Board continues Park Merced EIR appeal after hours of testimony; hearing reset for May 24

The Board of Supervisors continued the appeal of the Park Merced final environmental impact report (EIR) to May 24, 2011, after more than three hours of testimony from appellants, residents and planning staff and a lengthy presentation by the project sponsor.

Why it matters: The appeal centers on the EIR’s handling of the project sponsor’s proposal to demolish about 1,538 garden‑style units and replace them with roughly 5,679 net new units (8,900 total on site at build‑out). Appellants say the EIR understates environmental and human impacts — particularly the risk of tenant displacement if contractual protections in the proposed development agreement are later found unenforceable — while the planning department and the sponsor maintain the document is complete under CEQA and analyzes feasible mitigation.

The planning department framed the legal issue for the board. “The question at hand is the adequacy of the environmental document according to CEQA and not the merits of the project itself,” Planning Department environmental analyst Rick Cooper told the board. Cooper and other staff said the EIR analyzes a reasonable range of alternatives and that the project description (including the proposed development agreement provisions to replace demolished units before demolition) was the basis for the environmental analysis.

Appellants and many residents…