Mill Valley holds CEQA scoping meeting for 1 Hamilton affordable-housing project

City planning staff and the city’s environmental consultant opened the public scoping period for the 1 Hamilton affordable-housing project and solicited input on what should be studied in the project’s environmental impact report (EIR).

The scoping meeting focused on the EIR process under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the draft EIR timeline and the environmental topics the city plans to analyze. Rob Carnahan, environmental consultant for WRA, said the city released a notice of preparation to start a minimum 30-day scoping period and that the draft EIR is expected to be published in the summer, followed by a 45-day public review period and at least one public meeting during that circulation period.

The project would develop the northern portion of the 1 Hamilton property as affordable housing. Danielle Stoudy, senior planner and the project manager, said the development team (including EAH Housing) has been part of prior community workshops and that the current public meeting is limited to scoping the EIR, not to deliberating or approving the project.

Rob Carnahan described the site and study parameters the city intends to use in the EIR. The parcel to be developed sits adjacent to Hockey Park, includes an existing public parking lot with about 38 spaces, an electric-vehicle charging station and public restrooms, and the site is steeply sloped in places. The project team is proposing roughly 40 to 50 units; Carnahan said the draft…