From: Brianna Egan
To: James Light; Nils Nehrenheim; Todd Loewenstein; Paige Kaluderovic; Zein Obagi; Scott Behrendt Cc: CityClerk
Subject: Public Comment on Item P.1
Date: Tuesday, February 11, 2025 7:38:06 PM
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Good evening Mayor Light and Redondo Beach city council, I am submitting this comment for the record in opposition to Item P.1 on the 2/11/25 city council agenda.
I disagree with the city's draft letter in opposition to SB 71 and strongly recommend you not take a position on this bill. This bill makes permanent SB 288, which passed in 2020, and SB 922, which passed in 2022 to exempt active transportation and public transportation infrastructure projects from CEQA review. This law is common sense: Projects that improve the environment--like active transportation (bike lanes) and public transit which take cars off the road and reduce climate-warming emissions--should not have to undergo onerous, lengthy, and expensive environmental review processes. For these projects, CEQA leads to delay of climate action and adds costs and time to environmentally beneficial projects. According to Streetsblog California, in the 18 months after SB 288 became law, 15 projects statewide used the streamlining (https://cal.streetsblog.org/2022/08/16/on-to-the-governors-desk-s-b-922-toexpedite-sustainable-transportation-projects).
Please note that this law is opt-in for agencies that choose to invoke SB 288/922 streamlining on projects. In many cases, agencies will still carry out CEQA review on projects that would otherwise qualify for streamlining. It's up to the agency to determine whether they want to utilize the streamlining. It's also important to note that for the C Line Extension to Torrance, which appears to be the impetus for the city's opposition to this bill, that Metro did not undertake CEQA exemption for this project and proceeded with the CEQA process, including the DEIR that was released in 2023 and the FEIR expected to be released this year. Your position on the bill and the ultimate outcome on this law will have no bearing on this specific project; meanwhile this bill provides enormous benefits for climate action and effective transit and bike lane projects, therefore I strongly discourage you from taking action here.
Best,
Brianna Egan
District 1