California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA): Overview of Preparing Environmental Documentation.

CEQA practice is constantly evolving, raising new issues and revealing new trends. It is critical for planners to stay current about recent developments and changing procedural requirements and to exchange ideas with colleagues about managing issues that arise in the environmental review process. This session will teach planners fundamental principles of preparing different types of CEQA documents (Exemptions, Initial Studies, Negative Declarations and Mitigated Negative Declarations, and EIRs). Planners will learn how to evaluate the appropriate CEQA document required, how to use standards and thresholds to determine impact significance, how to write a legally adequate project description, how to determine a project baseline for evaluating impacts, and how to adequately address alternatives and cumulative impacts.

The day-long (6 hour) session will be led by Ellen Garber, esq., AICP; Richard Taylor, esq.; and Carmen Borg, AICP. Ms. Garber's practice consists primarily of representing public agencies in CEQA and land use litigation, and advising them on CEQA/NEPA compliance, including emerging greenhouse gas issues. Mr. Taylor is a consulting municipal attorney and also has a degree in Environmental Policy and Planning from the University of California, Davis. Ms. Borg advises clients on planning and CEQA related issues and has extensive experience preparing, reviewing and critiquing environmental impact reports and other CEQA documents.

Instructors:

Carmen Borg AICP

Richard Taylor

Ellen Garber AICP

(4 Ratings)