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Board continues Mark and Octavia area-plan EIR appeal to June 12 after appellants request more time
Summary
Appellants challenging the Planning Commission's certification of the final EIR for the Market and Octavia Area Plan asked for additional review time; the Board of Supervisors continued the appeal to June 12 and invited staff and appellants to use the interval to reconcile open issues.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors continued a contested appeal of the Planning Commission’s certification of the final environmental impact report (FEIR) for the Market and Octavia Area Plan to June 12 after appellants asked for more time to review materials and alleged procedural defects.
Appellants’ request and reason: Mary Miles, representing the Coalition for Adequate Review, asked the board to continue the de novo appeal, saying the coalition did not receive required mailed written notice and that a comprehensive attorney-submitted critique — described in court-style detail in the record — required more time for supervisors to review. "You have to independently make your own findings," Miles told the board, urging a continuance so the supervisors could consider the written challenges thoroughly.
Public testimony: Several neighborhood and civic speakers supported the continuance. John Bartis said he would be out of town on the previously proposed hearing date and urged the board to take advantage of the additional review time and the detailed submissions from appellants. The San Francisco Neighborhoods General Assembly (represented on the record) passed a resolution urging the board to support the appeal and return the FEIR to the Planning Commission, describing the FEIR as "insufficient, inadequate, incomplete, inaccurate, and misleading," and requested additional study on topics including historic preservation and seismic liquefaction risks.
Board action: The board granted a continuance to allow additional review time; clerks and city staff and the appellants were asked to use the interval for further review and to attempt to resolve open issues where possible. The board’s motion to continue was amended on the floor to set the continuation for June 12, 2007, to give staff more time to prepare and to accommodate the board calendar.
Why it matters: The Market and Octavia Area Plan covers a central city area slated for zoning and infrastructure changes. Appellants raised CEQA-related concerns (adequacy of the FEIR, missing historic-preservation analysis, and seismic/liquefaction considerations). The board is required to consider the matter de novo and may adopt, modify or disapprove the Planning Commission’s certification based on the record and any additional findings.
Next steps: The board will reconvene the hearing on June 12. Appellants and city planning staff were invited to use the intervening weeks to provide materials to the board and to seek to narrow outstanding issues. No final decision was made on the FEIR certification at the May 22 meeting.
