Albert Park Neighbors take on Centerfield over Environmental Act

The first weeks of the San Rafael Pacifics weren't so pacific after all, as a neighborhood coalition announced they would file a legal challenge to the San Rafael City Council’s Centerfield Partners baseball games this season without filing environmental reports.

According to an article in the Marin Independent Journal, attorney Dotty LeMieux plans to file a petition for writ of mandate for her client, Albert Park Neighborhood Alliance (formerly Communities for Albert Park):

The group will file the petition "under (the California Environmental Quality Act) alleging that the city abused its discretion in issuing and filing a notice of exemption, rather than requiring an initial study for the project proposed by Centerfield Partners LLC for professional baseball at Albert Park," the letter stated…

Centerfield first unveiled its proposal for the team in April, but decided to scale back the plan after numerous community meetings in which some residents expressed concerns about traffic, parking, lighting, noise, alcohol consumption and general rowdiness. Some of those same neighbors hired LeMieux to represent their interests.

But it didn’t take long for Centerfield to take a swing at the pitch. They issued a statement "Regarding a Pending Legal Challenge," countering that each public agency involved in the City Council's approval "agreed that the proposal did not require additional study and was acceptable subject to the proposed operating plans." (See full statement in attached PDF)

Their statement goes on to enumerate several compromises they’ve made with the residents of the Albert Park neighborhood, and to ask “the public to speak out against this attempt to subvert the clear public will.”

According to Centerfield Partners originally thought of conducting an environmental review, but attorney Mike Shapiro told the Council that they decided to scale the plans to avoid missing the 2012 season and to cut down on costs.

Since the scaled-down project was consistent with previous uses of the park, an environmental review would be needed, according to Community Services Director Carlene McCart.

At this point, it’s a battle of statements, no writ has been filed, no legal action has been taken. But evidently, the game isn’t over.