City Administrator lays out Next Steps for Blair Park EIR
A response toresident, Dan Marks:Friday, 28 October, 2011
Dear Mr. Marks:
I am in receipt of your recent email correspondence dated October 21, 2011. You have raised a number of questions regarding the current status of CEQA review for the Moraga Canyon Sports Fields Project (“Project”). I would like to take this opportunity to respond.
As you know, the City has posted information regarding proposed modifications to the Project on the City’s website. City staff has authorized the City’s environmental consultant to prepare environmental review to address the Project modifications. Staff, in consultation with the City Attorney and the City’s special legal counsel, will consider with the environmental consultant what that further environmental review will consist of at this time. This, in turn, will determine what environmental document will be prepared and presented for consideration by the City Council. The City Council, at its scheduled public meeting of December 5, 2011, will then consider the further environmental analysis and the recommendation of its environmental consultant, the City Attorney and the City’s special legal counsel. It will then be up to the City Council, taking into consideration the recommendations and public comment it has received, to exercise the Council’s independent judgment and determine how it wishes to proceed. The Council’s decision could be to rely on environmental analysis provided to it for the meeting of December 5 and to approve such analysis that evening, or it could be to direct staff to cause further environmental review to be prepared. Once the CEQA process has been completed, the City Council will consider any further public comments, and may then undertake consideration of Project approval.
As the City moves through this process, we will continue to provide advance notice to the residents of the next steps. As the City has done throughout, we will post such information above and beyond what is legally required, in the interest of public disclosure and participation.
Please feel free to contact me should you have any further questions.
Sincerely,
Geoffrey L. Grote