This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Politics & Government

Transit Village EIR Sought to Answer Concerns

The report is available for public viewing.


San Carlos Director of Community Development Al Savay said the current draft of the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Transit Village Project took into consideration, and answered, every comment and letter submitted during public meetings and the time leading up to the preparation of the report.

"There was a draft a couple of years ago that got a lot of response both in letters and oral comments," Savay said Monday. "In this final EIR, each concern has a written response."

The city website describes the Project as a proposal for the development of an approximately 10.53 acre site owned by the San Mateo County Transit District (SamTrans) and located adjacent to the San Carlos CalTrain Station within the Railroad Corridor approximately bounded by El Camino Real to the west, the Caltrain tracks to the east, Oak Street to the north, and Arroyo Avenue to the south.

The site is to include eight new buildings that would house 407,298 square feet of residential uses including 280 multiple-family dwelling units, 23,797 square feet of office uses, and 14,326 square feet of retail uses, underground and surface parking lots, a multi-modal transit center, public plaza, landscaping and retention of the Historic Depot.

Savay said the process of compiling a report of this magnitude takes years and each step goes through an evaluation process. The EIR is not considered final until the San Carlos city council says it is, and that won't be much earlier than before the end of the calendar year.

The public Planning Commission meeting set for July 30 involves a study session, in which city staff will present reports on the EIR draft and council will hear from experts.  No decision will occur at this meeting.

A public hearing is scheduled for October 1, at which time interested individuals will have had ample time to study the report and raise concerns.

The city did not see the report until it took receipt of it on Friday and staff requires at least two weeks to pour over the document, which is some 700 pages.

"Government is set up to allow a lot of opportunity for people to be heard," Savay said. "Before there is any decision, there are months of opportunities provided to be heard."

The only things an EIR needs to supply is an adequate study addressing potential environmental impacts.

"We are in the public review process," Savay said. "People are allowed to talk about issues and raise their own issues."

Copies of the report are available at City Hall, the Library and online at the city of San Carlos' website.

Find out what's happening in San Carloswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?