Agreeing with a public speaker representing 350 Contra Costa Action, the Board directed that the following text be added to Health and Safety Element Policy HS-P1.7, subpart (d): “or to a higher standard when determined necessary on a case-by-case basis.”
2. Supervisor Gioia provided various edits to the Community Profiles for East Richmond Heights; El Sobrante; Kensington; Montalvin Manor, Tara Hills, Bayview, and Rollingwood; and North Richmond. One of these edits addressed the public comments from the August 28 CPC meeting regarding the El Sobrante Community Profile.
All edits specified by the Board have been incorporated into the final drafts of the 2045 General Plan and CAAP.
C. Public Comments Submitted After the September 10, 2024, Board of Supervisors Meeting
350 Contra Costa Action and Sunflower Alliance, September 16, 2024
350 Contra Costa/Sunflower Alliance submitted a letter (Attachment J-1) suggesting the following edits to the 2045 General Plan:
1. Health and Safety Element Policy HS-P1.7, subpart (c). The commenter proposed an edit regarding modernization of existing industrial facilities so that this policy, with inclusion of the edit made by the Board on September 10, would read as follows (proposed new text is underlined; staff’s recommended changes to the proposed edits are in italics)
Policy HS-P1.7
Encourage modernization projects at existing industrial facilities that support State energy and climate goals and achieve all of the following:
(a) Improved community and worker health and safety.
(b) Enhanced environmental protection.
(c) Significant reductions in criteria pollutants, TACs, and GHGs using Best Available Retrofit Control Technology when applicable.
(d) Timely remediation of preexisting and future on- and off-site contamination as a component of the project or through a fully funded work program that restores the site to a condition suitable for commercial or industrial use, or to a higher standard when determined necessary and feasible on a case-by-case basis.
Staff Response: The purpose of Best Available Retrofit Control Technology (BARCT) implementation is to reduce criteria pollutant emissions from industrial sources. BARCT is a best practice requirement found in Air District regulations for existing facilities, which are expected to upgrade to BARCT standards as part of new projects. Staff recommends acceptance of this proposed edit with the modification shown above.
2. Stronger Communities Element, Business Innovation Section (page 3-25). The commenter proposed the following edits to the narrative text (strikethrough indicates text proposed for deletion; proposed new text is underlined):
Petroleum refineries have been some of the largest employers and strongest economic drivers in the county for over 100 years. While demand for refined products remains significant and will persist until replacement alternative technologies exist for current uses are deployed at the requisite scale, the long-term future of these facilities is uncertain, and two of the four Contra Costa refineries have transitioned their operations as global and national energy trends shift toward carbon-free and renewable energy sources.
Staff Response: Staff recommends acceptance of the proposed edits because they improve the narrative text’s accuracy.
3. Conservation, Open Space, and Working Lands Element, Energy Resources Section (page 7-44). The commenter proposed the following edits to the narrative text citing controversy around the environmental benefits of biofuels (strikethrough indicates text proposed for deletion; proposed new text is underlined; staff’s recommended changes to the proposed edits are in italics):
Contra Costa County has long been an energy producer. Coal mining began in the 1850s, as indicated previously. The first petroleum refinery in the Bay Area opened in Rodeo in 1896 and the county has historically been home to a small oil and natural gas production industry. However, energy production in Contra Costa County is evolving as reliance on fossil fuels decreases and the State enacts more aggressive policies to combat climate change. In recent years, the State has increased support for a transitioning to cleaner-burning biofuels through investments in technology, infrastructure, and production. Biofuels, including biomethane, biodiesel, and gasoline and diesel fuels derived from renewable sources instead of petroleum, can reduce reliance on traditional fuel sources, improve air quality, and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Embracing the future, Consistent with current State policy to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve air quality, two former of the four petroleum refineries in the county have already begun converting converted their operations from refining crude oil to processing cleaner biofuels.
Staff Response: Staff recommends acceptance of these proposed edits because they improve the narrative text’s accuracy.
Rodeo Citizens Association, October 8, 2024
Staff’s August/September 2024 recommended edits to the 2045 General Plan included a new action, SC-A9.3, calling for the County to nominate the Phillips 66 San Francisco (Rodeo) Refinery and surrounding industrial areas, including the Phillips 66 Carbon Plant site in Franklin Canyon, as a Priority Production Area (PPA). The commenter submitted a letter (Attachment J-2) asking the County to reconsider inclusion of this action in the General Plan, with specific objection to inclusion of the Carbon Plant site.
