A number of groups opposing the Oakland Athletics' Howard Terminal ballpark project are suing the city and the team under the California Environmental Quality Act, according to court documents.
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The East Oakland Stadium Alliance, Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, Harbor Trucking Association, California Trucking Association, Schnitzer Steel and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union filed the lawsuit on Friday in Alameda County Superior Court, alleging the environmental impact report certified last month didn’t properly account for the potentially adverse impacts of the $12 billion development's construction would have on the Port of Oakland.
"The A's proposal to build a stadium and luxury condominiums, office and retail development will cause major disruptions and impacts to both the surrounding community and the operations of the Port, yet the EIR did not fully address these concerns or mitigate these well-known issues," attorney Mike Jacob said in a statement to KCBS Radio.
"It also failed to accurately compare the Oakland Coliseum site as an alternative which would have far less adverse effects," Jacob added.
Under the California Environmental Quality Act, project opponents can challenge within 30 days after a notice of determination is posted on the grounds that environmental impacts weren’t adequately reviewed.
The Howard Terminal notice was posted on March 3, two days after the Port Of Oakland Board of Commissioners relinquished project approvals to the Oakland City Council. On Feb. 17, the City Council certified the final environmental impact report.
A's President Dave Kaval told KCBS Radio in an interview on Friday it's possible additional lawsuits will be filed in opposition of the project before the window ends on Monday.
"To have environmental legislation … being used by polluters to try to end our project, or basically delay it, is really just a very difficult thing to fathom and definitely frustrating from our side," Kaval said in an interview with KCBS Radio’s Eric Brooks.
Kaval said potential litigation is one of the reasons why the team is pursuing a "parallel path" to potentially construct a new stadium in Las Vegas. State law says lawsuits to the project must be resolved within nine months.
The City of Oakland didn't respond to KCBS Radio's request for comment prior to publication on Friday night.
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