Subject: Seeno EIR -Listening and Responding - Council Agenda for Tuesday, March 19th
Date: 2008-03-13
Attachments:
Agenda 0318.08.doc
Agenda Item IX-A-8.pdf
Agenda0318.08 Special Meeting.doc Seventy per cent of communication is non verbal. I learned this in a class titled, "Interpersonal Communication'. One of the 10 "building blocks" for communication is "responding" or letting people know you understand - either verbally or non verbally with direct eye contact and nodding responses.
The relevance of this fact to the council agenda (attached) is Item IX-A-8 A. Confirmation of the accuracy of the resolution certifying the Benicia Business Park EIR. (City Attorney)
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At the February 19th meeting the Council considered the certification of the Seeno EIR (this is not a project approval, but rather a determination that the environmental impact assessment is adequate for certification). Below is the letter I wrote to the newspaper about the council action. My interpretation is at odds with Council Member Schwartzman. Because I seek the strongest language to ensure an A+ project, I am puzzled why the council member chooses to limit the city's tools. The disagreement on what was included in the motion or not rests on two things:- In viewing the DVD/tape of the meeting, one needs to interpret the silence of Schwartzman regarding my request to include low impact development (LID).
- Read the full transcript and at page 5 (or Item IX-A-8) and interpret line 36, "Council Member Schwartzman: I'm o.k. by the way adding urban decay and sustainability . . ." and then page 6, line 5, "Mayor Patterson: and low impact development", and line 36, "Schwartzman: I'm fine with what I have". Does this mean after the nod and eye contact for low impact development? or not?
And finally, since the reference to LEED was in context of sustainability (see above) then it would obviously include LID. Alas, we are quibbling over important words that embrace sustainability with teeth or sustainability as a feel good term with no teeth. This difference in interpretation has been boiled down to whether the resolution should include LEED-ND or just LEED. The ND (neighborhood development) is shorthand for LEED site planning which includes low impact development. And we are quibbling over words that could provide clear direction and criteria (a request by Council Member Ioakimedes) or give Seeno plenty of room to argue that he cannot be held to the highest standards.
What do you think is best for Benicia in order to get an A+ project versus a standard Seeno project?
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Mayor Patterson talks about “What Happened Last Week” – Seeno Business Park EIR
I have heard from a number of people that the decision by the Council on the Seeno Environmental Impact Report (EIR) last week was confusing. Let me clarify what happened and what it means.
After the extensive two-hour excellent public testimony on the adequacy – or lack thereof – of the EIR - Vice Mayor Campbell made a motion to send the EIR back to the Planning Commission. I voted for this motion for these reasons:- The EIR and project should be considered together.
- By sending the EIR back to the Planning Commission, the PC would then have evaluated the project and recommended it be denied (since it can’t be approved because it is inconsistent with the General Plan). The developer would have to submit a new project that would be subject to all our new ordinances and state laws such as the greenhouse gas emission reduction legislation AB 32..
- The legal risk was minor (in my opinion). If the City were to be sued by Seeno for failure to take action on the EIR, the City could be under court order to take action on the EIR. That’s it. The advantage of denying the project far outweighed the potential court order to take action.
Unfortunately the motion failed to gain a third vote.
Then Council Member Schwartzman moved and Hughes seconded to certify the EIR with “caveats” to the resolution. The resolution stated, “further resolving that the Benicia Business Park Project ("the Proposed Project") considered by the EIR cannot be approved without significant modification due to numerous conflicts with General Plan policies”.
I negotiated several new items that amended the resolution, including:- New CEQA Review: The first step would be an initial study for the new or the “environmentally superior project - of the "hillside alternative” - that would determine the potential impacts of grading, traffic, air quality, wetlands, sustainable development and urban decay.http://www.lowimpactdevelopment.org/);
- More CEQA review for meeting the requirements of greenhouse gas emission reduction requirements required by AB 32 which codifies the state’s goal that global warming emissions be reduced to 1990 levels by 2020.
California is the world’s 12th largest source of carbon dioxide, the chief heat-trapping gas that causes global warming. The state – and the City of Benicia - has a responsibility to reduce by developing innovative policies and technologies needed to avoid the most dangerous consequences of global warming http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/documents/global_warming/AB-32-fact-sheet.pdf - Added Environmental review of sustainable development and walkability as described by the new the U.S. Green Building Council publication LEED for Neighborhood Development (Copyright © 2007).
- Added an alternative mitigation measure for traffic impacts on I-780 (avoid widening the freeway) - this alternative would be achieved by a less intense or dense project.
After intense negotiating with Council Member Schwartzman to add these requirements for a new initial study and the other items, I called for the vote. I voted in good faith for a negotiated compromise. As Mayor I believe it is right to show good faith in negotiating.
One of the major campaign issues last year was the proposed project at East Second and Lake Herman Road for a 527 acre Seeno Business Park, including 35 acres of commercial use. Getting the new project to meet our standards and fit Benicia will be hard. I am prepared to work – with your help - to ensure Benicia comes first.
Mayor Patterson
epatterson@ci.benicia.ca.us |
