In planning to increase student capacity by nearly one-third, San Diego State University has all the while contended that the public and private impacts of such an expansion must be borne by the City of San Diego, the adjacent neighborhoods and nearby Alvarado Hospital.
This “king of the hill” approach by SDSU has resulted in several lawsuits, not to mention a bunch of teed-off neighbors. SDSU’s attitude has seemingly been one of ignoring goodwill…and a “we are more important and powerful than anyone else” approach to community concerns.
Yesterday the State Supreme Court appeared to have dealt a serious blow to the SDSU plans by ruling in a similar Monterey Bay case that the CSU system must pay for public improvements when undertaking such an expansion.
Here is this morning’s SDUT story, on the local fallout from a ruling that has statewide implications.
Councilman Jim Madaffer (pictured), who represents the 7th city council district including SDSU and the nearby neighborhoods, has this to say:
In what some termed a “David vs. Goliath” issue, the community and I have challenged SDSU’s position on their Master Plan and the severe negative impact it will have on the neighborhoods and the City of San Diego. It looks as though “David” won today. Today’s California Supreme Court decision in the City of Marina vs. Board of Trustees of CSU appears to validate our position.
SDSU cannot build without providing infrastructure to the community for their plans. The City of San Diego, Alvarado Hospital and the community of Del Cerro joined in a lawsuit against SDSU with a court hearing that was set for this Friday. In light of the California Supreme Court’s ruling today, I would urge SDSU and the CSU Board of Trustees to do the right thing and drop their litigation and de-certify their Master Plan EIR. I urge the University to work with the community and the City toward solutions that work for all. It is the responsible thing to do.