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1. Introduction 1.2 – Scope and Content

The Project would include grading approximately 2.2 million cubic yards of cut and fill balanced
on-site. Additional remedial grading (850,000 cubic yards) would be necessary to accommodate the
Project.

A Project EIR has been prepared in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA), the state guidelines for the implementation of CEQA, and applicable City of Santa Clarita
adopting procedures for implementation of CEQA and the CEQA Guidelines, including §15124
(Project EIRs) and §15120 through §15131. This EIR identifies and discusses potential Project-
specific and cumulative environmental impacts that may occur if the Project is implemented. The

intent of this EIR is to: 1) be an informational document that serves to inform public agency
decision makers and the general public of the potential environmental impacts of a project,
2) identify possible ways to minimize or avoid any potential significant impacts either through
mitigation or the adoption of alternatives, and 3) disclose to the public required agency approvals.

The principal use of an EIR is to provide input and information to the comprehensive planning
analysis. Given the important role of the EIR in this planning and decision-making process, it is
important that the information presented in the EIR be factual, adequate, and complete. The
standards for adequacy of an EIR, defined in §15151 of the CEQA Guidelines, are 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 proposed project need not be exhaustive, but the
sufficiency of an EIR is to be reviewed in 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.

1.2 Scope and Content

The City determined that an EIR should be prepared for Sand Canyon Plaza Mixed-Use Project. As
a result, a Notice of Preparation (NOP) was prepared and circulated between April 30, 2015 and
May 29, 2015 for the required 30-day review period. The purpose of the NOP was to solicit early
comments from public agencies with expertise in subjects that will be discussed in the draft EIR.
The NOP and written responses to the NOP are contained in Appendix 1 of this EIR. The City of
Santa Clarita also held a scoping meeting on the Project to solicit oral and written comments from
the public and public agencies. The public scoping meeting was held May 27, 2015. Comments
received at the meeting are contained in Appendix 1 of this EIR.

Topics requiring a detailed level of analysis evaluated in this EIR have been identified based upon
the responses to both the NOP and a review of the Project by the City of Santa Clarita. The City

Tebo Environmental Consulting, Inc. Sand Canyon Plaza Mixed-Use Project Draft EIR
March 2017 1-2