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1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

A. INTRODUCTION

(a) Purpose of the EIR

The purpose of this Draft Environmental Impact Report (Draft EIR) is to inform decision makers and the
general public of the potential environmental impacts resulting from the proposed Dockweiler Drive
Alignment Project (“Proposed Project”).

The Proposed Project will require approval of certain discretionary actions by the City of Santa Clarita,
and therefore, is subject to environmental review requirements under the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA). For purposes of complying with CEQA, the City of Santa Clarita, located at 23920
Valencia Boulevard, CA 91355 is identified as the Lead Agency for the Proposed Project.

As described in Section 15121(a) and 15362 of the CEQA Guidelines, an environmental impact report is
an informational document which will inform public agency decision-makers and the public of the
significant environmental effects of a project, identify possible ways to mitigate any significant
environmental effects, and identify and evaluate a reasonable range of alternatives to the project that have
the potential to mitigate or avoid the project’s potential significant environmental effects while feasibly
accomplishing most of the project’s basic purposes. Therefore, the intent of this Draft EIR is to focus the
discussion on the Proposed Project’s potential physical effects on the environment, which may be
significant under the methodology and thresholds of significance identified within each Section of this
Draft EIR. Where applicable, the Draft EIR recommends feasible mitigation measures that could
potentially reduce or avoid significant environmental impacts.

This Draft EIR was prepared in accordance with Section 15151 of the CEQA Guidelines, which defines
the standards for adequacy of an environmental impact report as follows:

An EIR should be prepared with a sufficient degree of analysis to provide decision makers with
information which enables them to make a decision which intelligently takes account of
environmental consequences. An evaluation of the environmental effects of a Project need not be
exhaustive, but the sufficiency of an EIR is to be reviewed in the light of what is reasonably feasible.
Disagreement among experts does not make an EIR inadequate, but the EIR should summarize the
main points of disagreement among the experts. The courts have looked not for perfection but for
adequacy, completeness, and a good faith effort at full disclosure.

Lyons Avenue/Dockweiler Drive Extension Project 1. Executive Summary
SCH No. 2013082016 Page 1-1