Environmental Impact Report

To address GHG emissions associated with electricity consumption by industrial buildings, which were not quantified in the GHG Inventory and Forecasting due to utility privacy rules, the County shall implement a program to adopt a Building Energy Saving Ordinance, no later than 2025, for industrial buildings over 25,000 square feet in size, modeled after the local benchmarking ordinances adopted in other local jurisdictions in California (CEC 2019). The County shall prepare reports showing the energy performance of industrial buildings relative to similar buildings in California and the United States and make these reports available to the public by request. The County, through its building department shall provide recommendations on energy efficiency retrofits and green building strategies to improve energy performance to property owners and tenants subject to the reporting requirements.

The County shall revise the Construction Noise Threshold Criteria and Control Plan within one year of 2040 General Plan adoption to consider all potential vibrationinducing activities and include various measures, setback distances, precautions, monitoring programs, and alternative methods to traditional construction activities with the potential to result in structural damage or excessive groundborne noise. Items that shall be addressed in the plan include, but are not limited to, the following:  

• Ground vibration-producing activities, such as pile driving and blasting, shall be limited to the daytime hours between 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on weekdays or 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on weekends and holidays.  
• If pile driving is used, pile holes shall be predrilled to the maximum feasible depth to reduce the number of blows required to seat a pile.  
• All construction equipment on construction sites shall be operated as far away from vibration-sensitive sites as reasonably possible.  
• Earthmoving, blasting and groundimpacting operations shall be phased so as not to occur simultaneously in areas close to sensitive receptors, to the extent feasible. The total vibration level produced could be significantly less when each vibration source is operated at separate times.  
• Minimum setback requirements for different types of ground vibrationproducing activities (e.g., pile driving and blasting) for the purpose of preventing damage to nearby structures shall be established. Factors to be considered include the specific nature of the vibration producing activity (e.g., type and duration of pile driving), local soil conditions, and the fragility/resiliency of the nearby structures. Established setback requirements (i.e., 100 feet) can be breached if a project-specific, site specific analysis is conducted by a qualified geotechnical engineer or ground vibration specialist that indicates that no structural damage would occur at nearby buildings or structures.  
• Minimum setback requirements for different types of ground vibration producing activities (e.g., pile driving and blasting) for the purpose of preventing negative human response shall be established based on the specific nature of the vibration producing activity (e.g., type and duration of pile driving), local soil conditions, and the type of sensitive receptor. Established setback requirements (i.e., 300 feet) can be breached only if a project-specific, site-specific, technically adequate ground vibration study indicates that the buildings would not be exposed to ground vibration levels in excess of 80 VdB, and ground vibration measurements performed during the construction activity confirm that the buildings are not being exposed to levels in excess of 80 VdB.
• All vibration-inducing activity within the distance parameters described above shall be monitored and documented for ground vibration noise and vibration noise levels at the nearest sensitive land use and associated recorded data submitted to Ventura County so as not to exceed the recommended FTA levels.  
• Alternatives to traditional pile driving (e.g., sonic pile driving, jetting, castin- place or auger cast piles, nondisplacement piles, pile cushioning, torque or hydraulic piles) shall be considered and implemented where feasible⁴ to reduce vibration levels.

⁴ “Feasible” means that this mitigation measure shall be applied to future discretionary projects under the 2040 General Plan when and to the extent it is “capable of being accomplished in a successful manner within a reasonable period of time, taking into account economic, environmental, legal, social, and technological factors” as determined by the County in the context of such future projects based on substantial evidence. This definition is consistent with the definition of “feasible” set forth in CEQA (Pub. Res. Code, § 21066.1) and the CEQA Guidelines (§ 15164). The County shall be solely responsible for making this feasibility determination in accordance with CEQA.

The County shall revise the Construction Noise Threshold Criteria and Control Plan within one year of 2040 General Plan adoption to consider all potential vibrationinducing activities and include various measures, setback distances, precautions, monitoring programs, and alternative methods to traditional construction activities with the potential to result in structural damage or excessive groundborne noise. Items that shall be addressed in the plan include, but are not limited to, the following:  

• Ground vibration-producing activities, such as pile driving and blasting, shall be limited to the daytime hours between 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on weekdays or 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on weekends and holidays.  
• If pile driving is used, pile holes shall be predrilled to the maximum feasible depth to reduce the number of blows required to seat a pile.  
• All construction equipment on construction sites shall be operated as far away from vibration-sensitive sites as reasonably possible.  
• Earthmoving, blasting and groundimpacting operations shall be phased so as not to occur simultaneously in areas close to sensitive receptors, to the extent feasible. The total vibration level produced could be significantly less when each vibration source is operated at separate times.  
• Minimum setback requirements for different types of ground vibrationproducing activities (e.g., pile driving and blasting) for the purpose of preventing damage to nearby structures shall be established. Factors to be considered include the specific nature of the vibration producing activity (e.g., type and duration of pile driving), local soil conditions, and the fragility/resiliency of the nearby structures. Established setback requirements (i.e., 100 feet) can be breached if a project-specific, site specific analysis is conducted by a qualified geotechnical engineer or ground vibration specialist that indicates that no structural damage would occur at nearby buildings or structures.  
• Minimum setback requirements for different types of ground vibration producing activities (e.g., pile driving and blasting) for the purpose of preventing negative human response shall be established based on the specific nature of the vibration producing activity (e.g., type and duration of pile driving), local soil conditions, and the type of sensitive receptor. Established setback requirements (i.e., 300 feet) can be breached only if a project-specific, site-specific, technically adequate ground vibration study indicates that the buildings would not be exposed to ground vibration levels in excess of 80 VdB, and ground vibration measurements performed during the construction activity confirm that the buildings are not being exposed to levels in excess of 80 VdB.
• All vibration-inducing activity within the distance parameters described above shall be monitored and documented for ground vibration noise and vibration noise levels at the nearest sensitive land use and associated recorded data submitted to Ventura County so as not to exceed the recommended FTA levels.  
• Alternatives to traditional pile driving (e.g., sonic pile driving, jetting, castin- place or auger cast piles, nondisplacement piles, pile cushioning, torque or hydraulic piles) shall be considered and implemented where feasible⁴ to reduce vibration levels.

⁴ “Feasible” means that this mitigation measure shall be applied to future discretionary projects under the 2040 General Plan when and to the extent it is “capable of being accomplished in a successful manner within a reasonable period of time, taking into account economic, environmental, legal, social, and technological factors” as determined by the County in the context of such future projects based on substantial evidence. This definition is consistent with the definition of “feasible” set forth in CEQA (Pub. Res. Code, § 21066.1) and the CEQA Guidelines (§ 15164). The County shall be solely responsible for making this feasibility determination in accordance with CEQA.