CEQA Streamlining

Cities of Oakland, San Francisco, Berkeley, Foster City, and Emeryville; Alameda County 

Urban Planning Partners helps Bay Area cities and project sponsors move qualifying projects through CEQA efficiently, without giving up legal defensibility. When a jurisdiction has already certified an EIR for a general plan, specific plan, or area plan, a new project consistent with that plan shouldn't have to start environmental review from scratch. We use CEQA’s streamlining tools CEQA, including Community Plan Exemptions (Section 15183), Qualified Infill Exemptions (Section 15183.3), and Class 32 In-Fill Development Exemptions (Section 15332), and tier off existing CEQA documents, including through addenda to certified EIRs (Section 15164), so that the analysis focuses on what is truly new about each project. 

How We Do It 

UPP delivers streamlined CEQA review by: 

  • Matching the tool to the project. We tailor the level of detail to the jurisdiction's needs and the specifics of each project, saving time and cost while producing a legally defensible document. 

  • Keeping certified EIRs working. When a project changes within the bounds of an approved plan, an addendum can confirm that no new environmental review is needed.  

  • Introducing streamlining to new jurisdictions. We have helped municipalities unfamiliar with these provisions use them with confidence. 

  • Focusing technical studies where they matter. We scope project-specific analysis, such as wind, shade and shadow, and historic resources, to the issues the program-level EIR didn't fully address. 

  • Building documents that hold up. Several of our streamlined documents have been challenged by opposition law firms through appeal letters and have held up under scrutiny. 

Featured Projects 

  • 725 Harrison Street, San Francisco: Community Plan Exemption for a roughly 1-million-square-foot office and affordable housing project, one of the first approved under the Central SoMa Area Plan. 

  • San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan, Berkeley: Addendum to the City's Housing Element EIR for a 2.35-mile corridor plan, in place of a new EIR. 

  • 500 Kirkham, Oakland: 1,032 homes in three buildings up to 32 stories. 

  • Bay Street Grocer, Emeryville: Addendum to a 1999 EIR for a new grocery store, confirming that SB 743 and updated greenhouse gas thresholds did not require a new EIR. 

Project Stats 

  • 15+ streamlined CEQA documents prepared in Oakland 

  • 6 Bay Area jurisdictions served with streamlined CEQA review 

  • Up to 1,032 residential units and 1 million+ square feet in a single streamlined project 

Why We Like This Work 

Streamlining is where CEQA and good planning meet. When a community has already done the hard work of adopting and analyzing a plan, re-studying every consistent project from scratch costs time and money that could go toward housing, jobs, and public benefits. We enjoy finding the most efficient path that still stands up to scrutiny, and helping jurisdictions new to these tools use them with confidence..