A tentative decision by San Diego Superior Court Tuesday, March 27 overruled the city’s approval for construction of a 12,000-square-foot student center in a single-family residential neighbor-
hood in La Jolla.
Superior Court Justice Linda B. Quinn settled in favor of two resident groups, Taxpayers for Responsible Land Use (TRLU) and the La Jolla Shores Association (LSA), that alleged the city did not properly follow the California Environmental Quality Act and did not follow proper procedures in selling city land to Hillel of San Diego, a religious group proposing the project.
“With this decision it’s a clean slate, and we hope that the city moves forward and gets ready to prepare the proper environmental studies,” said Todd Cardiff, the Coast Law Group attorney representing the petitioning groups.
Additional arguments are scheduled to be heard April 16, but Cardiff anticipates no further litigation. Tuesday’s ruling rescinded the sale of city-owned property and revoked the decision to construct the project, requiring the city to produce a new environmental impact report (EIR), which is what TRLU and LSA requested.
The resident groups do not plan to dismiss the claims, however, since Hillel of San Diego may choose to appeal the decision to an appellate court, Cardiff said.
In May 2006, the San Diego City Council voted 6-2 to adopt a mitigated negative declaration for the Hillel project’s EIR, which indicated that all biological, parking, traffic, construction and aesthetic impacts of the project would be reduced to an insignificant level.
At the same time, the council also approved the $945,000 sale of the proposed project site ” a 17,000-square-foot triangular parcel on the corner of La Jolla Village Drive, La Jolla Scenic Drive and La Jolla Scenic Drive North.
Tuesday’s decision stated that the city must rescind its sale of the parcel, which residents argued was sold for about $400,000 less than fair-market value, according to Cardiff.
The decision also struck down the city’s approval of the project and requires staff to prepare a new environmental document outlining alternative locations for the student center, Cardiff said.
Summer Wynn of Cooley Godward Kornish, representing Hillel of San Diego, did not wish to comment Tuesday on the tentative ruling. Justice Quinn was working with Cardiff and Wynn Tuesday to clarify language in the decision, Wynn said.
It is not known when a final decision for the case would be announced, according to Wynn.
For more information, visit www.sandiego.gov/cityattorney, click on “ordinances and resolutions” and field search “Hillel of San Diego,” or visit www.trlu.org.