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Planning staff outlines when draft EIR comment periods should be extended under CEQA
Summary
Environmental Review Officer Sarah Jones told the Planning Commission the standard CEQA draft EIR review period is 45 days and outlined circumstances — multiple sites, missing initial study, major holidays or access issues — that warrant setting a longer review period at publication or, rarely, extending to 60+ days with written findings.
Sarah Jones, the Planning Department’s Environmental Review Officer, presented a staff memo explaining how the department applies CEQA and Chapter 31 of the Administrative Code to set draft EIR review periods. Jones said the standard CEQA comment period is 45 days and that the ERO will consider longer review periods at publication — not by extension after the fact — when projects involve multiple sites, no initial study was circulated, multiple major holidays will fall during the period, there are widespread access or language needs, or alignment is required with NEPA or other review windows.
Jones said 60 days is a reasonable extended review period but that anything beyond 60 days requires demonstrable, fact‑specific “unusual circumstances” and recommended the Commission take a formal vote when seeking an extension to avoid ad‑hoc, informal consensus. Deputy City Attorney Marlena Byrne told commissioners there is no bright‑line definition for “unusual circumstances” and the City Attorney’s office would advise on required findings in any specific case.
Why it matters: Commissioners and public commenters urged the department to improve notice clarity — specifically to identify which agency or file repository holds project records — and to provide early information hearings on complex area plans so the public can comment before a draft EIR is released.
What’s next: Staff said it would hyperlink the memo to the agenda and post materials on the department website and that future requests for comment‑period extensions beyond 60 days should include explicit findings justifying the longer period.
