High-Speed Rail
Court Rules Again Against HSRA
11/10/11
On Thursday, November
10, Judge Michael Kenny of the Sacramento Superior
Court released a pair of decisions 38 and 40 pages
long, invalidating the Environmental Impact Report
for the Central Valley to Bay Area section of the
California High-Speed Rail project--for the second
time. The Judge found that the California High-Speed
Rail Authority had failed to adequately address a
series of challenges raised by the Petitioners,
comprised of the Town of Atherton, the City of Menlo
Park, the City of Palo Alto, the California Rail
Foundation, the Transportation Solutions Defense and
Education Fund, the Planning and Conservation League,
Patricia Giorni and the Mid-Peninsula Residents for
Civic Sanity.
The court found that the project’s Revised Environmental Impact Report had failed to discuss significant impacts, failed to consider information from the Authority’s parallel project-level studies, and failed to recirculate the document for public comments.
For the second time, the Court ordered the Authority to rescind its approvals selecting the Pacheco Pass alignment and its certification of the associated Revised Final Environmental Impact Report.
Gary Patton, co-counsel, stated that "The court's decision tells the California High-Speed Rail Authority that it can't keep ignoring the public's right to participate. The court's decision in the Atherton II case says that the Authority failed in its duty to recirculate the CEQA document to get public comments, and this was a violation of the law.”
Richard Tolmach, President of the California Rail Foundation, declared that “Twice in a row, the Authority ignored the requirements of environmental law. The Judge found they still have not done a proper study.”
Stuart Flashman, lead counsel, stated that “In rejecting the EIR, the Court has upheld the principle that significant project impacts cannot be swept under the rug for later consideration, after the key decisions have already been made.”
Because the EIR challenge was divided procedurally into two parts, there are two decisions: Atherton I and Atherton II. Read More...
The court found that the project’s Revised Environmental Impact Report had failed to discuss significant impacts, failed to consider information from the Authority’s parallel project-level studies, and failed to recirculate the document for public comments.
For the second time, the Court ordered the Authority to rescind its approvals selecting the Pacheco Pass alignment and its certification of the associated Revised Final Environmental Impact Report.
Gary Patton, co-counsel, stated that "The court's decision tells the California High-Speed Rail Authority that it can't keep ignoring the public's right to participate. The court's decision in the Atherton II case says that the Authority failed in its duty to recirculate the CEQA document to get public comments, and this was a violation of the law.”
Richard Tolmach, President of the California Rail Foundation, declared that “Twice in a row, the Authority ignored the requirements of environmental law. The Judge found they still have not done a proper study.”
Stuart Flashman, lead counsel, stated that “In rejecting the EIR, the Court has upheld the principle that significant project impacts cannot be swept under the rug for later consideration, after the key decisions have already been made.”
Because the EIR challenge was divided procedurally into two parts, there are two decisions: Atherton I and Atherton II. Read More...
Reply Briefs Filed in HSR Round 2
07/19/11
Reply briefs were filed
in the Atherton I and Atherton II cases today.
Access the briefs
here.
Briefs filed in HSR Challenge
04/25/11
Briefing has commenced
in the challenge to the EIR for the High-Speed Rail
connection between the Bay Area and the Central
Valley. Plaintiffs filed their Opening Briefs today.
The case has been divided into two parts:
Atherton
I is a
continuation of the challenge to the 2008 EIR by the
Town of Atherton, the City of Menlo Park, the
Planning and Conservation League, the California Rail
Foundation, and the Transportation Solutions Defense
and Education Fund (TRANSDEF). Atherton II
is a new lawsuit
challenging the legality of the revised EIR by the
City of Palo Alto, the Community Coalition on
High-Speed Rail, Mid-Peninsula Residents for Civic
Sanity, and Pat Giorni. The current schedule is that
the two cases will be heard together on August 12 in
Sacramento. The briefs are available here:
Atherton I
Atherton I (Declaration of Elizabeth Alexis)
Atherton II
Atherton II (CC-HSR)
Read More...
Atherton I
Atherton I (Declaration of Elizabeth Alexis)
Atherton II
Atherton II (CC-HSR)
Read More...
Round 2 in HSR Litigation
10/04/10
A coalition of three
cities, three environmental organizations, two
citizens’ groups and a taxpayer today filed suit
challenging the Environmental Impact Report for the
high-speed rail connection between the Central Valley
and the Bay Area. The report was issued by the
California High-Speed Rail Authority, which is
responsible for planning a statewide high-speed rail
system. Five of the parties had challenged the
previous version of the report, resulting in the
court throwing it out and ordering it rewritten.
