Lou Calcagno, Chair
Monterey County Board of Supervisors
240 Church Street
Salinas, CA 93901

SUBJECT:  REQUEST FOR REVISIONS TO HEARING SCHEDULES
FOR RANCHO SAN JUAN, EAST GARRISON, AND THE DEL MONTE FOREST PLAN

Dear Chair Calcagno and members of the Board of Supervisors:

During the next two months, the County Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors will consider three of the largest projects to ever be proposed in Monterey County--Rancho San Juan for 4,000 homes, East Garrison for 1,470 homes and the Del Monte Forest Plan for 93 dwellings, 160 visitor rooms, and a golf course.  Together, these projects would add 73,000 daily vehicle trips to a transportation network, three times the traffic currently using Highway 68 with 25,000 daily trips.  Moreover, these enormous projects would eliminate almost 23,000 oaks and Monterey Pines.

Public hearings for these significant projects, scheduled for the last three months of 2004 and early 2005, are crowded together requiring special meetings of the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors.  This scheduling, particularly concentrated during the holiday season, precludes effective citizen involvement and places significant burdens on our decision-makers.  Considering the years needed to process these projects, one would think that County Planning could do a better job of planning.

A final environmental impact report (FEIR) has yet to be prepared for the Rancho San Juan Project, including Butterfly Village; yet the Subdivision Committee heard the Butterfly Village project on October 14 without the benefit of the environmental document.  A Preliminary FEIR was released only 5 days before the scheduled Planning Commission hearing on November 15.  The Preliminary FEIR and all appendices are 3,254 pages.   Many of the responses to comments indicate that answers will be provided later.  Most of these documents were difficult for the public to obtain or were very costly (i.e., a complete set costs $180).  It was not possible for the public, decision-makers and interested agencies to review this information in any meaningful way by November 29 when the Planning Commission was once again scheduled to hear the project and by December 3, 7 and 14 when the Board of Supervisors will consider the project.  Finally, at the end of November, Caltrans formally requested a new Scoping Session for the traffic analysis based on its concern that the traffic analysis is inadequate.

A Final EIR for the East Garrison project was not available for Subdivision Committee hearings on November 4 and 10 or the Planning Commission Hearing on November 17.  The Planning Commission staff report indicated that the FEIR would be available by December 1.  It is not yet available with no indication on-line when it will be completed.  Depending on the availability of the FEIR, the Planning Commission, the public and interested agencies may have insufficient time to review the document prior to action by the Planning Commission hearing on January 19.

The Final Partial Revision of the DEIR for the Del Monte Forest Plan was not available to the Subdivision Committee at its November 18 hearing.  According to the staff report, the final document will be available in December 2004.   Additionally, the County has ignored repeated requests from the California Coastal Commission for a determination of Measure A's consistency with the Local Coastal Program prior to action on the project itself which could result in significant project revisions.  The County's failure to follow recommended procedures could result in further project delays, additional and unnecessary public hearings and more environmental documents.

In conclusion, the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisor have been asked to act on these major projects with insufficient time for either the public or decision-makers to review all pertinent documents, and at a time when the County General Plan, intended to guide such major decisions is 22 years old and seriously out of date.  This scheduling precludes meaningful and informed public participation in decisions that will significantly affect the future of Monterey County and should be revised to provide more time for consideration.

Sincerely,
      Jeanne Melaugh, Copresident
       The League of Women Voters of the Monterey Peninsula

cc: County Administrative Officer
      County Counsel
      Director of Planning and Building Inspection
      The Monterey County Herald
      The Californian
      Monterey County Weekly