(A) Prior to approval of any development project for which an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) will be prepared pursuant to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) or based on a local determination, regional and municipal fixed-router transit operators providing service to the project shall be identified and consulted with. Projects for which a Notice of Preparation (NOP) for a draft EIR has been circulated pursuant to the provisions of CEQA prior to the effective date of the ordinance codified in this subchapter shall be exempted from its provisions. The “Transit Impact Review Worksheet” provided in the Los Angeles County Congestion Management Program Manual, or similar worksheets, shall be used in assessing impacts. Pursuant to the provisions of CEQA, transit operators shall be sent a NOP for all contemplated EIRs and shall, as part of the NOP process, be given an opportunity to comment on the impacts of the project, to identify reasonable recommended transit service or capital improvements which may be required as a direct result of the project, and to recommend reasonable mitigation measures minimizing automobile trips on the CMP network. It shall be the responsibility of the transit operators to show the direct relation of the impacts to the project and to show the reasonableness of proposed mitigation. Impacts and recommended mitigation measures identified by the transit operator shall be evaluated in the Draft Environmental Impact Report prepared for the project. Related mitigation measures adopted shall be monitored through the mitigation monitoring requirements of CEQA.
(B) Phased development projects, development projects subject to a development agreement, or development projects requiring subsequent approvals, need not repeat this process as long as no significant changes are made to the project. It shall remain the discretion of the lead agency to determine when a project is substantially the same and therefore covered by a previously certified EIR.
('65 Code, § 9-3.2802) (Ord. 397-C.S., passed - - )