Judge Denies Bid to Delay Soka Expansion

A Superior Court judge has ruled against opponents of the Soka University expansion plan, deciding the environmental impact report for the project they are fighting is valid.

The decision, which prevents opponents from launching the new public review process they sought, comes two years after Los Angeles County supervisors approved the expansion. It is the latest installment in Soka’s eight-year battle to expand its Calabasas campus in one of the last undeveloped valleys in the Santa Monica Mountains.

The university plans to nearly quadruple its building footage from about 120,000 to 440,000 square feet and increase its enrollment from under 300 to about 800 students.

Arguing that the public review process had not been fair, Save Open Space Santa Monica Mountains and other opponents of the plan sought a court order that would have compelled the county to conduct another review.

But Superior Court Judge Madeleine Flier found that the environmental impact report “is valid, supported by substantial evidence and is sufficient as an informative document,” according to the decision released recently.

“We’re hoping that our opponents start to get the message now that the environmental impact report was adequately done,” said Jeff Ourvan, Soka’s vice president for university relations.

Ourvan said the university plans to seek $35,000 in compensation for the cost of preparing administrative records for the lawsuit.

Frank P. Angel, the attorney representing Save Open Space, the Sierra Club, and the Monte Nido Valley Property Owners Assn., said that his clients were “extremely disappointed” about the decision. He declined to comment on whether they would appeal the ruling.