Appeals Court Rejects Suit by O.C. Tollway Opponents

A state appellate court has rejected a lawsuit filed by environmentalists who argued that the UC Board of Regents was required to file a separate environmental impact report when it approved the sale of 1.7 acres for the San Joaquin Hills tollway.

In a written ruling released Monday, the 4th District Court of Appeal said the report was unnecessary. The court ruled that the parcel in question had been included in separate environmental impact reports previously certified by the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor Agency and UC Irvine.

The tollway agency paid UCI $10.5 million in 1992 for 25 acres intended as part of the planned 17.2-mile tollway. The 1.7 acres that were the subject of litigation were included in the 25 acres. The smaller parcel is also included in a plan to establish a coastal sage brush habitat.

The Natural Resources Defense Council and local environmentalists argued in a 1993 lawsuit that UCI was obligated to either prepare a new environmental report for the sale of the 1.7 acres or file a supplemental report to a 1989 environmental plan adopted by the UC regents.

A Superior Court judge agreed with the environmental coalition and ordered the regents to prepare a supplemental environmental impact report. The regents joined the transportation corridor agency in appealing the judge’s decision.

Last week, the appellate court overturned the trial judge’s order, ruling that the parcel in question had already been included in separate environmental reports certified by both UCI and the transportation agency.

In addition, the court found that there has been no change in the tollway’s proposed alignment. “Accordingly, no additional environmental analysis is either warranted or required by law,” the justices said in the five-page ruling.

Joie Jones, a UCI professor of radiology and a member of the environmental coalition that filed the lawsuit, said he was very disappointed by the appellate ruling.

“This is not over yet,” he said. “This is something we’re still very concerned about and are going to consider all options. We think it’s an incorrect decision.”

A spokeswoman for the regents in Oakland referred calls to UCI officials, who were unavailable for comment.

Tollway agency spokesman Mike Stockstill said officials are pleased with the appellate court’s ruling.

“This is a reinforcement of what we’ve said all along, that the environmental work we’ve done on this corridor has been done properly,” he said.

Stockstill said the lawsuit has not delayed tollway construction. But despite the favorable ruling, he said, building on the disputed parcel still cannot begin because it is included in another lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court by environmentalists. A federal judge has issued an injunction on that phase of the construction.