The cities of Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Atherton joined the California Rail Foundation, the Transportation Solutions Defense and Education Fund and the Planning and Conservation League. Palo Alto had not been a party in the previous challenge, although it filed a supportive brief. Also joining are two citizens’ groups centered in the San Francisco Peninsula: The Community Coalition on High-Speed Rail and Mid-Peninsula Residents for Civic Sanity. The Rail Authority’s chosen alignment would run through the Peninsula along the Caltrain/Union Pacific rail corridor.
Click here to see all the documents Read More...
The cities of Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Atherton joined the California Rail Foundation, the Transportation Solutions Defense and Education Fund and the Planning and Conservation League. Palo Alto had not been a party in the previous challenge, although it filed a supportive brief. Also joining are two citizens’ groups centered in the San Francisco Peninsula: The Community Coalition on High-Speed Rail and Mid-Peninsula Residents for Civic Sanity. The Rail Authority’s chosen alignment would run through the Peninsula along the Caltrain/Union Pacific rail corridor.
Click here to see all the documents Read More...
Lots of activity on High-Speed Rail
05/09/10
A tremendous amount is
going on at the California High-Speed Rail Authority.
With the ascension of Curt Pringle to the Chair,
Quentin Kopp and Rod Diridon have been marginalized
(finally!). The Authority hired its new CEO, the
first person with actual competence in High-Speed
Rail in the agency.
The comment period closed April 26 on the Revised Draft EIR intended to replace the EIR thrown out by the Court as the result of our litigation. We filed extensive comments in conjunction with our allies the Planning and Conservation League and the California Rail Foundation. Our comments were oriented towards placing extensive evidence into the official record of the feasibility of an Altamont route. On the previous EIR, the Authority had asserted that the Altamont route was infeasible.
We provided a report by the French High-Speed Rail route designers Setec Ferroviaire that establishes an innovative Altamont route as not only feasible but superior to the Pacheco route. We held a press conference on May 4 to introduce the report. The Mayors of Burlingame and Palo Alto and the former Mayor of Atherton spoke at the press conference, asking the California High-Speed Rail Authority to study the route as a possible means of reducing impacts on their communities.
Press:
KGO Channel 7
San Jose Mercury News
San Mateo Daily Journal
Finally, we held a press conference on May 6 to announce the filing of a petition, asking the Court to reopen the judgment in our EIR case so as to order the High-Speed Rail Authority to respond to our comments (included in our comments on the Revised Draft EIR) challenging the validity of the Ridership and Revenue model. After extensive investigation by Elizabeth Alexis and CARRD, the High-Speed Rail Authority released data indicating that its ridership projections were produced not by its peer-reviewed and documented Revenue and Ridership model, but by a model that had been changed significantly and kept hidden from the public.
Press:
KGO Channel 7
San Jose Mercury News
Palo Alto Weekly
The comment period closed April 26 on the Revised Draft EIR intended to replace the EIR thrown out by the Court as the result of our litigation. We filed extensive comments in conjunction with our allies the Planning and Conservation League and the California Rail Foundation. Our comments were oriented towards placing extensive evidence into the official record of the feasibility of an Altamont route. On the previous EIR, the Authority had asserted that the Altamont route was infeasible.
We provided a report by the French High-Speed Rail route designers Setec Ferroviaire that establishes an innovative Altamont route as not only feasible but superior to the Pacheco route. We held a press conference on May 4 to introduce the report. The Mayors of Burlingame and Palo Alto and the former Mayor of Atherton spoke at the press conference, asking the California High-Speed Rail Authority to study the route as a possible means of reducing impacts on their communities.
Press:
KGO Channel 7
San Jose Mercury News
San Mateo Daily Journal
Finally, we held a press conference on May 6 to announce the filing of a petition, asking the Court to reopen the judgment in our EIR case so as to order the High-Speed Rail Authority to respond to our comments (included in our comments on the Revised Draft EIR) challenging the validity of the Ridership and Revenue model. After extensive investigation by Elizabeth Alexis and CARRD, the High-Speed Rail Authority released data indicating that its ridership projections were produced not by its peer-reviewed and documented Revenue and Ridership model, but by a model that had been changed significantly and kept hidden from the public.
Press:
KGO Channel 7
San Jose Mercury News
Palo Alto Weekly
Kopp and Diridon Eat Crow
12/05/09
On December 3rd, the
California High-Speed Rail Authority unanimously
voted to rescind their certification of the Final EIR
for the Bay Area to Central Valley HSR Project, along
with the selection of the Pacheco Pass alignment. The
CAHSRA was ordered to take these actions by the
Sacramento Superior Court, which had found the EIR to
be legally inadequate. This is the same case Quentin
Kopp had disparaged in the press as
"frivolous." Read
More...