Case Challenging Toll Road Tossed Out; Group to Appeal

A Superior Court judge has tossed out a legal challenge that could have blocked construction of the proposed San Joaquin Hills toll road, but the group opposing the roadway said Friday it would appeal.

Judge James L. Smith ruled recently that Save Our San Juan had no standing to sue in the case and had no right to challenge an amendment to a county-sponsored developer’s agreement. The agreement between the Board of Supervisors and the Mission Viejo Co. allowed the developer to provide financial help for the toll road in exchange for accelerated home construction in Aliso Viejo.

Tollway officials said Smith’s ruling was the second legal loss for Save Our San Juan.

In the other case, the group challenged the Orange County Transportation Corridor Agencies on its environmental report for the roadway. But a judge ruled that the report was legal.

Bob King of Save Our San Juan said he was “speechless” when Smith made his recent ruling. “I could not believe it,” King said.

He said the directors of Save Our San Juan, a nonprofit group in San Juan Capistrano that opposes the toll road as it is now proposed, have voted to appeal.

“I was disappointed, and obviously I think the judge was incorrect in his decision,” said Thomas C. Rogers, another member of the group. He said the decision was not made on the facts, but rather a legal technicality.

Save Our San Juan sued the county, the Mission Viejo Co. and the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor Agency last fall, challenging an amendment to a developer’s agreement.