Board affirms CEQA exemptions for MTA emergency street projects after consolidated appeals

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday affirmed the Planning Department's determinations that four SFMTA COVID-19 emergency street programs are exempt from California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review, rejecting consolidated appeals filed against temporary transit lanes, bikeways, the Panhandle social-distancing project and Slow Streets Phase 3.

Why it matters: The SFMTA projects were implemented to relieve crowding on transit and create space for walking, biking and curbside services during the COVID-19 public-health emergency. Supporters said the measures reduce the time riders spend on public vehicles and provide space for safe physical distancing; opponents argued the emergency exemptions and expedited rollouts bypassed required review.

The appeals: Appellants argued the pandemic does not automatically qualify as a CEQA emergency and that the projects require ordinary environmental review and public process. Appellants also sought continuances to prepare more detailed briefs and to challenge the legal basis for the Planning Department's statutory and categorical exemptions. The appellants who spoke included David Philpel and Mary Miles (representing the Coalition for Adequate Review) and other neighborhood commenters who questioned the projects' scope, notice and safety impacts.

Planning and SFMTA response: Planning staff presented the department's analysis that the projects meet the narrow CEQA emergency exemption (projects necessary to prevent or mitigate an emergency) and, where applicable, also qualify as a Class 1 categorical exemption because they are operational or minor alterations to existing streets and transit facilities. SFMTA staff described the programs and the rationale: temporary emergency transit lanes (to protect buses from congestion and reduce onboard crowding), temporary bikeways (to give cyclists space and shift some trips off crowded transit), the Panhandle-Fell protected bikeway (to reduce crowding on park multiuse paths) and Slow Streets (to create socially distanced space for walking and local circulation). SFMTA said the installations are temporary and subject to removal 120 days after the local emergency is lifted; any proposal to make changes permanent would require further process.

Public comment: More than two dozen callers and community representatives spoke. Supporters included neighborhood advocates, transit riders, business groups and nonprofit organizers who said the measures were lifesaving and needed now to protect transit riders and provide outdoor space for essential activities, including food distribution. Opponents pressed procedural objections and argued that some projects functionally reconfigured streets without adequate environmental analysis or notice.

Board action: The board voted on the projects individually as separate appeals. By recorded roll calls the board approved the Planning Department determinations: the temporary emergency transit lanes/bikeways exemptions and the Slow Streets Phase 3 categorical findings were upheld; the Panhandle social-distancing project statutory exemption was also upheld. Each project-specific motion that required a vote passed by unanimous recorded votes (11-0 in the recorded roll calls reported in the minutes).

What happens next: SFMTA and Planning staff said the emergency measures remain in place during the declared local emergency and for 120 days afterward, while SFMTA monitoring and community engagement continues. The agency said any permanent change would require additional public outreach and environmental review as required by law. The board's votes affirm the Planning Department's determinations and allow SFMTA to continue operating the temporary installations while monitoring impacts and public input.

Sources: Planning Department presentations and appeal responses; SFMTA project managers; public testimony on Sept. 29, 2020. The board's roll-call votes were recorded in the minutes.