Hoisted on their own petard
09/20/13 Filed in: High-Speed
Rail
After shocking the
state by asserting that the California Environmental
Quality Act, CEQA, did not apply to the High-Speed
Rail project, the California High-Speed Rail
Authority is about to taste comeuppance. The
Tos
plaintiffs, who challenged the HSR
project’s compliance with the HSR bond measure’s
taxpayer protection provisions, have struck back.
They filed papers to join in a motion seeking to
halt the state’s validation
proceedings. The rationale is priceless:
Because the expectation of CEQA compliance is
written into the HSR bond measure, plaintiffs
claim that the project cannot use bond funds if
CEQA compliance is abandoned. Since the preemption
issue will be determined in the appeal
process,
plaintiffs asked that the validation suit be put
on hold until the applicability of CEQA is
determined by the Court of Appeal.
The bottom line result of all this may be that the CHSRA badly miscalculated in trying to get around an ongoing CEQA appeal, and threw away the entire project. With three interrelated cases simultaneously before the bar, HSR’s legal status is complicated. Please contact us if you feel further explanation is needed.
The bottom line result of all this may be that the CHSRA badly miscalculated in trying to get around an ongoing CEQA appeal, and threw away the entire project. With three interrelated cases simultaneously before the bar, HSR’s legal status is complicated. Please contact us if you feel further explanation is needed.
Multiple Suits Challenge Plan Bay Area
Multiple lawsuits were
filed, challenging the FEIR for the Bay Area’s
regional plan under CEQA. Interestingly, they attack
the plan from different directions:
The Sierra Club/Communities for a Better Environment suit seeks a reduction in greenhouse gases and air pollution that affects communities of color in West Oakland. The “Bay Area Citizens” suit is a right-wing challenge to what it views as an assault on Americans’ God-given right to live in suburbs. The Building Industry Association suit makes interesting claims that have never been litigated: that the regional plan violates SB 375 by not providing for feasible levels of housing for the entire population of the Bay Area, including in-commuters from the Central Valley.
For the associated documents, see the bottom of this page.
The Sierra Club/Communities for a Better Environment suit seeks a reduction in greenhouse gases and air pollution that affects communities of color in West Oakland. The “Bay Area Citizens” suit is a right-wing challenge to what it views as an assault on Americans’ God-given right to live in suburbs. The Building Industry Association suit makes interesting claims that have never been litigated: that the regional plan violates SB 375 by not providing for feasible levels of housing for the entire population of the Bay Area, including in-commuters from the Central Valley.
For the associated documents, see the bottom of this page.