2.
Response
to
Comments
2.9
Individual
Responses
to
Comments
from
Organizations
recommended
by
FEMA
to
account
for
provide
an
appropriate
margin
of
safety
in
relation
to
any
other
factors.
In
addition,
Mitigation
Measure
4.H-4a
requires
that
1-foot
of
freeboard
be
maintained
above
the
100-year
storm
event
hydraulic
grade
line
water
elevation
with
tidal
flow
and
100
years
of
estimated
sea
level
rise.
Therefore,
the
proposed
minimum
ground
floor
elevations
combined
with
the
required
BCDC
Bay
Plan
policies
and
Mitigation
Measure
4.H-4a
would
ensure
that
flooding
hazards
are
reduced
to
less
than
significant
levels.
See
4
for
discussion
of
the
use
of
thresholds
and
determinations
of
significance
under
CEQA,
which
requires
an
EIR
to
focus
on
the
“significant
environmental
effects”
of
the
proposed
project.
A
“‘significant
effect
on
the
environment’
means
a
substantial,
or
potentially
substantial,
adverse
change
in
any
of
the
physical
conditions
within
the
area
affected
by
the
project,
including
land,
air,
water,
minerals,
flora,
fauna,
ambient
noise,
and
objects
of
historic
or
aesthetic
significance.”
(CEQA
Guidelines
Section
15382.)
The
lead
agency,
here,
the
City
of
Brisbane,
is
responsible
for
deciding
whether
an
adverse
environmental
effect
identified
in
an
EIR
should
be
classified
as
“significant”
or
“less
than
significant.”
(CEQA
Guidelines
Section
15064(b).)
Under
CEQA
Guidelines
Section
15064(b),
the
significance
of
an
activity
may
vary
with
the
setting,
and
therefore
an
inflexible
definition
of
significant
effects
is
not
possible.
CEQA
gives
the
lead
agency
discretion
to
formulate
standards
of
significance,
also
known
as
significance
thresholds
or
criteria,
for
use
in
an
EIR,
against
which
to
measure
the
impacts
of
a
project,
and
determine
their
significance.
The
Draft
EIR
specifically
identifies
each
of
the
criteria
used
in
its
analyses
to
determine
the
significance
of
each
impact.
These
significance
criteria,
which
are
outlined
in
Appendix
G
of
State
CEQA
Guidelines
can
be
found
in
each
section
of
Chapter
4
immediately
following
the
Regulatory
Setting
at
the
beginning
of
the
Impacts
and
Mitigation
Measures
section.
For
example,
in
Section
4.H,
Surface
Water
Hydrology
and
Water
Quality
,
the
significance
criteria
used
to
determine
the
significance
of
impacts
can
be
found
in
Section
4.H.4,
starting
on
page
4.H-18
of
the
Draft
EIR.
As
stated
in
the
Draft
EIR,
the
determination
of
each
impact’s
significance
was
based
on
expert
analysis
in
each
individual
resource
area
including
site-specific
data
collected
by
licensed
professionals,
reports
and
studies
prepared
by
experts
in
the
field,
and
publicly
available
data
from
agencies
including
ABAG,
FEMA,
and
the
RWQCB.
The
data
was
summarized,
analyzed
and
the
significance
determinations
made
based
on
substantial
evidence,
applicable
significance
criteria
and
the
EIR
preparers’
professional
judgment
and
expertise.
This
comment
states
that
the
mitigation
measures
do
not
adequately
address
identified
impacts,
but
provides
no
evidence
in
support
of
this
assertion.
The
flooding
analysis
that
begins
on
Brisbane
Baylands
Final
EIR
2.9.2-98
May
2015