SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – The City of San Jose is facing a lawsuit from a group of residents following proposed plans to build a new Whole Foods location.
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A group of San Jose residents known as the Citizens for Inclusive Development filed the lawsuit against the city, alleging that San Jose is in violation of the California Environmental Quality Act, the Mercury News reported. The lawsuit stems from a recent shopping center redevelopment project centered around the construction of a Whole Foods.
In June, the San Jose City Council approved a project to expand the El Paseo de Saratoga shopping center, located at 1000 El Paseo de Saratoga, to include 1,000 housing units and more than 165,000 square feet of commercial space, the newspaper said.
According to the Citizens for Inclusive Development, the Whole Foods was never disclosed in the expansion's environmental reports, and that the creation of the grocery store would increase traffic and emissions in the area.
"At least one organization submitted expert opinion documenting that the air quality and public health impacts from a Whole Foods grocery store will far exceed the impacts disclosed and evaluated in the draft and final (Environmental Impact Report), which assumed only generic, non-grocery commercial uses," the lawsuit stated, as reported by the newspaper.
A spokesperson with the resident-based group told the newspaper that the expansion is an "intrusive mega-project to serve the interests of San Hill Property Co."
In response, Sand Hill Property Co., the developer for the Whole Foods project, told the newspaper in a statement that the lawsuit is an attempt to block housing. "This lawsuit is an unfortunate attempt to block much-needed housing in the city and our region despite the fact that this project was a Signature Project, had significant community engagement and received unanimous City Council approval," the company said.
KCBS Radio has reached out to the City of San Jose for comment but has not yet heard back.
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