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Item 10.2, 5/19/26 Council Agenda (ER26-045 - Environmental Review Policy) From Alice Kaufman < >
Date Mon 5/18/2026 11:42 AM
To Agendadesk <[email protected]>; City Clerk <[email protected]>; The Office of Mayor Matt Mahan <[email protected]>; District1 <[email protected]>; District2 <[email protected]>; District3 <[email protected]>; District4 <[email protected]>; District5 <[email protected]>; District 6 <[email protected]>; District7 <[email protected]>; District8 <[email protected]>; District9 <[email protected]>; District 10 <[email protected]> Cc Burton, Chris <[email protected]>; Keyon, David <[email protected]>; Shani Kleinhaus Dashiell Leeds ; Gita Dev ; James
Eggers
1 attachment (499 KB)
Enviro letter on Environmental Review Handbook 5.18.26.pdf;
Dear Mayor Mahan and Councilmembers,
As stated in the attached letter, Green Foothills, the Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance, and Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter wish to express our support for the recommended revisions proposed by Planning staff to the Environmental Review Handbook (Item 10.2 on the May 19 Council agenda).
Thank you for your attention to these comments.
Alice Kaufman (She/Her)
Policy and Advocacy Director
Green Foothills | | mobile | greenfoothills.org
5/18/26, 3:10 PM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
https://outlook.cloud.microsoft/mail/[email protected]/inbox/id/AAQkADUxOWI4ZjE3LTRkNDEtNGUzMS04MjAwLTIzNzdiYTdkMjc5NAAQ… 1/1
May 18, 2026 San Jose City Council 200 E. Santa Clara St. San Jose, CA Re: Item 10.2, 5/19/26 Council Agenda (ER26-045 - Environmental Review Policy) Dear Mayor Mahan and Councilmembers, Green Foothills, the Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance, and Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter wish to
express
our
support
for
the
recommended
revisions
proposed
by
Planning
staff
to
the
Environmental
Review
Handbook.
As noted in the memo from the Planning Director, we commented on the draft Environmental Review
Handbook
and
Environmental
Standard
Permit
Conditions
in
a
letter
to
staff
submitted
on
April
16. In
that
letter,
we
noted
concerns
with
the
original
version
of
the
Handbook
that
failed
to
adequately
address
the
potential
for
impacts
to
wildlife
movement
in
Coyote
Valley
and
the
Almaden
Valley
Urban
Reserve,
or
for
impacts
stemming
from
artificial
light
at
night
(ALAN)
or
from
disturbance
due
to
human
sources
of
noise.
We
appreciate
the
revisions
made
by
Planning
staff
to
the
Handbook
to
address
our
concerns,
and
we
support
the
Handbook
as
revised
and
submitted
to
the
Council.
We wish to re-emphasize, as stated in our letter, that the Environmental Standard Permit Conditions
constitute
a
“floor,”
not
a
“ceiling,”
in
terms
of
potential
mitigation
measures
for
projects
with
significant
environmental
impacts.
As
stated
by
David
Keyon
at
the
Planning
Commission
meeting,
any
project
that
has
the
potential
to
result
in
significant
environmental
impacts
that
are
not
adequately
mitigated
through
the
Standard
Permit
Conditions
will
still
be
required
to
comply
with
project-specific
mitigations
to
address
those
impacts.
Thank you for your attention to these comments. Sincerely, Alice Kaufman Policy and Advocacy Director
Green Foothills Shani Kleinhaus Environmental Advocate Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance Gita Dev Chair, Conservation Committee Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter