Reference to Public Resources Code

21151.2. School site proposed acquisition or addition; notice to planning commission; investigation; report

To promote the safety of pupils and comprehensive community planning the governing board of each school district before acquiring title to property for a new school site or for an addition to a present school site, shall give the planning commission having jurisdiction notice in writing of the proposed acquisition. The planning commission shall investigate the proposed site and within 30 days after receipt of the notice shall submit to the governing board a written report of the investigation and its recommendations concerning acquisition of the site.

The governing board shall not acquire title to the property until the report of the planning commission has been received. If the report does not favor the acquisition of the property for a school site, or for an addition to a present school site, the governing board of the school district shall not acquire title to the property until 30 days after the commission's report is received. (Added by Stats. 1987, c. 1452, s. 533)

Section 16. Section 21151.3 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.

21151.4. Construction or alteration of facility within 1/4 mile of school; reasonable anticipation of air emission or handling of hazardous or acutely hazardous material; approval of environmental impact report or negative declaration

An environmental impact report shall not be certified and a negative declaration shall not be approved for any project involving the construction or alteration of a facility within 1/4 or a mile of a school that might reasonably be anticipated to emit hazardous air emissions, or that would handle an extremely hazardous air emissions, or that would handle an extremely hazardous substance or a mixture containing extremely hazardous substances in a quantity equal to or greater than the state threshold quantity specified pursuant to subdivision (j) of Section 25532 of the Health and Safety Code, that may pose a health or safety hazard to persons who would attend or would be employed at the school, unless both of the following occur:

1. The lead agency preparing the environmental impact report or negative declaration has consulted with the school district having jurisdiction regarding the potential impact of the project on the school.
2. The school district has been given written notification of the project not less than 30 days prior to the proposed certification of the environmental impact report or approval of the negative declaration.

Historical and Statutory Notes

1988 Legislation

Section 16 of Stats. 1988, c. 1589, provides:
"If any provision of this act its application to any person or circumstances is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the act which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are severable."

1991 Legislation

Inapplicability of Stats. 1991, c. 1183 (AB 928) to projects for which an application was submitted pursuant to Government Code 65943 prior to January 1, 1992, see Historical and Statutory Notes under Government Code 65759.

21151.8. School site acquisition or construction; approval of environmental impact report or negative declaration; conditions

