Copy of Sue Nash Letter to Supervisor Buster
re Environmental Impact Issues

August 5, 2002

 

Supervisor Buster: 

 

I am very concerned with the way in which Measure is being rushed through by the board of supervisors with no EIR... Clearly, when the RCTC approved and adopted Ordinance No. 02-001 on May 8, 2002, an EIR should have been prepared and certified. Allotting money for a number of specific road projects is a discretionary project under CEQA which will have a significant impact on the environment.  If the county piecemeals each project, as they are apparently doing, the significant growth-inducing and cumulative impacts will be ignored and it is contrary to CEQA.   In addition, the case of Friends of Sierra Madre v. City of Sierra Madre(2001) 25 Cal. 4th 165, held "that initiative measures generated and placed on the ballot by a public agency are not exempt from CEQA.  Before placing any such measure that may lead to a voter approval of a project on the ballot, the agency must comply with CEQA.  If compliance leads to the preparation and consideration of an EIR, when that process is final the information contained in the EIR must be made available to the electorate for its consideration prior to the election."

 

The frosting on the cake is that there is not even a copy of  Measure A (ordinance No. 02001)which the Board intends to place on the ballot available to the public at the clerk of the board's office.  When I called there a few minutes ago, I was told I could call around to the RCTC or the Registrar to see if I could find a copy.  I believe that a copy of everything on which the Board is to take action must be available in the clerk's office 72 hours before the hearing.

 

How can the voters be expected to make an intelligent decision on whether Measure should even go on the ballot, let alone vote on it, when there has been no CEQA environmental review (as required by law) and the public cannot even look at measure A to make an intelligent comment to the Board.  By the way, when were all the people on the board's mailing list notified that there would be a special hearing tomorrow... Or, were they just required to check your web page daily?  If they had Internet access?

 

It's bad enough that the EIR's for the so-called integrated plan are not integrated, but that is another legal issue you will certainly be hearing about.   But, to have the keystone document which will provide money for specific projects and only specifics projects for the next 30 years to be passed by the RCTC and put on the ballot for the voters with absolutely no environmental review is outrageous!

 

I am respectfully requesting that Measure A not be placed on the ballot until the County has fully complied with CEQA.

 

Thanks, Susan L. Nash