By Judy Peterson, Khalida Sarwari, Matt Wilson and Leeta-Rose Ballester
The proposal to add express lanes to Highway 85 continues to meet resistance from West Valley officials and residents, with Saratoga and Cupertino launching the latest round of opposition: Both cities are suing Caltrans over its determination that there would be no significant environmental impacts associated with the project.
The Cupertino City Council voted May 12 to authorize litigation against Caltrans and the Valley Transportation Authority. But Saratoga’s suit, announced May 6, only targets Caltrans.
The Los Gatos Town Council is tentatively set to discuss Highway 85 at its May 19 meeting.
The litigation is a result of the transportation authorities’ failure to do a full environmental impact report on the project. Saratoga’s complaint against Caltrans says the agency didn’t comply with the California Environmental Quality Act.
But not everyone agrees.
Johnny Khamis, VTA board member and councilman for San Jose’s Almaden Valley bedroom community, said that not only does he want expansion of the highway to move along, he wants to see it go faster.
“I’m trying to be a realist,” he said. “To ignore the fact that we’re having a high demand on housing and jobs along the [West Valley] corridor is shortsighted.”
He cited numerous housing developments going up in San Jose that will potentially house employees of larger corporations located elsewhere in the valley.
“They’re providing the jobs; we’re providing the housing,” Khamis said. “We need to work together.”
The controversial proposal would convert Highway 85’s existing high-occupancy vehicle lanes to express lanes, add a second express lane in each direction and allow single drivers to pay a toll to drive in those lanes. The proposal covers the 24-mile stretch from Mountain View to South San Jose. It becomes 33.7 miles when connectors and a short stretch from Highway 101 to Metcalf Road in San Jose are added in.
As a result of the controversy, Cupertino’s City Council will hold a study session on June 2 to discuss using the Highway 85 median for mass transit.
“We as a council are going to hear from various parties and experts on what the preferred alternatives might be to get the mass transit corridor that we were promised,” Cupertino Mayor Rod Sinks said at the start of his council’s May 12 meeting.
Using the median for mass transit was addressed in a 1990 performance agreement between Los Gatos and county transit officials. Cupertino and Saratoga also signed performance agreements.
The Los Gatos agreement stipulates “preservation of at least a 46-foot wide median west of Winchester Boulevard for future mass transportation development.”
VTA says the proposed express lanes would support mass transit by providing additional capacity for buses.
The Los Gatos performance agreement also talks about bridges and interchanges being designed “to accommodate future transit options in the corridor, including the extension of the existing Vasona rail line into the median of Route 85.”
Mayor Sinks, meantime, was open to the idea of consolidating Cupertino’s lawsuit with Saratoga’s, where the issue has also heated up.
“Saratoga citizens [and the city council] have been at the forefront of this issue more than any other citizens in any other city,” Saratoga Mayor Howard Miller said, “and I’m hopeful that this statement reminds our citizens that we’re not asleep at the wheel; we are following the process diligently, prodigiously and aggressively.”
Miller said Caltrans is ignoring the pleas of hundreds of residents who have voiced concerns about the project.
One of those residents spoke at the May 5 Los Gatos Town Council meeting. “They haven’t done an environmental impact report. There is nothing but this negative declaration,” Saratoga’s Cheriel Jensen said. “There isn’t any noise mitigation. There is nothing in it. They’ll just go ahead and build it if we don’t do something.”
Caltrans’ finding of no significant impact is based on an environmental review of the proposal, which is generally considered to be a less thorough documentation than an EIR.
caltrans ‘finding of no significant impact’
For the proposed expansion of Highway 85:”The California Department of Transportation has determined that the build alternative will have no significant impact on the human environment. This finding of no significant impact is based on the attached environmental assessment and supporting technical reports, which have been independently evaluated by the department and determined to adequately and accurately discuss the need, environmental issues and impacts of the proposed project and appropriate mitigation measures. It provides sufficient evidence and analysis for determining that an environmental impact statement is not required. The department takes full responsibility for the accuracy, scope and content of the attached environmental assessment.”
A link to the Caltrans’ environmental review is available at bit.ly/1PFT7uT.