Staff Response: For decades the Carbon Plant site and areas to the south and southeast have been designated Heavy Industry in the General Plan. Land immediately west of the Carbon Plant, also owned by Phillips 66, has been designated Business Park, which allows a mixture of commercial, office, and light industrial uses. In 2023 Phillips 66 indicated their desire for the site of the Carbon Plant itself to retain its Heavy Industry land use designation and supported other portions of the property being redesignated to less intense land use designations, such as Agricultural Lands and Resource Conservation. Because the Business Park designation does not exist in the 2045 General Plan, a portion of the area currently designated Business Park is proposed for redesignation to Light Industry. Overall, the area designated Heavy Industry and Business Park/Light Industry was reduced from 238.8 acres in the existing General Plan to 113.4 acres in the 2045 General Plan, a 52.5 percent reduction.
The PPA program, administered by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, identifies industrial clusters and prioritizes them for economic development investment and protection from competing land uses. Pursuant to Action SC-A9.3, the County would nominate the 113.4 acres designated Heavy Industry and Light Industry for inclusion in the Rodeo PPA. The remainder of the site would not be included. Designation of the Heavy Industry/Light Industry portion of the site as a PPA is consistent with goals and policies in the 2045 General Plan supporting economic development, particularly in the Northern Waterfront area. Staff recommends against deleting or modifying Action SC-A9.3.
Save Mount Diablo, October 8, 2024
The commenter submitted a letter (Attachment J-3) praising the County’s work on the 2045 General Plan and CAAP.
D. Additional Staff-Recommended Changes to the Draft 2045 General Plan
Staff has incorporated the following edits/changes into the 2045 General Plan to improve accuracy and clarity:
1. All Elements: Maps have been updated to reflect completion of the Faria property annexation to the City of Pittsburg.
2. Stronger Communities Element: Community Profiles have been updated with the newest Fire Hazard Severity Zone Maps, which became effective April 1, 2024.
3. Land Use Element page 4-2: Fine-tuned the explanation of residential densities.
4. Land Use Element Table LU-1: Added the Housing Element Consistency (HE-C) District to the “Consistent Zoning” list for most residential and mixed-use land use designations. The HE-C District had not yet been adopted when the Draft General Plan was published in October 2023. Also added the F-1 Water Recreational District to the Consistent Zoning list for the Residential Low-Medium Density and Residential Medium Density land use designations. Previous exclusion of the F-1 District was an oversight.
5. Land Use Element Figure LU-1: Minor edits to the Land Use Map to improve accuracy, correct anomalies, and resolve discrepancies. The existing General Plan Land Use Map, October 2023 Draft Land Use Map, and subsequent versions of the Draft Land Use Map can be viewed at <https://www.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=92d542bcb39247e8b558021bd0446d18> by opening the Layers List and selecting the desired version(s) of the map.
6. Transportation Element page 5-4: Added text introducing new Figure TR-2, which illustrates corridors with high incidence of pedestrian, bicycle, and automobile collisions, and added Figure TR-2.
7. Transportation Element page 5-16: Corrected the description of Community Based Transportation Plans and added Action TR-A5.3 supporting implementation of these plans.
8. Transportation Element Figure TR-4 (formerly Figure TR-3): Removed the Caldecott Tunnel as a distinct road classification and adjusted the legend accordingly.
9. Conservation, Open Space, and Working Lands Element page 7-39: Fine-tuned the description of scenic routes in connection with edits to Figure COS-12 (formerly Figure COS-10) to depict scenic routes more accurately.
10. Conservation, Open Space, and Working Lands Element page 7-46: Updated the text to acknowledge recent adoption by the Board of Supervisors of the replacement for the all-electric building ordinance.
V. NEXT STEPS
A public hearing before the Board of Supervisors is scheduled for November 5. At that hearing the Board will consider certifying the Final EIR and adopting the Contra Costa County 2045 General Plan and Contra Costa County Climate Action and Adaptation Plan 2024 Update.
VI. ATTACHMENTS
A. Public Hearing Draft Contra Costa County 2045 General Plan
B. Public Hearing Draft Contra Costa County Climate Action and Adaptation Plan 2024 Update
C. Draft County Planning Commission Resolution No. 3-2024
D. Final Environmental Impact Report
E. Draft Environmental Impact Report
F. CEQA Findings of Fact and Statement of Overriding Considerations
G. Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program
H. Draft Board of Supervisors Resolution
I. Draft Findings to Adopt the 2045 General Plan
J. Public Comments
• J-1 350 Contra Costa Action/Sunflower Alliance
• J-2 Rodeo Citizen Association
• J-3 Save Mount Diablo
K. PowerPoint Presentation