Suit Seeks to Block San Jose Research Park

Charging that the city of San Jose had violated the California Environmental Quality Act, environmentalists and communities to the south sued Tuesday to block Cisco Systems Inc.’s 688-acre research park proposed for one of the Silicon Valley’s last remaining rural tracts.

The Sierra Club, the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society and the Assn. of Monterey Bay Area Governments, representing 18 cities in three counties, charge that the environmental impact report for the project did not address all of the project’s possible environmental consequences and that it underestimates the effects on area communities.

In October, the San Jose City Council approved the company’s plans for a $1.3-billion corporate park at Coyote Valley.

The Sierra Club and Audubon Society contend that the Cisco project will threaten endangered animals such as the red-legged frog and will worsen air quality with increased traffic. They remain opposed despite the company’s promises to donate $3 million and to help raise $97 million more for open-space preservation efforts.

The lack of housing near the proposed site also raises concerns about increased commuting traffic.

The suits were filed in Santa Clara County court.

“It’s clear there was an alternative to the city that would have dramatically reduced the impacts, and that alternative was to provide housing,” said Stephan Volker, an attorney representing the Assn. of Monterey Bay Area Governments.

One of the most vocal critics of Cisco’s project, the city of Salinas, about 40 miles to the south, may not join the suit. Salinas officials had announced their intent to sue shortly after San Jose approved the project, but they were in talks with San Jose about possible compensation to soften the project’s effects.