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San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors <br /> April 10,2017 <br /> Page 7 <br /> The MND also attempts to mitigate the potentially significant impacts to nearby <br /> residents resulting from fire. The proposed mitigation measure or recommended <br /> conditional of approval requires the submission of a Fire Safety Plan with updated <br /> procedures for monitoring,controlling,and extinguishing spot fires. There is also a <br /> recommended conditional of approval that the Project is subject to field inspections. The <br /> Initial Study,however,contains no performance standards associated with the Fire Safety <br /> Plan in terms of the reduction of fires or what steps will be taken,when they will be <br /> taken and what constitutes a significant reduction in the fire risk. <br /> V. THE PLANNING COMMISSION'S ADDITION OF MITIGATION MEASURES <br /> VIOLATES CEQA <br /> After the MND/IS had been released for public review and comment,the <br /> Planning Commission held a public hearing on the Project. In approving the Project,the <br /> Planning Commission adopted several additional mitigation measures. Inclusion of <br /> mitigation measures to reduce impacts to less than significant after the release of the <br /> IS/MND violates CEQA. (Pub. Resources Code,§ 21064.5,21080(c)(2).) <br /> According to CEQA,a"Mitigated Negative Declaration'means a negative <br /> declaration prepared for a project when the initial study has identified potentially <br /> significant effects on the environment,but(1)revisions in the project plans or proposals <br /> made by,or agreed to by,the applicant before the proposed negative declaration and <br /> initial study are released for public review would avoid the effects or mitigate the effects <br /> to a point where clearly no significant impacts on the environment would occur,and(2) <br /> there is no substantial evidence in light of the whole record before the public agency that <br /> the project,as revised,may have a significant effect on the environment. (Pub. <br /> Resources Code,§ 21064.5,21080(c); CEQA Guidelines,§§15006(h), 15064(f)(2), <br /> 15070(b), 15369.5.) Under Public Resources Code section 21064.5,a project <br /> modification permitting the use of mitigated negative declaration must be made before <br /> the agency has issued a proposed negative declaration for public review. (See also <br /> CEQA Guidelines,§15073). The statutory definition of"mitigated negative declaration' <br /> supports the notion that the public must have an opportunity to review a negative <br /> declaration that describes the proposed project as modified,rather than as originally <br /> proposed,so that comments can be made on the project in its changed form with the <br /> proposed mitigation measures. (Pub.Resources Code,§ 21080(c)(2),and CEQA <br /> Guidelines section 15070(b)(1);Perley v. County of Calaveras(1982) 137 Cal.App.3d <br /> 424,431,fn.3; Plaggmier v. City of San Jose (1980) 101 Cal.App.3d 842,853-854; Quail <br /> Botanical Gardens Foundation,Inc.v. City of Encinitas(1994)29 Cal.App.4`' 1597, <br /> 1604,fn.5.) The County has failed to comply with sections 21064.5 and 21080(c)(2) by <br /> not submitting the"post-approval" mitigation measures to the public for review prior to <br /> adopting the MND. <br />