Hi all, Please see this message that I just emailed to the Historic Preservation and Planning Commissions via their commission secretaries at tim.frye@sfgov.org and Commissions.Secretary@sfgov.org Please email similar individual and group communications to them right away. The more comments they receive, the more likely we are to win on this key point: Hi Tim, Jonas, Please forward this communication today, to your respective Commission members (Historic Preservation and Planning) so that they can consider it before their decisions tomorrow and Thursday on their agenda items 10 and 8 respectively. thanks, Eric Brooks, Community CEQA Improvement Team Dear Historic Preservation and Planning Commissioners, Your support is urgently needed. This Wednesday and Thursday you will be making a recommendation on a piece of trailing legislation to the CEQA procedures rules (which are likely to pass today at the Board of Supervisors). Note that this trailing legislation, originally sponsored by Supervisor Jane Kim, is planned to be amended by Supervisor David Chiu to reflect recent negotiations between parties effected by the CEQA procedures changes. By now you should have received communications from Supervisor Chiu on the nature of the new amendments. Please know that this trailing legislation embodies a -vital- assurance that members of the Community CEQA Improvement Team must have, in order to support the overall agreement on CEQA procedures that has been brought to the Board. Specifically, because the main legislation now requires that CEQA appeals must be filed after the -first- approval of a project, the public will completely lose the ability it now has, to appeal any project that substantially changes after its first approvals, in the case that the Environmental Review Officer determines that the project change does not require a new environmental review. The Community CEQA Improvement Team considers it absolutely essential that the public have the right to seek a public hearing with the Environmental Review Officer in cases in which we feel that the Environmental Review Officer has erred in deciding that a substantial change does not warrant a new environmental review. Such a right is the essential backstop that the public needs to retain, to prevent projects from becoming harmful to the environment and San Francisco neighborhoods, due to error, neglect, or bad action. The trailing legislation, as amended by Supervisor Chiu, will give us this assured right, and in return we feel we can support the full package of CEQA procedures legislation and trailing legislation together. This at last, after 12 years, will form a groundbreaking compromise that will ensure vast improvements in CEQA procedures in San Francisco so that they are better for both project sponsors and project appellants. We strongly urge you to show your support for this crucial trailing legislation, so that all parties to these CEQA procedures negotiations can finally reach a fair and productive compromise. Thank you, Eric Brooks Coordinator, Community CEQA Improvement Team 415-756-8844