CEQA Process

The draft 2045 Atascadero General Plan will be evaluated for its potential environmental impacts as required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). This page contains all CEQA-related studies, meetings and materials. Please check back regularly for content updates and new materials.

Draft Environmental Impact Report

The City of Atascadero has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to address the potential environmental impacts associated with implementation of the proposed 2045 Atascadero General Plan. Members of the public, agencies and interested organizations are invited to provide comments on the Draft EIR that focus on whether the Draft EIR is sufficient in discussing possible impacts to the physical environment, ways in which potential adverse effects may be avoided or minimized through mitigation measures, and alternatives to the project considering the purpose of the EIR to provide useful and accurate information about such factors.

Full Document

Draft Environmental Impact Report (April 2026)
Draft Environmental Impact Report Appendices (April 2026)

Individual Chapters

Cover and Contents (April 2026)
Executive Summary (April 2026)
Chapter 1: Introduction (April 2026)
Chapter 2: Project Description (April 2026)
Chapter 3: Environmental Setting (April 2026)
Chapter 4: Environmental Impacts Analysis (April 2026)
Chapter 5: Alternatives Analysis (April 2026)
Chapter 6: Other CEQA Considerations (April 2026)
Chapter 7: Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (April 2026)
Chapter 8: References and EIR Preparers (April 2026)
Appendix A: Notice of Preparation and Summary of Comments (June 2024)
Appendix B: Draft 2045 General Plan (October 2025)
Appendix C: Air Quality and Greenhouse Gas Impact Analysis (March 2026)
Appendix D: Energy Impact Analysis (February 2026)
Appendix E: Existing Conditions Report - Ch 5 Biological Resources (March 2024)
Appendix F: Existing Conditions Report - Ch 6 Cultural Resources (November 2023)
Appendix G: Noise Impact Analysis Memo (April 2026)
Appendix H: Existing Conditions Report - Ch 8 Noise (November 2023)
Appendix I: Existing Conditions Report - Ch 4 Transportation (September 2023)
Appendix J: Transportation CEQA Memo (July 2025)

CEQA Notice of Preparation

The City of Atascadero will be the Lead Agency and will prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for the Atascadero 2045 General Plan. The following Notice of Preparation (NOP) was prepared pursuant to Section 15082(a) of the State CEQA Guidelines. The NOP was circulated for a 30-day comment period from July 15, 2024 to August 14, 2024. No Initial Study (IS) is attached because the City determined that an EIR is required for the project.

CEQA Notice of Preparation (July 2024)

The Project Team recieved several comments from community members and responsible angencies related to the scope of the environmental analysis. The City circulated a Notice or Preparation (NOP) for a 30-day comment period from July 15, 2024 to August 14, 2024. The City also held an NOP Scoping meeting on July 24, 2024. The following are the comments recieved from community members and responsible agencies:

Scoping Meeting Comments (recieved July 2024)
NOP Comments (recieved between July 15 and August 14, 2024)

Scoping Meeting

The General Plan Update is considered a project of regional and areawide significance, and in accordance with Section 15082(c)(1) of the State CEQA Guidelines, the City of Atascadero held a scoping meeting on July 24^th, 2024 from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM. The scoping meeting was held at the Atascadero City Administration Building, located at 6500 Palma Ave, Atascadero, CA 93422.

Notice of Preparation (July 2024)
Scoping Meeting Poster Boards (July 2024)

CEQA Overview

The City prepared the following newsletter to provide a general overview of the CEQA process for the Draft General Plan.

CEQA Process Overview (July 2024)