Construction Lawsuit Deadline Extended

The state Supreme Court on Monday ruled that the deadline for filing lawsuits against construction projects must be extended when plans for the projects have been substantially altered without public disclosure.

The court, ruling in an Orange County case involving the Pacific Amphitheater, held that environmental impact reports must show any substantial alterations to proposed construction projects and the changes must be made public.

The 4-3 decision allows the public to challenge construction projects beyond the 180-day limit for filing lawsuits--even after projects are completed. It gives the Concerned Citizens of Costa Mesa a right to its day in court over a lawsuit challenging changes in the $11-million Pacific Amphitheater. The amphitheater was built in 1983 for outdoor concerts on the Orange County Fairgrounds.

Larger Than Predicted

The citizens group, made up of residents living near the fairgrounds, filed a suit against the District Agricultural Assn., which operated the fairgrounds.

The suit charged that the completed amphitheater was substantially larger and produced concerts much noisier than originally had been predicted.

“The lack of public notice that the agency had authorized these substantial changes compromised the goal of public participation in the environmental review process,” wrote Justice Cruz Reynoso for the majority.

“In fact, the agency’s failure to prepare a supplemental or subsequent EIR effectively deprived the public of any meaningful assessment of the actual project chosen by the agency,” Reynoso wrote.

But Justice Stanley Mosk dissented. The majority decision will “inevitably encourage numerous frivolous challenges to public or private projects after the statutory period has run,” Mosk wrote.

Changes Not Made Public

He said the residents should have recognized that the construction was going to result in a larger project. He said they should have been confined to filing their suit within 180 days of the start of construction.

The citizens group charged that the original environmental impact report proposed 5,000 seats on six acres with the stage to face away from homes north of the fairgrounds.

The final construction of the amphitheater included changes that were not made public in an amended environmental impact report. When the facility was opened in 1983, it was built to seat 18,000 people on a 10-acre site with the stage facing the nearby homes.

Noise levels at the first concert exceeded those allowed by law, according to the court opinion.

Reynoso was joined by Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird and Justices Allen Broussard and Joseph Grodin.

Mosk was joined in dissent by Justices Malcolm Lucas and Edward Panelli.