Skip Lloyd: “But, I really object to the schedule which the city has adopted here...”

ABSTRACT: At the City Council Meeting on Tuesday, 7 April 2009, during Appearances, Carmel area resident Skip Lloyd addressed the public and the City Council concerning the Flanders Mansion Project, specifically the timing of the City's release of the CBRE Consulting Economic Analysis and the Recirculated Draft Environmental Impact Report (RDEIR) for the Sale of the Flanders Mansion Property and the City’s schedule of hearings on the proposed Project. The remarks of Skip Lloyd are transcribed.

CITY OF CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA
AGENDA
Regular Meeting
Tuesday, April 7, 2009

VI. Appearances
Anyone wishing to address the City Council on matters within the jurisdiction of the City and are not on the agenda may do so now. Matters not appearing on the City Council’s agenda will not receive action at this meeting but may be referred to staff for a future meeting. Presentations will be limited to three (3) minutes, or as otherwise established by the City Council. Persons are not required to give their names, but it is helpful for speakers to state their names in order that the City Clerk may identify them in the minutes of the meeting.

Always speak into the microphone, as the meeting is recorded. The City Council Chambers is equipped with a portable microphone for anyone unable to come to the podium. Assisted listening devices are available upon request of the City Clerk. If you need assistance, please advise Heidi Burch as to which item you would like to comment on and the microphone will be brought to you.

Carmel Area Resident Skip Lloyd:
“Good afternoon Members of the Council, Madam Mayor, I’m Skip Lloyd, a local resident.”

“What I’m speaking about here today is the Flanders Project and some timing issues that bothered me. When I saw the CBRE economic feasibility analysis which was supposed to have been, I guess was accepted by the City at its March 25th meeting. As you know the Flanders Draft EIR was issued on January 4th of this year with a 45 day comment period ending February 18th. It appears on January 15th that the Architectural Resources Group cost estimates and various scenarios was received by the city, I may have missed it, but I don’t know that was ever published to the public and I could be corrected on that and then the DEIR period for public comment expired on the 18th and then if you look at the report from CBRE Consulting actually dated February 23rd with a cover addressed to the City Administrator, then there’s, March 24th there is a letter to the city saying that CBRE understands the report will be considered at the March 25th meeting and presented by the City Administrator.”

“But what troubles me about this is, maybe it is not a legal matter, maybe it is, I don’t know, I’m not a DEIR lawyer, whether these circumstances would require a recirculation DEIR, but it seems to me the public isn’t being treated real well here on a project that’s pretty bedrock to feelings of people, particularly about this park, because we know from reading this CBRE report, they were in touch with Denise Duffy, who was doing the DEIR and visa versa. I just make that comment because that bothered me. And I guess that will come up whenever someone wants to make an issue of it beyond this.”

“But, I really object to the schedule which the city has adopted here which is really telescoped into here about, everything to be done between now and three weeks from now and the Final EIR is not even published. Yet you are scheduling hearings, have people decide whether it is adequate and whether indeed the Council should go forward with the whole Flanders Project of selling it. I think that number 1, the telescoping is too short and number 2, I think it all should be put off and set reasonable time periods after the document comes out so the public has a chance to adequately review this.”

“And finally,..., here's a copy of my letter to the Council dated March 23rd where I suggest that in connection with the Flanders Project be sure that the park is preserved and enhanced as your General Plan says to maximum effect, that you hire a consultant who is an expert in that field, that’s a common thing for the city to have done lately and doesn’t seem to be out of line, you’ve spent over $550,000 already on trying to get this project through, not to speak of internal costs, so I just want to submit that.”

(Source: Archived Videos, Regular City Council Meeting, April 07, 2009, 18:43 – 23:09)