This is just one post in the San Onofre Toll Road Category

Both sides disappointed at canceled tollway hearing; U.S. Commerce Department must decide whether to reschedule

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 14, 2008 at 10:04 pm

From the North County Times:

A much-anticipated public hearing this month on the appeal of California’s rejection of a San Onofre toll road may be canceled because an Orange County venue has backed out of an arrangement to host it amid indications the crowd size could top 10,000. And federal officials said Monday they may not reschedule the event, because moving to a larger facility could break their $26,000 hearing budget.

In February, the California Coastal Commission judged the toll road inconsistent with federal and state laws protecting the fragile coastal environment, sending a clear signal that if the road proponent were to apply for a permit to build, it would be denied. The proponent, Irvine-based Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency, appealed the ruling to the U.S. Commerce Department.

Officials at the Commerce Department struck a deal with UC Irvine to host the hearing at its 4,758-person-capacity Bren Events Center. But a university representative said Monday the center pulled back because of indications more than twice that many people were planning to attend.

“We started getting calls like, ‘Where can we get lunch for 500 people?’ and ‘Where can our buses park?’” said Cathy Lawhon, a spokeswoman for UC Irvine. “It began to look like this was something that was going to cause a lot more traffic and policing and parking headaches than we thought. And we decided that we couldn’t handle it.”

Read more from the North County Times by clicking here.

The OC Register reports that both sides are disappointed at the news that the hearing might now not be held at all:

“To us that would be unacceptable,” said Mark Rauscher, an assistant environmental director at the Surfrider Foundation.

The environmental group has been leading the charge against the road and had been organizing opponents to attend the hearing; the group sent a letter to Commerce Monday requesting that a new hearing be scheduled.

Toll road agency representatives said they, too, were looking forward to the hearing.

“It’s unfortunate,” said Rob Thornton, an attorney who often represents the tollway agency. “I thought we had a good location.”

Raucher also had this to say:

Rauscher said the high crowd estimate underscores the need for a public airing of the issue. “When you think you are going to have 10,000 people show up at a hearing that’s meant to gauge the public viewpoint on a project, that is a strong signal that they should figure out how to have a hearing – not a good reason to cancel a hearing,” he said.

A spokesman for NOAA said Monday no decision had been made.