Using CEQA to Protect Your Community

Using CEQA to Protect Your Community A brief guide to the California Environmental Quality Act Did You Know? Your Community Has a Right to Know & Act What Is the California ways of reducing these impacts are Environmental Quality Act? developed through a public partici- Have you, or has some- pation process in which the views of one you know, had to The California Environmental Qual- neighborhood residents must be tak- leave your home or ity Act, or“CEQA”(pronounced“SEE- en into account. seen a favorite gather- quah”), was passed in 1970. CEQA de- ing place demolished clares it state policy to“develop and Would new buildings result in more cars on the streets, increased con- to make way for new maintain a high-quality environment now and in the future, and to take gestion, and air pollution? Would development? What all action necessary to protect, re- the project tear down a historically places mattered to habilitate, and enhance the environ- significant building? CEQA gives you you that are no longer mental quality of the state.”It helps and your neighbors the right to have there? safeguard the natural environment your voices heard when decisions as well as historic places that you and about a proposed project are being other members of the community made. CEQA does have limitations, Did you know that you can do consider too important to tear down. however, and it does not guarantee something about this? CEQA is the primary legal tool used that a historic building will be saved. in California to protect historic sites Many people have seen the destruc- threatened with demolition. tion of historic neighborhoods and sites without knowing that their voice At its simplest, CEQA requires This booklet offers basic could have made a difference. You a report to the public (called information about CEQA and have a say in how your community an“E I R”or“environmental impact how you can use it to empower, changes over time. There is a state report”) describing how a proposed protect, and enhance your law that gives you the right to know development project would affect community. The examples about development projects in your the quality of life of communities, show how various communities neighborhood and how they affect including our basic rights to clean have used it in different ways. your community. Known as the Cali- air, toxic-free buildings, ease of traf- It is important to note that this fornia Environmental Quality Act, fic, and cultural heritage. It requires is only one strategy to consider this law gives you a voice in the pro- our government agencies to avoid or in your overall plan—one tool cess and tools to help you protect minimize those impacts to the extent in your toolbox. But it is an important places, your quality of life, feasible by examining alternative ap- important one. and the future of your neighborhood. proaches to the project. The specific At left: CEQA helps protect designated landmarks such as the historic bridges spanning the Los Angeles River, including the North Broadway Bridge (foreground) and the North Spring Street Viaduct. Photo by Kevin Break. 1 Why Care? Understanding CEQA Understanding CEQA and apply- ing it to your organizing strategy can help you prevent the destruc- tion of important landmarks in your community. You can help save a historic building or cultural space, protect your historic home, and actively participate in land use decisions that affect the quality of life in your neighborhood. Historic buildings and neighborhoods serve as tangible links to our history and our collective memories. Because many cultural centers, residences, and small businesses occupy older buildings, preserving these spaces also maintains important anchors and services for the community. Losses That Might Have Been opposing the 710 Freeway extension Prevented if CEQA Had Been through El Sereno, South Pasadena, in Place and Pasadena. In this case, CEQA was used in conjunction with federal en- With the postwar construction of vironmental laws to halt the destruc- freeways that crisscross Los Angeles, tion of almost 1,000 homes and the entire neighborhoods in East L.A., division of four nationally recognized Boyle Heights, and elsewhere were historic districts. paved over, divided, and destroyed. In the 1960s, before the passage of In 1973, the City of South Pasadena CEQA, the construction of the East obtained an injunction prohibiting Los Angeles Interchange in Boyle the California Department of Trans- Heights isolated neighborhoods, portation (Caltrans) from building the Above: The 1927 McKinley Building displaced 10,000 people, and de- extension until an environmental im- on Wilshire Boulevard was demol- pact report (EIR) was properly com- ished in 1998, erasing an important molished 29,000 homes. At the time, link to the community’s past. Photo community members protested, pleted. Another injunction resulted from L.A. Conservancy archives. wrote letters to their councilmember, from a 1999 lawsuit filed by the