1 - Introduction 2 - Overview of Comments Received 3 - Letters of Comment 4 - Responses to Comments 5 - Evaluation of Changes to General Plan Update, Draft 2 6 - Revised Summary Table of Potential Impacts, & Proposed Mitigation Measures CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 PURPOSE The Draft Environmental Impact Report, City of Grass Valley General Plan Update, dated August 1999, was a program EIR prepared to disclose, analyze, and provide mitigation measures for all potentially significant environmental effects associated with the General Plan Update and its implementation. Preparation of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is a requirement of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for all discretionary projects in California that have a potential to result in significant environmental impacts. As required under CEQA, the Draft EIR was published and circulated for review and comment by responsible and trustee agencies and interested members of the public. The public review period established ran from August 23, 1999 through October 7, 1999. Written and any oral comments on environmental issues received during the review period and prior to preparation of this Final Environmental Impact Report (Final EIR) are addressed in the Final EIR. CEQA requires that a Final EIR be prepared, certified, and considered by public decision-makers prior to taking action on a project. The Final EIR provides the Lead Agency (i.e., City of Grass Valley City Council) an opportunity to respond to comments received on the Draft EIR during the public review period and to incorporate any additions or revisions to the Draft EIR necessary to clarify or supplement information contained in the Draft document. 1.2 SCOPE AND FORMAT This document includes this chapter, Introduction, outlining the purpose, scope and format of the Final EIR. Chapter Two explains the public review process and lists all agencies and individuals who commented on the Draft EIR. Chapter Three consists of the actual letters of comment, reproduced in their entirety. Chapter Four consists of responses to each written comment received on the Draft EIR as well as oral comments made during Planning Commission Public Hearings that were specific to the Draft EIR. These responses are intended to supplement or revise information contained in the Draft EIR, as appropriate, based on the comments and additional research or updated information. Each response follows the associated comment, which is summarized. Each letter has been numbered (e.g., Letter 1, Letter 2). Within each letter, individual comments are assigned an alpha-numeric identification. For example, the first comment on Letter 1 is Comment 1-A, and the second is Comment 1-B. Chapter Five contains a description and analysis of proposed revisions to the Draft 2 General Plan Update since the Draft EIR and General Plan were published. Chapter Six consists of revisions to pages S-4 through S-11 of the Summary Table in the Draft EIR that reflect changes resulting from comments on the Draft EIR and changes in the Draft 2 General Plan Update resulting from the public review process and any noted errata . The table is reprinted in its entirety and replaces the Summary Table in the Draft EIR. 1.3 USE OF THE DRAFT EIR Each chapter of the Draft EIR identifies an environmental topic (e.g. geology). The characterization of the significance of each impact was based upon the initial study and the EIRs author's experience in similar communities, but prior to taking into consideration the full effect of all relevant proposed General Plan policies. Thus, the phrase "potentially significant," in initially describing the environmental effects of the General Plan Update, is used broadly and reflects the level of potential effects prior to considering all relevant policies. The EIR then analyzes the effect of the proposed General Plan, with full consideration given to all relevant General Plan policies. All relevant policies are listed under "Discussion/Conclusion" as well as under "Mitigation Measures," so that the reader can follow the EIR author's analysis. Based upon the evaluation, the EIR either determines that additional mitigation measures are required (as reflected in the text and summary table), or that sufficient text and revisions were incorporated into the General Plan that the potential impacts are viewed as less than significant. Added mitigation measures identified in the Draft EIR are subject to the Mitigation Monitoring Program required by § 21081.6. of the Public Resources Code. Specific policy additions or changes in the General Plan made a part of the document before release of the Draft EIR, which also had positive environmental effects, are in fact not CEQA mitigation measures and are not subject to statutory Mitigation Monitoring requirements. Implementation of these policies is assured through the "Implementing Actions/Strategies " included in the General Plan.