The San Carlos City Council voted 3-2 last night to certify the environmental impact report of the proposed Transit Village, paving the way for officials to now begin dissecting the merits of the project and creating a development agreement.

Mayor Matt Grocott was the one dissenting voice, saying if he could, he'd send the document back for reworking because of worries including significant impacts to traffic on Holly Street and through Belmont.

Councilman Mark Olbert, the second dissenter, said he still had concerns that certain evaluations in the EIR were inadequate and the document doesn't properly address how it may affect the quality of the community's character.

Councilman Bob Grassilli said the affirmative vote was a way to reach the entitlement process which will determine if the project even gets built. The document met the legal threshold for certification, said Councilwoman Karen Clapper, and Councilman Ron Collins added that the developer can be asked to make changes later.

"In my mind it is still a technical document. ... We move the process forward and the next one is where the rubber hits the road,” Grassilli said.

Grocott and Olbert, however, said they couldn't move past the idea that the project's impacts to the surrounding neighborhood and city could be properly mitigated.

Grocott also can't accept the Catch-22 of the mixed-use project around the train station