NOTICE OF DETERMINATION FOR AN ADDENDUM TO THE ENVISION SAN
JOSE 2040 GENERAL PLAN FINAL PROGRAM ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
REPORT AS SUPPLEMENTED (SCH# 200972096), DOWNTOWN STRATEGY 2040
FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT (SCH# 2003042127) AND ADDENDA
THERETO
The City of San Jose prepared an Addendum pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15164, to the Envision San Jose 2040 General Plan Final Program Environmental Impact Report (General Plan EIR) as supplemented and the Downtown Strategy 2040 Final Environmental Impact Report for amendments to San Jose Municipal Code (SJMC) Chapter 13.48 (Historic Preservation Ordinance). The Historic Preservation Ordinance Amendments revise Section 13.48.020 (Definitions) to update the definition of .. historic district" and "landmark" and add definitions for "detrimental," "historic integrity," and "substantial alteration." Updates clarify that a Historic Preservation Pennit (HP Permit) is required only for exterior changes to properties officially designated by the City Council. New definitions specify what constitutes a detriment and guide evaluation of project compatibility in the HP Permit process. Additionally, Section 13.48.240 is amended to allow the City Council to recognize that a project's detrimental effects on a landmark or historic district property may be outweighed by economic, legal, social, technological, or other benefits. The San Jose City Council certified the General Plan EJR on November 1, 2011 (Resolution No. 76041) for the Envision San Jose 2040 General Plan, a comprehensive update to the San Jose 2020 General Plan. The General Plan provides the long-term policy framework guiding land use, development, and City capital decisions to support San Jose's social, economic, and environmental goals. The EJR analyzed environmental impacts and program-level mitigation measures, including effects on cultural resources under federal and state regulations such as the National Historic Preservation Act, Secretary of the Interior's Standards, CEQA, SB 18 tribal consultation, the California Historical Building Code, the Mills Act, and the City's Historic Preservation Ordinance. A Supplemental Program EIR, certified on December 15, 2015 (Resolution No. 77617), further evaluated greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related impacts associated with ongoing implementation of the General Plan and supported related discretionary actions, including updates and re-adoption of the City's Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategy. The San Jose City Council certified the Downtown Strategy 2040 Final EIR on December 18, 2018 (Resolution No. 78942)). The Downtown Strategy 2040 updates the 2000 plan by expanding Downtown's development capacity- transferring 4,000 housing units and 10,000 jobs from later General Plan growth areas - and adjusting the.Downtown boundary along North 4th Street between East St. John and East Julian Streets. The Final EIR tiers from the General Plan EIR, provides program-level analysis of overall Downtown growth, and includes project-level review for transportation, air quality, and noise. Future projects must be evaluated for consistency with this EIR, and additional environmental review is required where site-specific issues, including cultural and historic resources, were not previously addressed. The Addendum evaluates whether the Historic Preservation Ordinance Amendments would result in new significant environmental impacts or substantially increase the severity of previously identified impacts disclosed in the General Plan EIR and Downtown Strategy 2040 Final EIR. The analysis concluded implementation of the Historic Preservation Ordinance Amendments would not result in any new significant effects on the environment beyond those already identified in the previously certified General Plan EIR and Downtown Strategy EIR. The General Plan EIR concluded that new development and redevelopment allowed under the General Plan could result in a substantial adverse change in the significance of historic architectural resources; however, implementation of General Plan policies and existing regulations and programs would substantially reduce impacts to historically significant architectural resources to a less than significant level. The Downtown Strategy EIR disclosed significant and unavoidable cumulative impacts to historic resources resulting from the build out of Downtown. The addition of an override provision would not result in new significant impacts or increase the severity of previously identified impacts. Any individual project invoking the override provision would still be subject to CEQA analysis, disclosure of significant and unavoidable impacts, and adoption of a Statement of Overriding Considerations as required.
