SB 299: California Environmental Quality Act: exemption: day care center: zoning.

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. Existing law exempts specified projects from CEQA, including a project that consists exclusively of a day care center, as defined, that is not located in a residential area. This bill would exempt from CEQA a project that consists exclusively of a day care center, as defined, that is located in a residential area, except as provided. By imposing additional duties on a lead agency to determine the applicability of these exemptions, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.