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Draft Metlox EIR delayed 4-6 weeks
by John Tawa .
The expected late-June release of the Civic Center/Metlox Environmental Impact Report (EIR) has been pushed back four to six weeks so that the EIR could include actual summer traffic counts in downtown Manhattan Beach.
Originally, the draft EIR was scheduled to be released in March or April, but additional traffic counts suggested by an EIR scoping session, an economic analysis requested by the downtown merchants and the Metlox election, among other things, caused its delay to June.
Last Wednesday, the Metlox subcommittee, comprised of councilmembers Joyce Fahey and Linda Wilson, decided to delay the EIR's release further, until actual summer traffic counts could be taken and included in the document. The draft EIR, as originally conceived, would have included summer traffic counts projected from historical data. It would have been modified subsequently if the actual counts, taken during the 45-day comment period that followed, differed in material respects from the projections.
"The concern was since the summer counts were going to be taken very shortly, why not wait until after they were taken before we publish the EIR," said Community Development Director Richard Thompson. "We concluded that if there was some kind of variation, we would have to start the 45 day comment period all over again and we wouldn't really have achieved anything. The other thing is, we didn't want to put out a document and then have to change it again. I think that just creates some confusion in the community. We wanted actual numbers."
Councilmember Walt Dougher agreed with delaying release of the EIR.
"It puts all the focus on the final results," he explained. "I would hate to have people either complacent or upset and then have some other information come in and rattle the cages again."
"The draft EIR wouldn't have been completed for another two weeks anyway, at about the same time the summer counts would be taken," added Jonathan Tolkin, president of Metlox developer Tolkin Group. "It makes a lot of sense to wait and get the most comprehensive document together so that everyone can truly understand what the estimated impacts are."
Thompson said that the summer counts will be taken mid-July, with release of the draft EIR now slated for late August. If all goes according to plan, the council should approve the final EIR by November. ER