Rachel Mills-Coyne, AICP

I enjoy CEQA for its many coexisting paradoxes. Within the larger field of urban planning, CEQA is both a niche field and one that covers an extensive number of topics. CEQA is highly specific and also broadly applicable. There number of environmental chapters to address impacts is finite, and each one endeavors to provide a comprehensive understanding of the historical context, present conditions, and future changes. The process of CEQA involves synthesizing large amounts of data and information into succinct reports that publicly inform and disclose a project’s environmental impacts. And it is this challenging process that makes CEQA so rewarding. It takes no small amount of skill, attention to detail, and patience for the process. Lots (and lots) of patience.