State Senate panel plans hearing on I-5 expansion

By Robert J. Hawkins San Diego Union Tribune

October 27, 2010

 

The proposed expansion of Interstate 5 from Del Mar to Oceanside will be the subject of a hearing by the state Senate Transportation Committee on Nov. 8 at Solana Beach Presbyterian Church, 120 Stevens Ave., Solana Beach.

The 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. hearing will be chaired by the committee’s Chairman Sen. Alan Lowenthal of Long Beach and hosted by committee member Sen. Christine Kehoe of San Diego.

The Nov. 8 hearing will include testimony from key public officials involved in the I-5 project, after which the public will have an opportunity to comment.

"We'd like the hearing to be a forum where San Diegans who are impacted by the project, whether homeowners or users of I-5 -- thousands of us are -- to get a full understanding of the project," said Kehoe in a phone call on Wednesday. "We hope that his will give San Diegans an overview of the project, the extent of it, how much this will cost, in general."

Scheduled to testify are Mary Nichols, chair of the state Air Resources Board, on the impact of the state’s two major air quality bills, AB 32 and SB 375, both passed after this project began. From Caltrans will be Laurie Berman, director of District 11 and Allan Kosup, director of the I-5 corridor for Dist. 11. Executive director Gary Gallegos of SANDAG is expected to address the use of TransNet funds for the project.

Opposition groups, including CAFE (Citizens Against Freeway Expansion) and the Sierra Club, indicate they plan to address the hearing as well.

"I think this will be a first time that Caltrans and SANDAG will discuss an overview of the project for public consumption. It is very important. These are the two key agencies," said Kehoe. "Your average San Diegan should get a lot of questions answered at the hearing."

Since the state Department of Transportation released a draft Environmental Impact Report on the $3.3-to-$4.5 billion, 20-year, project in July it has been the subject of numerous hearings by public groups and five workshops by the state agency.

The draft plan offers five options, from doing nothing to widening to corridor to 14 lanes – more if you include on ramps, opponents say. There are proposals for managed car-pool lanes and sound barrier walls which will required the taking of some homes and businesses along the corridor.

Several cities -- Solana Beach, Encinitas and Oceanside – are funding their own impact studies. A couple of opposition groups have vowed to file suits if necessary to halt the project.

An extended public commentary period for the project ends Nov. 22. Caltrans expects to make a final recommendation one year after that.

While the Senate Transportation Committee has no plans to add its own comments on the project to the thousand that Caltrans has already received, a staffer says that remains a possibility.

The committee has no oversight over the project, noted Kehoe, "but to use a Senate policy committee for a hearing is not unusual. There will be no vote taking. It is an informational hearing."