Technical Advisories
These Advisories provide general advice and recommendations, which agencies, the public, and other entities may use at their discretion.
LCI develops technical advice on issues that broadly affect CEQA practice and land use planning. (Gov. Code, § 65040, subds. (g), (l), (m).) This page provides links to LCI’s Technical Advisories on CEQA and statutes that provide exemptions from CEQA.
These advisories provide general advice and recommendations, which agencies, the public, and other entities may use at their discretion. These advisories do not alter a public agency’s discretion in preparing environmental documents subject to CEQA. LCI does not enforce or attempt to enforce any part of the recommendations contained within the advisories. (Government Code [GC] § 65035 [“It is not the intent of the Legislature to vest in the Office of Planning and Research any direct operating or regulatory powers over land use, public works, or other state, regional, or local projects or programs.”].)
For more information about CEQA generally, links to relevant forms, and information about the State Clearinghouse, please visit our Getting Started page.
Advisory Documents
Housing Projects
- CEQA Review of Housing Projects
Provides information on the statutes and regulations related to the CEQA review of housing projects. A chart comparing the requirements for obtaining CEQA exemptions and streamlining for housing projects is included as Appendix A. - CEQA Review of Affordable, Transitional, and Supportive Housing Projects
Provides a list of statutes and regulations related to the CEQA review of affordable housing, supportive housing, transitional housing, or temporary shelters.
Tribal Cultural Resources & Consultation
- AB 52 and Tribal Cultural Resources in CEQA
Provides guidance to lead agencies regarding changes to CEQA requiring consultation with California Native American tribes and consideration of tribal cultural resources. - AB 168 Implementation: Tribal Consultation in SB 35’s Ministerial Housing Approval
Provides guidance regarding changes to SB 35’s ministerial approval process for housing development that require consultation with California Native American tribes and consideration of tribal cultural resources.
Exemptions & Streamlining
- CEQA Review of Sustainable Transportation Projects
Provides an overview of the existing CEQA provisions that can streamline the construction of sustainable transportation projects. - Technical Advisory on CEQA Exemptions Outside of the CEQA Statute
Provides guidance to public agencies regarding exemptions from CEQA that are located outside of Division 13 of the Public Resources Code. - CEQA Exemptions for Potential Application in Disaster Recovery Efforts
Provides guidance to public agencies regarding exemptions under CEQA and the CEQA Guidelines that may apply in the context of immediate-term post-disaster recovery efforts. - SB 375 CEQA Provisions, Introduction and Charts
Provides assistance on the CEQA provisions enacted by Senate Bill 375 (Steinberg, 2008) (SB 375). - Focusing on Master EIRs
Provides an overview of the Master EIR and its relatives that outlines the process of preparing and utilizing a Master EIR while highlighting the statutory nuances for the CEQA practitioner.
Analysis Topic Areas
- Technical Advisory on Evaluating Transportation Impacts in CEQA
Provides technical information regarding LCI’s update to the CEQA Guidelines on new methods of measuring transportation impacts as required by Senate Bill 743 (Steinberg, 2013). Specifically, this advisory contains technical recommendations regarding assessment of VMT, thresholds of significance, and mitigation measures. - CEQA and Climate Change (Discussion Draft, December 2018)
Provides informal guidance for public agencies as they address the issue of climate change in their CEQA document. Developed by LCI, in collaboration with the California Resources Agency, the California Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board. This technical advisory provides an early perspective on the issue and preceded the development of draft implementing regulations for CEQA, in accordance with Senate Bill 97 (Dutton, 2007). - CEQA and Climate Change Technical Advisory (June 2008)
CEQA & Planning
- Local Hazard Mitigation Plans and CEQA Review
This technical advisory provides a high-level framework for analyzing whether CEQA appslies to the adoption of or updates to local hazard mitigation plans (LHMPs). This technical advisory generally describes the analytical steps a local community should take to determine whether CEQA applies to the adoption of the LHMP or updates to the LHMP, and how to comply with the evaluation and public review procedures of CEQA, if it does apply.
NEPA & CEQA
This handbook provides practitioners with an overview of NEPA and CEQA as well as suggestions for developing a single environmental review process that can meet the requirements of both statutes. It also provides a framework for a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between two or more agencies entering into a joint NEPA/ CEQA review process, and addresses the California Energy Commission (CEC) licensing process, which takes the place of the CEQA process for certain power plants. Developed by the White House Council on Environmental Quality and LCI. ” The handbook provides practitioners with an overview of NEPA and CEQA as well as suggestions for developing a single environmental review process that can meet the requirements of both statutes. The handbook also provides a framework for a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between two or more agencies entering into a joint NEPA/ CEQA review process, and addresses the California Energy Commission (CEC) licensing process, which takes the place of the CEQA process for certain power plants.