The 8/4 Protect Juristac EIR Comment Writing Workshop was a great success! Attended by 218 participants, the 2 ½ hour event offered inspiration and guidance for writing comment letters to challenge the Environmental Impact Report for the mining project that threatens Juristac.
After presentations and Q&A concluded, an hour of workshop time was opened with six breakout rooms hosted by volunteers with relevant experience. Breakout discussions on EIR topics such as water quality, biological resources, greenhouse gas emissions and tribal cultural resources allowed for participants to share ideas, ask more specific questions, and swap contact information for future collaboration and followup. The breakout sessions were not recorded.
Video of 8/4 webinar:
Save the dates:
Rally for Juristac: Saturday, September 10 – 1:00pm to 4:00pm @ McEntee Plaza, 70 W. Hedding St, San Jose, CA
Planning Commission Public Hearing on the Sargent Quarry Project: Thursday, August 25
For guidance on writing and submitting your comment letter:
Visit our Protect Juristac EIR Comment Writing Landing Page.
Additional resources shared or referenced during the workshop:
- Preparing Comments on the Sargent Ranch Quarry EIR—PowerPoint by Sara Clark
- Basic comment letter template doc (make a copy and then customize in your own words)
- Video: How to Write Comment Letters on Proposed CEQA Projects—J.P. Rose, Center for Biological Diversity (32 min.)
- CEQA Glossary of Terms (PDF, 3 pages)
- Overview of CEQA and the EIR Process and how you can participate (PDF / Source: Mt Shasta Ecology Center)
- How to Write an EIR Comment (Source: Californians Advocating Responsible Rail Design)
- How to Comment on a CEQA Document (Source: California Native Plant Society)
- Areas of Conservation Emphasis (ACE)—California Department of Fish and Wildlife
- California Natural Diversity Database
- eBird—Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- iNaturalist
- Rare Plant Inventory—California Native Plant Society
- Federal Recognition of Native American Tribes: The Case of California’s Amah Mutsun by E. Richard Hart
- The Basics of Protecting Tribal Cultural Resources Under AB 52—California Native American Heritage Commission
- Stuart Weiss on impacts of the proposed Sargent Quarry to wildlife and landscape linkages (post on this website)
- Governor’s Office of Planning and Research: Technical Advisory—AB 52 and Tribal Cultural Resources in CEQA
- Santa Clara County Conservation Greenprint
- Final Santa Clara Valley Habitat Plan
- Bay Area Conservation Lands Network—home of the Bay Area Critical Linkages Project
- Coyote Valley Landscape Linkage Report (2017)
- Becoming a CEQA Advocate— Planning and Conservation League