The Board’s Findings Relating to Alternatives. In making these findings, the Board certifies that it has independently reviewed and considered the information on alternatives provided in the Final EIR, including the information provided in comments on the Draft EIR and the responses to those comments in the Final EIR. The Final EIR’s discussion and analysis of these alternatives is not repeated in these findings, but the discussion and analysis of the alternatives in the Final EIR is incorporated in these findings by reference. The Final EIR describes and evaluates in detail several alternatives to the Project. As set forth in section B above, the Board has adopted mitigation measures that mitigate the significant environmental effects of the Project. As explained in section D of these findings, while these mitigation measures will not mitigate all Project impacts to a less than significant level, they will mitigate those impacts to a level that the Board finds is acceptable. The Board finds that only the Project would satisfy all of the Project Objectives. The Board finds that the remaining alternatives are unable to satisfy the project objectives to the same degree as the Project. The Board further finds that, on balance, none of the remaining alternatives has environmental advantages over the Project that are sufficiently great to justify approval of such an alternative instead of the Project, in light of each such alternative’s inability to satisfy the project objectives to the same degree as the Project. Accordingly, the Board has determined to approve the Project instead of approving one of the remaining alternatives. In making this determination, the Board finds that when compared to the other alternatives described and evaluated in the Final EIR, the Project, as mitigated, provides a reasonable balance between fully satisfying the project objectives and reducing potential environmental impacts to an acceptable level. The Board further finds and determines that the Project should be approved, rather than one of the other alternatives, for the reasons set forth below.
