• Inform governmental decision-makers and the public about potential, significant environmental effects of a proposed project;
• Identify ways that any identified environmental damage can be avoided or significantly reduced;
• Prevent significant,  avoidable  damage  to  the  environment  by  requiring  changes to a project through the use of alternatives or mitigation measures when the governmental agency finds that changes are feasible;
• Disclose to the public the reasons a governmental agency approved the project in the manner the agency chose.

Environmental review is required for all activities which have the potential to result in a foreseeable direct or indirect physical change in the environment, if the activity:

• Is directly undertaken by any public agency;
• Is partially funded by a public agency even if undertaken by a private party or non-profit organization;
• Requires a lease, permit, license, certificate, or any other approval from a public agency.

A project does not include:

• Continuing administrative or maintenance activities, such as purchasing, personnel-related actions, on-going street, landscape and facility maintenance, and the enactment of general policies and procedure; 
• Government fiscal activities which do not involve the actual commitment of funds to a specific project;  
• Organizational or administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment.

CEQA also exempts certain types of projects from its requirements; these include some alterations to existing facilities, replacement or reconstruction with like facilities and accessory structures such as on-premise signs. 

Determining the level of required environmental review is a three step process:

1. City staff examines the project to determine whether it is subject to CEQA at all. If the project is exempt, the process does not need to proceed any farther and staff prepares a Notice of Exemption.

2. If the project is not exempt, staff, or a consultant hired by the City, conducts an Initial Study to determine if the project may have a significant effect on the environment.  If this study shows that the project will have no significant effect, a negative declaration is prepared that must be made available for public review and comment for at least 20 days prior to any City Council action on the project.

3. If the Initial Study shows that the project may have a significant effect on the environment, staff and/or its consultant prepares an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) that must be made available for public review and comment for 45 days prior to any City Council action on the project.   

An EIR does not in itself determine whether a project goes forward or nor. Rather, if the EIR shows that a project will result in substantial adverse environment effects, the City must take one or more of the following actions:

• Change the proposed project.
• Impose conditions for approval that will mitigate the adverse effects.
• Adopt plans or ordinances to control a broader class of projects to avoid the adverse changes.
• Choose an alternative method to meet the same need.
• Disapprove the project.
• Find that altering the project is not feasible.
• Find that the unavoidable significant environmental damage is acceptable, as provided in Article 7, Section 15093 of the California Environmental Quality Act.

During the last five years, Laguna Woods has prepared one Environmental Impact Reports and eleven Negative Declarations. City staff also reviews and comments on documents prepared by adjacent cities and other governmental agencies about projects that might impact Laguna Woods’ residents.