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Recommendation to respectfully request City Council to: (1) receive supporting documentation into the record and conduct a public hearing on two appeals of the Board of Harbor Commissioners' certification of the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the MCC Cement Facility Modification Project filed pursuant to Long Beach Municipal Code Section 21.21.507 by the Coalition for a Safe Environment, et al. and Earthjustice on behalf of East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice and the Coalition for a Safe Environment; and (2) adopt resolution denying the appeals and upholding the Board of Harbor Commissioners' certification of the Final EIR for the Project.
DISCUSSION
As set forth below and in the attached documents, the Harbor Department believes that the Board of Harbor Commissioners fully complied with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) when it certified the Final Environmental Impact Report (Final EIR for the MCC Cement Facility Modification Project (Project). However, it will be up to the City Council to consider the appeals and determine whether the certification of the Final EIR was proper.
If the City Council determines that the Final EIR fully complies with CEQA, it must reject the appeals (see Attachment 1 for proposed resolution). Alternatively, if the City Council finds that the Harbor Commission did not comply with CEQA, then it must uphold the appeals and direct the Harbor Commission to set aside the Project approval and conduct appropriate CEQA analysis before reconsidering the Project.
A. The Board of Harbor Commissioners Action Being Appealed.
On May 11, 2015, the Harbor Commission unanimously adopted Resolution No. HD-2807 (Attachment 3), wherein it certified the Final EIR as fully compliant with CEQA. The Harbor Commission took that action at the conclusion of a public hearing during which the Harbor Department staff gave an extensive presentation on the Project and the Final EIR (Attachment 4), and then answe...
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