Last year, Sierra Madre voters passed Measure V, which placed strict limits on the size of downtown developments, effectively killing a specific plan that was in process. Now, the city council is fighting over releasing the plan's unfinished EIR.
"What's the purpose of releasing a document on a project that doesn't exist and won't exist because the downtown zoning is such that it would never allow this to exist?" Mosca asked.
"I'm trying to understand why we're even having this discussion and what the purpose would be in releasing a document that is over a year and a half old and is no longer relevant for downtown."
MacGillivray countered that "the biggest reason is not as concrete, and that has to do with community trust."
A hesitant Buchanan cautioned about inaccuracies and misinformation in such an unfinished report, as well as the problem of setting a policy precedent in releasing internal drafts and the effect it could have on the work of future consultants.
Buchanan, however, ultimately voted yes on the motion. So did previously absent Councilman Donald Watts, who made a dramatic entrance into the chambers in the middle of discussion."
FULL STORY: City's abandoned downtown plan a sore spot
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City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research