As expected, a local activist has appealed the decision by Mayor Jerry Sanders’ staff to not require additional study of the environmental impacts the Navy Broadway Complex could have on the surrounding downtown community.
Mission Hills resident Ian Trowbridge, on behalf of a group called the Broadway Complex Coalition, said environmental documents dating back to 1990 do not sufficiently vet the redevelopment project’s impact on issues such as air quality and transportation.
The BCC and Save Our Forest and Ranchlands said earlier this month that they would challenge the city’s decision if the government said the reviews were OK.
A week ago, the city’s Development Services Department concluded that the environmental reviews, which are required by the California Environmental Quality Act, were adequate. Sanders officials said the Navy Broadway Complex’s effects on the region were considered as recently as February, when the council approved an update to the downtown community plan.
City Attorney Mike Aguirre said staff’s decision can be appealed, as Trowbridge has done, while the mayor said it is not a significant enough decision to warrant an appeal. However, the Mayor’s Office said the City Council will have the discretion over hearing the appeal.
Council President Scott Peters said he will schedule the appeal at a future meeting, but has not determined when that meeting will be. The council is currently on legislative recess and will resume meetings beginning Nov. 13.
The appeal comes one day after the Centre City Development Corp., the city’s downtown planners, approved the technical aspects of Doug Manchester’s plans for the site, saying they complied with the 1992 guidelines that direct the redevelopment project.