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Ms. Stern stated that the next step in the EIR process is the Planning Commission review of the documents: once the Final EIR is completed, the Commission will hold public hearings on the Draft Housing Element and the General Plan amendments and rezonings of the sites, consider the adequacy of the Final EIR, and make a recommendation to the City Council regarding the Final EIR and the General Plan amendments and rezonings. Ms. Stern continued that the final step in the process is the City Council consideration of the documents: the Council will hold public hearings on the Housing Element and the General Plan amendments and rezonings, consider certification of the EIR, followed by approval of the Housing Element and the General Plan amendments and rezonings. She noted that the Housing Element and the General Plan amendments and rezonings will be approved only if significant effects are mitigated to less-than-significant levels or if the City makes findings of overriding social or economic concerns. Mr. Dolan indicated that he believes the Commission and possibly most of the people in attendance are familiar with the EIR process; however, he emphasized that this scoping session is about the content of the analysis in the EIR and not about the merits of any individual site. He noted that staff is aware that there are people in the community who have strong opinions about some of the sites, and reiterated that tonight is not the time to voice those concerns; the scoping meeting is about what needs to be evaluated so the merits can be considered. Commissioner Blank thanked Mr. Dolan for his comment. He noted that the presentation slide on areas to be addressed in the EIR did not include but was referred to in the staff report. He inquired if this would be the right time for the public, for example, to request that it be included. Mr. Dolan said yes and explained that it was inadvertently omitted from the slide. Commissioner Blank inquired if the EIR consultant has previously worked with the City. Mr. Dolan replied that the consultant is currently working on the EIR for the Climate Action Plan. Commissioner Blank suggested that staff might want to share some better examples of really dynamic EIRs the City has had so the consultant is aware of what works in the City. He commented that some EIRs in the past generated more controversy than less. Commissioner Blank stated that he wanted to understand the symbology of the attachment regarding the half-mile radius from the BART station. Ms. Stern replied that this has been used generally in the past to indicate those sites that might be considered Transit Oriented Development (TOD) and is not necessarily useful in this map. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, May 11, 2011 Page 6 of 17