This news article from today's edition of the print-only Palo Alto Daily Post merits retyping:
Rail agency denies it has route maps
The California High-Speed Rail Authority now says it doesn't have any maps showing the homes it will need to seize to make way for train tracks. Earlier, two agency officials promised to release the maps.
The Post filed a public records request on Jan. 18 asking for such documents. The rail authority didn't respond until Feb. 11 -- well past the 10 business days required by law. In his tardy response, deputy director Jeff Barker said he would track down the documents and provide them on Tuesday.
Agency admits it will need land
But on Wednesday, Rachel Weninger, staff services analyst for the rail authority, told the Post the railroad wouldn't start collecting information on property acquisitions until after it releases its alternative analysis report on March 4.
Weninger said most of the Caltrain corridor between San Francisco and San Jose is wide enough for high-speed rail's various design options. "However, in areas where the Caltrain corridor is narrower, the use of some design options would likely require the acquisition of some property," Weninger said in an e-mail message.
Officials in Palo Alto are still waiting for maps that Dominic Spaethling, the regional manager for High-Speed Rail Authority, promised to provide during a community meeting Feb. 9 in response to a request by Mayor Pat Burton. Spaethling responded, "If you need to see them tomorrow, let's make the request and see if we can get them." Yet nothing has been provided.
Credibility hurt
Couincil member Larry Klein, who is chairing a council subcommittee on high-speed rail, said, "I don't know what the big deal is. I think the maps and information should be readily available to us. This delay hurts the credibility of the authority."
Kudos to the Daily Post for staying on the eminent domain issue.
The article is incorrect. The California Public Records ACt + prop 59 do not give agencies or city's 10 days to respond.
That is called the drag your feet fallacy.
see:
http://encinitastaxpayers.org/blog/index.php/2008/07/20/the_drag_your_feet_clause_is_a_myth?blog=3
or click my link
Posted by: Luke | February 19, 2010 at 04:47 PM
What is a normal size lot worth these days next to the tracks?
Posted by: James | February 20, 2010 at 11:04 PM
The San Mateo County Times is reporting another delay in the Alternatives Analysis report:
The planners responsible for the Bay Area section of the high-speed rail line have again delayed the release of a report detailing whether the bullet train could rocket along the Caltrain route underground or on raised tracks.
The alternatives analysis for the San Francisco to San Jose section of the state's bullet train had been pegged for a December 2009 release before being postponed to March 4.
But the California High-Speed Rail Authority board will not hear the report until April 1 at the earliest because agency officials are still reviewing the plan, Deputy Director Jeff Barker said Tuesday.
Posted by: Joe | February 24, 2010 at 04:30 PM