PLF statement after today’s Plan Bay Area court hearing

June 12, 2014 | By PACIFIC LEGAL

dms-pressPacific Legal Foundation attorneys are suing over Plan Bay Area, a “stack and pack,” high-density development mandate for the greater San Francisco area, because the regional agencies that concocted it misled the public and failed to properly analyze its impacts, as required by state law.   We represent, free of charge, Bay Area Citizens, a coalition of concerned residents from throughout the region who have actively monitored the plan’s development, offering critiques and proposing alternatives, but whose voice has not been listened to by the bureaucracies.

An Alameda County Superior Court judge heard the case today, and has issued a tentative decision to deny PLF’s challenge.

PLF attorney Jonathan Wood issued the following statement following oral argument today:

“PLF’s lawsuit against Plan Bay Area and its ‘stack and pack’ decrees for future development raise crucial questions about government accountability and responsiveness.  May unelected bureaucracies impose sweeping restrictions on the lives and lifestyles of millions of people without transparency and accountability?   These questions go to the very heart of free and democratic government.   Because of their importance, we always knew that this case would need to be decided, ultimately, at the appellate level – maybe even by the California Supreme Court.   We are determined to push ahead with this vital lawsuit and secure a landmark legal precedent for the right of all Californians to be consulted and listened to, when government land-use policies are being devised.”