CV EIR Alternatives Comment 3.4

Santa Clara Valley Loma Prieta Chapter Audubon Society Founded 1926 March 4, 2005 Susan Walsh San Jose Planning Staff Fax (408) 277-3250 Dear Susan: We are responding to your request for comments on the CSVP EIR/Alternatives approach, due March 4, 2005. We are very pleased that San Jose is developing a list of alternatives prior to the official scoping process for the EIR. This is a critical step in offering a more inclusive and constructive approach to ensuring that the EIR will consider the full range of reasonable alternatives that can meet both political and environmental criteria. These comments focus on the alternatives, and we will provide general EIR comments as the process moves forward. Not only does CEQA require the City to consider the full range of reasonable alternatives, it also establishes the public expectation that a true set of choices is provided, not one that locks decision-makers into a single entity’s preferred alternative. We have seen many poorly designed EIRs and offer the following advice to help San Jose ensure that they avoid making these mistakes. Politically-unrealistic EIRs are ones that contrast the preferred alternative with options that have no chance of being chosen. In this case, one option will be created that is so grossly out of scale with the project concept that the preferred alternative looks good by comparison. Another option will be so small that it will not accomplish the project ...