Porterville Municipal Code § 611.03 Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program

This article establishes procedures for conducting environmental review to meet requirements of the California environmental quality act (CEQA) and the national environmental policy act (NEPA). These provisions are intended to ensure that responsible decision makers and the public are informed about the potentially significant environmental effects of proposed activities and that environmental review is integrated with the discretionary review provisions that this article establishes to promote incorporation of environmental considerations into the design, planning, and review of projects. These procedures apply to all projects sponsored or assisted by the city and to all private projects requiring any discretionary approvals from the city. In the event of a conflict between these environmental review regulations and applicable federal or state regulations or guidelines, the applicable federal or state regulations shall prevail. (Ord. 1801, 12-3-2013)

A. Filing Of Forms: Concurrent with the submittal of project applications, the applicant shall prepare and file an environmental information form and project plans with the community development department.

B. Preliminary Review: Within thirty (30) days after receiving an application, the zoning administrator shall conduct a preliminary environmental review. As part of this review, the zoning administrator will identify issues to help decide if the applicant proposes a project that is subject to environmental review and may require the applicant to submit additional information needed to support this determination.

C. Preparation And Processing Environmental Documents: A determination of the appropriate level of environmental review by the zoning administrator shall trigger the preparation of an environmental document in compliance with the most current regulations and guidelines of the environmental quality act, whether it be exempt from CEQA, require negative declaration, mitigated negative declaration or an environmental impact report (EIR). Further, in concert with the requirements of an applicable federal agency(ies), the zoning administrator will cause to have prepared the appropriate NEPA environmental documentation.

D. Review For Exemption:

1. Determinations of exemption shall be made within thirty (30) days of the date the application is deemed complete.

2. If the zoning administrator has determined that a project is exempt from environmental review under CEQA, such determination shall be announced in any required public notice for discretionary permits. The notice shall include a citation to the CEQA guidelines or CEQA section under which it is found to be exempt.

3. Following approval of a project that is exempt from CEQA review, a notice of exemption shall be filed with the county clerk as provided for in CEQA and the applicable state and city guidelines.

4. A determination of exemption by any decision making authority other than the city council may be appealed to the city council in the same manner provided in article 612, "Appeals", of this series.

E. Initial Study: If the proposed project is subject to CEQA and is not exempt from environmental review, an initial study shall be prepared in compliance with CEQA and local CEQA guidelines.

F. Determination Of Environmental Significance: Based on the initial study, the zoning administrator will make one of the following findings:

1. The project will have "no significant impacts" on the environment, and a negative declaration will be prepared;

2. The project has been modified or mitigation measures have been incorporated to mitigate potential environmental impacts to a level of insignificance and a mitigated negative declaration will be prepared; or

3. The proposed project will have, or may have, significant impact(s) that may not be mitigated, and an EIR will be required.

G. Environmental Determination: If the zoning administrator has determined that the proposed project will not have a significant effect on the environment, a negative declaration shall be prepared for public review in conformance with the requirements of CEQA and applicable state and city environmental review guidelines.

H. Public Notice Of Environmental Determination: The zoning administrator shall provide public notice of the proposed environmental determination in a newspaper of general circulation, at city hall, and with the county clerk.

I. The project applicant shall be responsible for the full cost of the environmental review process. If the city planning division is unable to prepare an environmental document or technical study for a public or private project, a qualified consultant shall be contracted for preparation of the appropriate environmental documents including technical studies. The city has undertaken the negotiation of and maintains an on call environmental consultant for use on city projects with defined funding sources, and for use by private development proponents in the event they desire to streamline the process. For preparation of environmental review documents, including preparation by consultants, further selection procedures including qualifications and other criteria shall be set forth in policy(ies) adopted by Resolution. (Ord. 1801, 12-3-2013; amd. Ord. 1916, 8-19-2025)

A. Program Contents: The city shall approve a mitigation monitoring and reporting program (MMRP) for all projects that it approves with a mitigated negative declaration or in conjunction with certification of a final EIR and compliance with CEQA.

B. Enforcement: Failure to comply with the conditions and requirements of an approved MMRP shall be considered a violation of the conditions of approval of a project. Such violations shall be subject to enforcement in accordance with the provisions of article 613, "Enforcement", of this series.

C. Modification Of Mitigation Program Not Permitted Following Adoption: Unless specifically authorized or required by the conditions of project approval, neither CEQA nor this article authorize the city to modify or add mitigation measures if the monitoring program shows that the mitigation measures have not achieved the desired result. (Ord. 1801, 12-3-2013)