CEQA is a process...

CEQA - in general - is a process for public review and comment on a plan for development; it has no legal binding force to remedy environmental impacts.

CEQA does however, require full disclosure of environmental impacts.

It is an opportunity for the community to make their concerns known. Those concerns may or may not be addressed (fixed) in the next edition of the project plan.

You know how politicians when asked a question, often don’t answer it but repeat a particular message? That is what we must do.

We may or may not affect the EIR.

Our goal must be to Educate:

1. Our Planning Commission

2. Our elected representative – city council members

3. Our community – letters to the editor, conversations, speaking at meetings

“Repetition is the key to learning”

Don’t get hung up on the EIR, use it to make your concerns known, in public and in writing. This is do-able. We think. We talk. We share. Remember the 100th Monkey? If enough people are thinking and talking about their concerns... they become the community's concerns.

The EIR "Process"

The EIR must go through a public review period. Written comments from the public and agencies MUST be addressed, in writing, in the final EIR. The final EIR may or may not be adopted by the Planning Commission, but the decision must be made at a public hearing or meeting of the Commission that is open to the Public for additional comment.

The Planning Commission may approve or disapprove the Final EIR after revision. Approving or adopting the Final EIR doesn’t mean the project has been approved by the Planning Commission.

It is possible that the Planning Commission could:

1. approve and adopt the EIR and

2. approve the Project, but these are two separate decisions

The Planning Commission (and the City Council) could say “these concerns of the people cannot be resolved; this project will have an impact therefore we deny the project, or let’s do a lot swap.”

OR they could say “we don’t care about the public’s concerns we’re going to pass a "Statement of Overriding Conditions" and approve the project anyway.” (Yeah? Well, not without an extensive airing of the public’s concerns in the press and other media about the ____________ (fill in your concern.))

My concern is Historic Integrity.

Sonoma is the most historically important and intact town north of San Francisco, maybe in the entire state.

This is worth preserving!