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San Francisco committee backs resolution supporting SB 37 after length debate over Cortese-list exemptions
Summary
The Land Use & Transportation Committee voted to recommend a resolution supporting state Senate Bill 37, a measure to bar CEQA exemptions on Cortese-list contaminated sites, after a lengthy exchange between planning staff warning of paperwork impacts and advocates who said the department has improperly exempted contaminated sites.
The Land Use and Transportation Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted May 3 to recommend a resolution supporting Senate Bill 37, which would prohibit the use of CEQA "common sense" exemptions for projects on sites listed on the state Cortese register of contaminated properties.
Supervisor Matt Marr, the resolution’s sponsor, told the committee SB 37 "would close a loophole and ensure that common sense exemptions could not be granted on Cortese list sites," noting more than 2,000 Cortese-list cases within the city and arguing the change would protect public health and public oversight.
Ryan Mickle, legislative aide to Senator Dave Cortese, said the bill "would safeguard public health by prohibiting the use of common sense exemptions for projects located on Cortese list sites" and that the senator’s office is open to clarifying language for very small, non-soil-disturbing projects as…
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