Na- attended meetings, formed commit- tional Trust for Historic Preservation, Top right: The Granados family home the City of South Pasadena, and a in El Sereno, one of nearly 1,000 tees, and demonstrated in the streets. homes threatened with demolition Despite their pleas, the project went coalition of community and pres- for the 710 Freeway extension. Photo forward. It is now the busiest freeway ervation groups. As a result of this courtesy Friezer Photography for the interchange in the United States. broad-based call for an alternative to National Trust for Historic Preserva- demolition, Caltrans and the Federal tion. Today, CEQA helps safeguard com- Highway Administration are still ex- munities by giving residents legal ploring sensitive approaches to the tools to protect their neighbor- project. hoods. A good example of this is the decades-long grassroots campaign 2 How It Works: The Environmental Impact Report CEQA requires that project impacts on historical resources be recognized A Different Strategy: and considered by the city, county, Negotiating with the state, or other governmental agen- Developer cy (the“lead agency”) responsible for approving a project that could In some cases, the developer can destroy or otherwise adversely af- be convinced to change its proj- fect these resources. In some cases, ect or sell the property, especially the lead agency determines that the in the face of well-organized community opposition. Community project will not have negative en- activists can help by bringing for- vironmental impacts or that its im- ward potential buyers committed pacts can be avoided by requiring What Is a Historical Resource? to reusing the site in a way that the developer to meet certain con- is consistent with the needs of ditions, or“mitigation measures.”If In order to take full advantage of legal the community. You can also ask the project poses significant environ- protections under CEQA, it is essential your City Council representative mental impacts that cannot easily be to first establish the significance of or County Supervisor to convene and mediate discussions between avoided, an environmental impact the building being threatened. To report (EIR) is prepared. the community and the develop- automatically qualify as a“historical er. If the EIR does not comply with resource”under CEQA, and trigger CEQA, a viable lawsuit may be the The EIR is considered the heart of the requirement for an EIR, any build- last chance to prevent demolition. CEQA, providing the public and deci- ing targeted for demolition must be: Efforts to work with the developer sion makers with an in-depth review (1) listed or determined eligible for can significantly strengthen your of a project’s environmental impacts listing in the National Register of His- position. and feasible alternatives that would toric Places or the California Register reduce those impacts. The EIR pro- of Historical Resources; or (2) listed in On rare but noteworthy occa- cess is the best opportunity for a city register of historic landmarks. sions, local residents have worked members of the public to promote with the developer and garnered However, a resource does not have enough financial support to buy alternatives to demolition. If an EIR to be officially designated in order studies a feasible alternative to de- the property and adapt the space to trigger the requirement for an EIR to continue serving the commu- molition, the lead agency may be re- under CEQA. nity. quired to change the project to reduce its impact on historical resources. This is where your role is so important. If a building threatened with demolition is not already listed in a historic register, members of the public must convince local officials Top photo: The preservation of the Michael White Adobe (circa 1845) in that it qualifies as historic and is wor- San Marino was supported by the thy of protection. Community activ- community when it was threatened ists need to research the site; share with demolition in 2008. Photo by your stories; and submit documenta- L.A. Conservancy staff. tion, photos, and expert testimony Bottom photo: The Self Help Graph- early in the environmental review ics & Art Building houses a thriving process to show why the building is cultural center for Chicana/o art in significant and meets local or state the heart of unincorporated East Los requirements for historic status. Angeles. Photo by Edgar Garcia. 3 What You Can Do Document the history of the Prepare a landmark nomination. Monterey County Jail building. Is the building a signifi- In cities with a historic preservation cant gathering place for the com- ordinance, buildings that have been In December 1970, legendary munity? Does it have artistic, cul- listed as city landmarks automatically labor leader Cesar Chavez was tural, or architectural value? Did an trigger review under CEQA and other detained for twenty days at the important event happen there? Talk protections under local law.

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