Hotel Project Sonoma takes shape – But what’s an EIR?

The Hotel Project Sonoma – the re-named Chateau Sonoma complex proposed for downtown Sonoma’s First Street West – has moved forward with the submittal to the city of an Environmental Impact Report, a document required in most large-scale building projects.

An EIR evaluates a variety of development-related environmental impacts, ranging from traffic, water, air quality, construction issues and more.

The proposed project from Darius Anderson’s Kenwood Investments calls for a 59-room hotel, restaurant and spa, with 115 off street parking spaces, located within one-half block. It’s EIR runs to 250 pages, with pages of appendices.

The EIR process is divided into three parts:

• The scope of what is to be addressed in the report is established through the Initial Study Process. This was completed, and approved by the Planning Commission
• The Draft EIR (current stage). The Draft EIR is produced by the EIR consultant based on the parameters established through the Initial Study process.
• The Final EIR

Having ‘scoped,’ or identified the activities requiring review, an EIR ranks the impacts and establishes mitigation measures intended to offset them. For example, if traffic on Napa Street is deemed to heavily impacted, the EIR might require traffic mitigation measures, such as left-hand turn lanes and the elimination of on-street parking in the vicinity of the hotel entrance.

Once the Draft EIR is filed with the City of Sonoma, as is now the case with Hotel Project Sonoma, it becomes a public document (now posted at sonomacity.org). Public comment on any aspect of the EIR is accepted for a period of 30 days, and at Planning Commission meetings.

Such comments may address the content of the Draft EIR or raise issues not contained in it. Once the public comment period has ended, all public comments submitted in writing must be addressed by the EIR consultant through the EIR approval process at Planning Commission meetings. Like comments may be responded to as a group, but all comments must be accounted for and become part of the official public record.

Ultimately, the Draft EIR, the recommendations made by the EIR consultant based on public comments, and any formal revisions of the EIR, then returns to the Planning Commission for approval.

The then-Final EIR will also have a public review period, and Planning Commission public hearing. If the Planning Commission believes that the Final EIR adequately addresses all required areas under the California Environmental Quality Act, it will approve the Final EIR and any mitigation requirements will become part of the projects Conditions of Approval.

Approval of the Final EIR does not constitute approval of the project as a whole; Planning Commission hearings as well as other commission hearings such as the Design Review Commission will consider all facets of the proposed project. For example, the EIR does not deal with design specifics such as architectural style, paint color, etc.

Once the Planning Commission approves the application and any modifications of it, permits and entitlements are issued by the City of Sonoma allowing the project to proceed.

If an appeal of Planning Commission approval is filed (either by a council member or a member of the public), the final approval and possible modification of the project becomes a matter of City Council business.

The EIR is just one major and time-consuming step of a lengthy process of project review and approval which overall will take a matter of many months.