1. An environmental impact report or negative declaration may not be approved for any project involving the purchase of a school site or the construction of a new elementary or secondary school by a school district unless all of the following occur:
   1. The environmental impact report or negative declaration includes information that is needed to determine if the property proposed to be purchased, or to be constructed upon, is any of the following:
      1. The site of a current or former hazardous waste disposal site or solid waste disposal site and, if so, whether the wastes have been removed.
      2. A hazardous substance release site identified by the Department of Toxic Substances Control in a current list adopted pursuant to Section 25356 of the Health and Safety Code for removal or remedial action pursuant to Chapter 6.8 (commencing with Section 25300) of Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code.
      3. A site which contains one or more pipelines, situated underground or aboveground, that carries hazardous substance, extremely hazardous materials, or hazardous wastes, unless the pipeline is a natural gas line that is used only to supply natural gas to that school or neighborhood or other nearby schools.
      4. A site that is within 500 feet of the edge of the closest traffic lane of a freeway or other busy traffic corridor.
   2. The school district, as the lead agency, in preparing the environmental impact report or negative declaration has notified in writing and consulted with the administering agency in which the proposed school site is located, pursuant to Section 2735.3 of Title 19 of the California Code of Regulations, and with any air pollution control district or air quality management district having jurisdiction in the area, to identify both permitted and nonpermitted facilities within that district's authority, including, but not limited to, freeways and busy traffic corridors, large agricultural operations, and railyards, within one-fourth of a mile of the proposed school site, that might reasonably be anticipated to emit hazardous emissions or handle hazardous materials or extremely hazardous substances or waste. The notification by the school district, as the lead agency, shall include a list of the location for which information is sought.
   3. The governing board of the school district makes one of the following written findings:
      1. Consultation identified no such facilities of this type or other significant pollution sources specified in paragraph (2).
      2. The facilities or other pollution sources specified in paragraph (2) exist, but one of the following conditions applies:
         1. The health risks from the facilities or other pollution sources do not and will not constitute an actual or potential endangerment of public health to persons who attend or be employed at the proposed school.
         2. Corrective measures required under an existing order by another agency having jurisdiction over the facilities or other pollution sources will, before the school is occupied, result in the mitigation of all chronic or accidental hazardous air emissions to levels that do not constitute an actual potential endangerment of public health to persons who would attend or be employed at the proposed school. If the governing board makes a finding pursuant to this clause, it shall also make a subsequent finding, prior to occupancy of the school, that the emissions have been so mitigated.
         3. For a school site with a boundary that is within 500 feet of the edge of the closest traffic lane of a freeway or other busy traffic corridor, the governing board of the school district determines, through analysis pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 44360 of the Health and Safety Code, based on appropriate air dispersion modeling, and after considering any potential mitigation measures, that the air quality at the proposed site is such that neither short-term nor long-term exposure poses significant health risks to pupils.
      3. The facilities or other pollution sources specified in paragraph (2) exist, but conditions in clause (i), (ii) or (iii) of subparagraph (B) cannot be met, and the school district is unable to locate an alternative site that is suitable due to a severe shortage of sites that meet the requirements in subdivision (a) of Section 17213 of the Education Code.   If the governing board makes this finding, the governing board shall adopt a statement of Overriding Considerations pursuant to Section 15093 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations.
   4. Each administering agency, air pollution control district, or air quality management district receiving written notification from a lead agency to identify facilities pursuant to paragraph (2) shall provide the requested information and provide a written response to the lead agency within 30 days of receiving the notification. The environmental impact report or negative declaration shall be conclusively presumed to comply with this section as the area of responsibility of any agency that does not respond within 30 days.
2. If a school district, as a lead agency, has carried out the consultation required by paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), the environmental impact report or the negative declaration shall be conclusively presumed to comply with this section, notwithstanding any failure of the consultation to identify an existing facility or other pollution source specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a).
3. As used in this section and Section 21151.4, the following definitions shall apply:
   1. "Hazardous substance" means any substance defined in Section 25316 of the Health and Safety Code.
   2. "Extremely hazardous material" means any material defined pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 25532 of the Health and Safety Code.
   3. "Hazardous waste" means any waste defined in Section 25117 of the Health and Safety Code.
   4. "Hazardous waste disposal site" means any site defined in Section 25114 of the Health and Safety Code.
   5. "Hazardous air emissions" means emissions into the ambient air of air contaminants that have been identified as a toxic air contaminant by the State Air Resources Board or by the air pollution control officer for the jurisdiction in which the project is located. As determined by the air pollution control officer, hazardous air emissions also means emissions into the ambient air from any substances identified in subdivisions (a) to (f), inclusive, of Section 44321 of the Health and Safety Code.
   6. "Administering agency" means an agency designated pursuant to Section 25502 of the Health and Safety Code.
   7. "Handle" means handle as defined in Article 1 (commencing with Section 25500) of Chapter 6.95 of Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code.
   8. "Facilities" means any source with a potential to use, generate, emit, or discharge hazardous air pollutants, including, but not limited to, pollutants that meet the definition of a hazardous substance, and whose process or operation is identified as an emission source pursuant to the most recent list of source categories published by the California Air Resources Board.
   9. "Freeway or other busy traffic corridors" means those roadways that, on an average day, have traffic in excess of 50,000 vehicles in a rural area, as defined in Section 50101 of the Health and Safety Code, and 100,000 vehicles in an urban area, as defined in Section 50104.7 of the Health and Safety Code.   (Added by Stats. 2002, c. 668)