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Town of Corte Madera reissues a second revised EIR for the proposed Corte Madera Inn Rebuild
In response to community comments and the investigations and letters by biological expert, Dr. Peter Baye, representing Community Venture Partners, the Town of Corte Madera is proposing to modify their Final EIR on the project, and are recirculating it for further public comment (as required under CEQA). Public comments on their revisions are due no later than January 3, 2017.
The Town's biological consultants (now numbering three) continue to provide opinions in an attempt to substantiate the developer's proposal to fill and destroy the pond, in spite of its federally designated "special aquatic site" status.
What the Town's posting fails to disclose is that the developer's application to the Army Corps has been moved to "inactive" status due to the developer's obstinate refusal to admit to any practicable development alternatives that would allow for a larger hotel but would retain the wetlands pond. This is in spite of the fact that the DEIR and REIR both show that more than 3 practicable alternatives exist, which would provide this outcome. It is also in spite of the fact that Community Venture Partners has advised both the Town Planning Department, the Army Corps, the offices of the Region 9 EPA and the SF Bay Regional Water Quality Board of the fact that local hotel developer / operators have stated on the record that it is both practicable and financially feasible to build a quality, profitable hotel at that location and save the wetlands.
Notice of Availability for a Recirculated Draft Environmental Impact Report (REIR No. 2) related to the proposed Corte Madera Inn Rebuild project.
The Town, as the lead agency responsible for administering the environmental review of the proposed project in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), has determined that a portion of the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) should be recirculated for public comment and review given significant new information has been added to the DEIR after the close of the public comment period. This Recirculated Draft Environmental Impact Report (REIR) is limited to the Biological Resources section of the DEIR. Specifically, changes have been made to reflect the presence of widgeon grass in the pond at the Corte Madera Inn Rebuild project site, describe its biological significance, and identify a new environmental impact and potential mitigation associated with the applicant’s proposal.
In compliance with CEQA, the Town is recirculating the Biological Resources chapter for public review and will accept comment on the new information added to the DEIR until January 3, 2017. Only comments related to this new information will be responded to in the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR). Following the public comment period, the Town will revise the previously-released FEIR and schedule a public hearing on the project’s applications before the Corte Madera Planning Commission. As stated in the Notice of Availability, please do not hesitate to contact the Planning Department if you have any questions about how to access the REIR on the Town’s website or obtain a copy. The REIR is available at the Corte Madera Inn Rebuild project web page:
http://www.townofcortemadera.org/civicalerts.aspx?...
Please contact the Planning Department at 415-927-5064 with any questions regarding this notice. Please submit your comments to the Corte Madera Planning Director, Adam Wolff at:
Adam Wolff
Director of Planning & Building
Email
300 Tamalpais Drive
Corte Madera, CA 94925
Ph: 415-927-5064
Fx: 415-927-5039
For further background information on this story, please see:
https://marinpost.org/blog/2016/6/16/region-ix-of-...
https://marinpost.org/blog/2016/6/16/community-ven...