Superior Court judge to hear Prop B arguments

March 19th, 2015 2 Comments »

protectwaterfront

On Wednesday, March 25, 2015 at 2:00 pm, in San Francisco Superior Court, 400 McAllister Street, in Department 504, Judge Suzanne Bolanos will hear legal arguments in the case of California State Lands Commission vs. City And County of San Francisco. That hearing is public and all are invited to attend and observe the proceedings. Judge Bolanos may make a decision in the case soon after the hearing or she may decide subsequent hearings are needed before she can decide whether the lawsuit to nullify Prop. B’s requirement that voters approve proposed SF waterfront height limit increases should proceed or be rejected.

Background

The three-member State Lands Commission, comprised of Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, State Controller John Chiang, and a representative of the Governor’s office, filed a lawsuit in Superior Court last summer seeking to nullify Proposition B, the Waterfront Height Limit Right to Vote Act, which was approved by 59% of San Francisco voters on June 3, 2014. The passage of Prop. B codified the existing legal building height limits ranging from 40 feet to 84 feet for development on the city’s waterfront and requires any proposed height limit increases to be approved by voters. Prop. B remains the law of the land and was proven to encourage reasonable development when voters approved a modest height limit increase (from 40 to 90 feet) for the Pier 70 project in the Nov. 2014 election.

Chamber of Commerce & Developer Arguments

However, the Chamber of Commerce and business interests have lined up behind the State Lands Commission, asserting in a recent legal filing as fact that “Proposition B has already cost the Port hundreds of millions of dollars” because the Warriors relocated their stadium and luxury condo project away from Piers 30-32 and because the Pier 70 developer modified their proposal. (click here to read the legal brief filed by the Chamber of Commerce).

SF City Attorney Arguments

San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera, whose office is vigorously defending Proposition B, objected to the Chamber of Commerce’s claims, telling the court that these claims were not incontrovertible fact but merely rhetoric. The City Attorney also submitted a strong final legal brief in the case that thoroughly rebutted the State Lands Commission’s legal theories (click here to read the final reply brief filed by the San Francisco City Attorney).

Friends of the Court: John Burton, Sierra Club & No Wall on the Waterfront

John Burton, the author of the law that transferred San Francisco’s waterfront from state to local control nearly 50 years ago, has joined with the Sierra Club in supporting the City Attorney’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit against San Francisco because it entirely misreads the Burton Act. Burton and the Sierra Club are being represented pro bono by Louise Renne and Randy Riddle with the Renne Law Firm, with legal support from Jon Golinger on behalf of No Wall on the Waterfront.

(Click here to download the Amicus Brief Filed on October 7, 2014 on behalf of John Burton and the Sierra Club)

No Wall on the Waterfront

http://www.nowallonthewaterfront.com/ P.O. Box 330476 San Francisco, CA 94133

Email: WaterfrontVoteYes@gmail.com

Update March 28, 2015

Judge allows suit to go forward, but says Prop B does not conflict with city charter.

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Judge-lets-suit-to-overturn-SF-waterfront-height-6159453.php

2 Responses to “Superior Court judge to hear Prop B arguments”

  1. Sonja says:

    Hi guys none of your links to the briefs work. I would like to read them. Thanx, Sonja

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