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CC - (1) Consideration of a 60-Day Extension of the Public Review Period on the Inglewood Oil Field (IOF) Specific Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR); and (2) Direction to Staff as Deemed Appropriate.
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Meeting Date: November 13, 2017
Contact Person/Dept: Heather Baker, Assistant City Attorney;
Melanie Doran Traxler, Inglewood Oil Field Specific
Plan Project Manager
Phone Number: (310) 253-5660; (818) 248-7158
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [X] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: []
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No [X] Date:
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - City Council (11/09/17); Culver City News and Events; Stay Informed - Inglewood Oil Field; Stay Informed - Sustainability and Environmental Issues; and Sentinel Peak Resources (11/08/17); and City’s Social Media Accounts (various dates).
Department Approval: Carol Schwab (11/07/17)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council (1) consider a request for a 60-day extension of the public review period for the submission of written comments on the Inglewood Oil Field (IOF) Specific Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR); and (2) provide direction to City staff as deemed appropriate.
BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION
The Draft EIR for the IOF Specific Plan Project, including the Draft Specific Plan and Drilling Regulations, was released for a 60-day public review and comment period on September 15, 2017, and ending at 5:30 PM on Tuesday, November 14, 2017 (Public Review Period). The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines require that an EIR be available for a minimum 45-day public review period; however, the City voluntarily extended the Project’s Public Review Period to 60 days.
From October 1, 2017 to November 6, 2017, the City Council has received approximately 26 emails/letters from members of the public requesting a 60-day extension, which would provide a total of 120 days for the Public Review Period. In addition, members of the public spoke during City Council meetings on October 23rd and November 6th, and community meetings on October 24th and October 30th, to request such extension.
The current Tentative Project Timeline, with the existing Public Review Period ending November 14th, anticipates an initial City Council public hearing on the IOF Specific Plan and Draft EIR in late February/early March 2018. If the City Council were to approve an extension of the Public Review Period, the current Project schedule would be delayed as follows (these are estimates):
• 15-day extension = public hearing late March
• 30-day extension = public hearing in early to mid-April
• 45-day extension = public hearing in mid-May
• 60-day extension = public hearing in late May
It should be noted that the above schedules are estimates based generally on the equivalent extension of time added to the dates currently set forth in the Tentative Project Timeline. Most likely, for any extension of 30 days or more, additional time will be necessary to prepare for the public hearing because of a number of factors, including the potential need to respond to and coordinate a greater number of comments, and to allow for anticipated coordination with newly elected officials, in order to bring them current with details of the IOF Specific Plan Project and EIR.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
Extension of the Public Review Period could have a fiscal effect due to the need to amend contracts for consultants assisting the City with the preparation and processing of the IOF Specific Plan and EIR. In theory, an extension of time is anticipated to result in a greater number of comment letters and/or longer comment letters, which equates to the need for additional time and budget to prepare adequate responses. During an extended period, additional budget also would be required to accommodate on-going meetings and coordination. In addition, with any time extension there is the possibility that new information could be brought to light or that data previously relied upon for the analysis becomes outdated, thus requiring that portions of the Specific Plan and/or EIR be updated. It is difficult to predict at this time the full fiscal effect of any extended Public Review Period. However, given the entirety of costs already expended to date for this Project, the relative increase would likely be minor in comparison.
ATTACHMENTS
1. 2017-11-13_ATT_Public Requests for Extension
MOTION
That the City Council:
1. Consider a request for a 60-day extension of the public review period for the submission of written comments on the Inglewood Oil Field (IOF) Specific Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR); and
2. Provide direction to staff as deemed appropriate.