What the heck is an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) besides a huge and complicated document? And why should we as advocates care? Doesn’t the EIR address the sustainability issues that we advocates are concerned with?
The answer is, sort of. And maybe but not always. And YES DEFINITELY, if you know how to review and comment on it! Greenbelt Alliance hosted a workshop on Dec. 13, 2011 that taught local advocates how to read, analyze, and comment on a project EIR. This document is one of the most complicated but important ways to influence a project of any size, from an individual development to an entire general plan. Our team of policy experts led everybody through the process of commenting on an EIR by reviewing the Mountain View General Plan’s EIR. Attendees came out of this workshop writing like a lawyer and feeling like a sustainability champ.
To catch a little bit of what you missed, check out this short video:
Stay tuned for more Planning for Change workshops in the near future!
