City council displays total ignorance – or is it skullduggery?

It is indeed disheartening when Virginia Beach City Council members answer media queries with statements that draw attention to their ignorance. It this case, Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process comprehension.

Follow up:

In a recent Virginian-Pilot article, "Beach man seeks a referendum on light rail", several council members were quoted that a public referendum on light rail, if held, should be subsequent to the EIS’s preparation which is targeted for December 2010. Troublesomely, the project’s public acceptance or rejection is integral EIS data.

Simply put, how can an EIS be prepared without a statement gauging public support? The answer is, it can’t. Therefore statements alluding to a post-EIS referendum either displays ignorance or skulduggery.

Of interest is one council member’s panic action to prepare a resolution that would oppose a ballot question on light rail before the light-rail feasibility study that's now underway is finished. First, how can a council resolution oppose a circuit court judge’s order? More importantly, why?

The EIS is a requirement detailed under Federal Transit Administration (FTA) - New Starts Project Planning. The submitted final EIS (FEIS)* is scored to ascertain if the project qualifies for federal funding.

Is opposition to a public referendum becoming clearer?

*Actually, since an EIS was previously prepared for the project, a supplemental EIS (SEIS) is being prepared for this iteration.