The recent controversy over San Diego State's newly approved Campus Master Plan is all too familiar.
Two years ago, the City of San Diego, among others, filed suit over SDSU's approved Master Plan. However, the suit was never completed because the City of Marina v. Board of Trustees of the California State University decision forced SDSU to redo its Environmental Impact Report and pay "fair share" costs of the impact of its expansion.
On Tuesday, the San Diego City Council filed suit over the newly approved Master Plan, which includes estimated "fair share" costs. The city and others are claiming that SDSU's calculated costs for impacts, such as traffic on surrounding areas, are too conservative.
On Friday, SANDAG, which is San Diego's regional transportation provider, said it too would file suit against SDSU.
Under the current Master Plan, SDSU would pay $6.4 million for San Diego infrastructure improvements. CSU would also support CalTrans' request for $10.1 million in other improvements.
Doug Case, president of the College Area Community Council, said the CACC thinks the university's calculations are unrealistic. The CACC expressed its concerns in a letter, which was read at the CSU Board of Trustees meeting last month when the Master Plan was approved.
SDSU's position on the matter is that it "should not be expected to pay for improvements necessitated by other developments in the area," according to a statement issued by the university on Friday.
Case said the CACC would not be filing a lawsuit because it has already gone on the record with its concerns. However, Case said he's not surprised the city is suing SDSU over the matter.
Jack Beresford, assistant vice president of marketing and communications for SDSU, said it is not clear how long this lawsuit is going to take - possibly years.
"We are not going to be able to proceed with any construction until the lawsuit is done," Beresford said. "It's going to delay all of those projects that we desperately need."
Some of the Master Plan's projects include new faculty, staff and student housing, a hotel and the ModernSpace student union expansion.
Despite assertions that SDSU has not agreed to its fair share, the university is not budging on its estimates and is wholly backing its claims.
"We feel we've correctly identified our impacts and we're committed to seeking funding from the state budget process," Beresford said.
He said the lawsuit is the result of "honest disagreements" as to methodology uses and interpretations of the Marina decision, which the university "looks forward to addressing in court."
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