Stadium Environmental Studies Draw Harsh Public Comments

Critics of San Diego's environmental studies for a new Chargers stadium say objections filed with the city indicate there'll be lawsuits and long delays to the project. They question whether it can ever get done.

Among the 18 public comments are 275-pages submitted by a Los Angeles County law firm that's obviously ready to bring litigation against the city.

Upshot for taxpayers and Chargers fans?

The prospect of more uncertainty and expenses to come.

"The city has essentially rolled the dice on the outcome based on this condensed process that they've put in place,” says San Diego Stadium Coalition founder Jason Riggs, who advocates a hybrid stadium and convention facility downtown -- instead of the city's proposal to rebuild on the current Qualcomm Stadium site.

“So it's going to be very challenging for the city to prevail,” Riggs added in an interview Thursday. “It's essentially teed up a pretty easy potential lawsuit for the litigants that want to come and challenge the city on this thing."

The environmental process for that project has come under a serious 275-page attack by the Hermosa Beach law firm of Chatten-Brown & Carstens, representing the Audubon Society, Save our Heritage Organisation and Endangered Habitats League.

Another group, the San Diego River Park Foundation, takes issue with the city's claims that numerous environmental "impacts" can be "mitigated" in compliance with state law.

“The EIR, the draft, suggests that there's not enough data to support their conclusions, says Rob Hutsel, the foundation’s executive director. “And so we made comments on some of those things which need to be corrected. Other people have made other comments, of course. But the reality is, I don't care how long it takes. The question is, how good is the document?"

Douglas Carstens, the Chatten-Brown attorney who filed the opus public-comment objections, told NBC 7 that the firm is working on what’s called a "pro bono" basis -- not charging its clients, in anticipation of attorney fees being awarded later in the litigation process.

Other objections were filed by parties with apparent connections to the Chargers.

For his part, Chargers special counsel Mark Fabiani deflected questions about any team involvement.

A spokesman for Mayor Faulconer says the city will take its time reviewing the public comments -- and won't move toward "certifying" an EIR unless the Chargers come back to the bargaining table.

So, evidently, the standoff persists.

At least until an NFL franchise-relocation decision is made.

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