Opinion ID: 1199813
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Expanded Discussion of Parnassus Alternative

Text: The draft EIR devotes over 100 pages to discussion of alternatives to the project. The draft EIR discusses in detail six different uses for the Laurel Heights site and five other locations, some owned by the university and some not, for the research facilities proposed to be located at Laurel Heights. In addition, the draft EIR briefly discusses other alternatives that were considered, but were not addressed in detail, because they were found to be infeasible, remote or speculative. Among the alternatives considered, but not addressed in detail, was expansion of the Parnassus Heights campus to accommodate the new research facilities. The draft EIR explains the space deficit at the Parnassus Heights campus and the limitations adopted in the 1976 long-range development plan, at the urging of the state Legislature, on additional development of that campus, which is the most densely developed of all University of California facilities. The draft EIR further explains that, because the necessary space at the Parnassus Heights campus can only be created by demolition of existing buildings fully in use or by violating the limits adopted in the long-range development plan, the alternative of expansion at this site is infeasible. In response to a single public comment claiming that the alternative of locating the research programs at the Parnassus Heights campus had not been adequately explored in the draft EIR, the final EIR contains a 12-page discussion expanding upon the possible environmental consequences of the alternative. The final EIR concludes that the alternative is infeasible for the reasons stated in the draft EIR. The final EIR also concludes that in no respect is the Parnassus Heights alternative environmentally superior to the proposed project. (13a) The Association nevertheless contends that the expanded discussion of this alternative constitutes significant new information triggering recirculation of the EIR. We, however, agree with the Regents that recirculation was not required. (14) An EIR need not consider every conceivable alternative to a project. ( Laurel Heights I, supra, 47 Cal.3d at pp. 406-407.) Rather, consideration of a reasonable range of feasible alternatives is required to foster informed decisionmaking and public participation. (13b) The draft EIR accomplished this goal by considering a wide variety of alternatives ranging from several different uses for the Laurel Heights site to different locations for the research laboratories. The draft EIR also contains succinct statements of the reasons that other alternatives, such as expansion of the Parnassus Heights campus, were deemed not to warrant further discussion. ( Id. at pp. 404-405.) Furthermore, the reasons given for the rejection of the Parnassus Heights alternative do not constitute an abuse of discretion and are supported by the record. Since the 1976 long-range development plan embodied a decision that expansion at the Parnassus Heights campus was not desirable and that additional space should be developed in other locations, the Regents did not abuse their discretion by relying upon the policies stated in the long-range development plan to assist them in assessing the feasibility of this alternative. (Cf. Goleta Valley II, supra, 52 Cal.3d at pp. 570-573 [county's reliance on its local coastal program in assessing feasibility of alternative sites for EIR permissible].) An alternative is feasible and therefore worthy of consideration only if it is capable of being accomplished in a successful manner within a reasonable period of time, taking into account, economic, environmental, social, and technological factors. (§ 21061.1; see also Guidelines, § 15364.) Substantial evidence supports the conclusion that the Parnassus Heights alternative does not meet this requirement. The expanded discussion in the final EIR does not change the determination that the expansion of the Parnassus Heights campus is infeasible. Rather it merely amplifies the reasons why the alternative is infeasible and ultimately less desirable. Recirculation is only required when a discussion of a new feasible project alternative, which will not be implemented, is added to the EIR.