Ground Lease for Operation of the Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park at San Juan Capistrano with Premier Equisport Events LLC

2025070801

City of San Juan Capistrano

NOE - Notice of Exemption

7/18/2025

7/18/2025

Matisse Reischl

City of San Juan Capistrano

Assistant City Manager

Lead/Public Agency / Project Applicant

32400 Paseo Adelanto
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

(949) 493-1171

mreischl@sanjuancapistrano.org

92675

Categorical Exemption

Section 15301 (Class 1), 15303 (Class 3), and 15304 (Class 4)

In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the recommended action is categorically exempt from further CEQA review under State CEQA Guidelines, Sections 15301, 15303, and 15304. Specifically, approval of the proposed ground lease agreement is exempt per Section 15301 because the lease allows for continuation of existing uses (State CEQA Guidelines 15301). There will be no change in the existing use of the site. Currently, equestrian, sporting and community events occur throughout the year on the property and the proposed lease agreement would allow for the continuation of the same scope of equestrian, sporting and community events that currently occur. Consequently, the proposed lease agreement meets the criteria for a Class 1 categorical exemption. Additionally, and as a separate and independent finding, the proposed lease agreement is categorically exempt from CEQA under the Class 3 exemption set forth in State CEQA Guidelines Section 15303, which exempts from CEQA the construction and location of limited numbers of new, small facilities or structures and the installation of small new equipment and facilities in small structures. The lease calls for landscaping improvements and construction of a trail alignment through the property, and these activities all fall within the Class 3 exemption. Additionally, and as a separate and independent finding, the proposed lease agreement is categorically exempt from further CEQA review under the Class 4 exemption set forth in State CEQA Guidelines Section 15304, Minor Alternations to Land. The Class 4 exemption applies to minor alterations in the condition of land, water and/or vegetation which do not involve removal of healthy, mature, scenic trees except for forestry or agricultural purposes. Section 15304 provides examples of exempt activity, including (a) grading on land with a slope of less than 10 percent, and (b) new gardening or landscaping, including the replacement of existing conventional landscaping with water-efficient or fire-resistant landscaping. The lease calls for landscaping improvements and installation of trail alignment through the property which are consistent with the Class 4 exemption. None of the exceptions to the categorical exemptions identified in State CEQA Guidelines, section 15300.2 apply. Moreover, the cumulative impacts exception does not apply, because there are no other successive projects of the same type in the same place as the proposed project. Furthermore, there is nothing unusual about the project site or the project itself that would lead to a potentially significant impact. And, even if an unusual circumstance did exist (one does not), there is no reasonable possibility that the project would have a significant effect on the environment. Further, the project will not result in damage to scenic resources within a highway officially designated as a state scenic highway; the closest officially designated state scenic highway is located near Anaheim and therefore the project will not result in damage to scenic resources within or near such highway. Moreover, the project is not located on a site which is included on any list compiled pursuant to Government Section 65962.5; the project site has not been designated as a hazardous waste site. Finally, the project will not cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a historic resource. Thus, Class 1, Class 3, and Class 4 categorical exemptions apply to the whole of the action as separate and independent grounds to exempt the whole of the project from CEQA review. Further, per the requirements of California Environmental Quality Act (CEOA) Guidelines, an Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) was prepared and circulated for public review from September 25, 2019, to October 24, 2019 (State Clearinghouse [SCH] No. 2019099080) for the Confined Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) Stormwater Treatment System, Arizona Crossing Removal, and Streambank Restoration Project referenced in the proposed lease document. The IS/MND was made available for public review at the Development Services Department counter, the San Juan Capistrano Library, and on the City's website. Additionally, a Notice of Availability (NOA) was published in The Orange County Register on September 26, 2019. The IS/MND identified potential environmental impacts that could result from the proposed project along with mitigation measures that will ensure that the project will not result in any significant adverse effects on the environment. The proposed CEQA mitigation measures, which are different than the state and federal resource agency mitigations, are incorporated into a Mitigation Monitoring & Reporting Program and incorporated during construction. The City Council adopted a resolution on March 17, 2020, adopting a Mitigated Negative Declaration/Mitigation Monitoring Reporting Program for the above-mentioned improvements and restoration activities to be completed on the Riding Park property and referenced in the proposed lease document. Subsequently, an Addendum to the IS/MND was prepared, consistent with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and State CEQA Guidelines section 15164, to analyze the potential impacts of implementing a modified version of the CAFO project described as the Stormwater Infiltration System and Monitoring Program Project (the “Revised Project”). The Addendum concluded, based on substantial evidence, that the Revised Project would not result in any new significant environmental impacts, would not result in a substantial increase in the severity of impacts previously identified in the IS/MND, and would not otherwise trigger any of the conditions warranting a Subsequent Environmental Impact Report (“EIR”) or Subsequent Negative Declaration under State CEQA Guidelines section 15162. The Addendum provided that the Revised Project would have less environmental impact than the previously analyzed project.