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Politics & Government

Menlo Park Has No Confidence in High-Speed Rail Authority

The resolution urges project overhaul.

Menlo Park continued its assault against the California High-Speed Rail Authority Tuesday night with a no-confidence resolution that presses the state legislature to take the reigns and appoint a successor agency.

Drafted by the Community Coalition on High-Speed Rail, the resolution claims the rail authority is skirting its environmental review process, as well as that it's board members are not qualified to lead the project after they continually ignored the concerns of cities along the planned Peninsula route between San Jose and San Francisco.

The City Council took on the resolution in a 3-1 vote. Vice Mayor Jon Boyle dissented and Council Member Andy Cohen did not participate due to a conflict of interest; his home would be one of the homes affected by the project.

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Because the state legislature has ultimate control, the resolution also presses Sacramento lawmakers to throw out the current high-speed rail board and take over the 800-mile-long bullet train project.

"They have to press the reset button in Sacramento," Council Member Kelly Fergusson said. "They have to name a successor organization."

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Menlo Park also plans to borrow language on the rail authority's ridership data from a similar resolution passed by the City of Palo Alto on Sept. 20. Palo Alto's resolution refers to a study by the UC Berkeley Institute of Transportation that found the rail authority's study on passenger numbers was "deeply flawed."

In coming days, city staff and Mayor Richard Cline will tweak the resolution before sending it to Sacramento.

The council had also weighed passing a resolution opposing the entire project, but opted against the move.

Boyle came out early against the resolution of opposition, but also made cautious comments about a "vote of no confidence" toward another governmental agency. He asked Deputy City Manager Kent Steffens if it's a common tactic.

"I'm not aware of it being done since I've been in Menlo Park," Steffens said, referring to his eight years with the city.

Boyle said he would be willing to support a revised resolution in coming weeks, but not Tuesday's draft.

"I can't support this tonight," Boyle said.

Tuesday's move follows a joint lawsuit from Atherton, Menlo Park and Palo Alto against the rail authority, which posits that the rail authority is not exploring alternate routes or different construction possibilities, a clear violation of due diligence under the California Environmental Quality Act.

In a phone interview, California High-Speed Rail Authority Press Secretary Rachel Wall said her agency will not comment on a future action by the Menlo Park City Council. But she said the rail authority will stay focused.

"I can't comment on something that hasn't happened," she said. "But this is not going to deter the California High-Speed Rail Authority from working with and reaching out to residents and cities."

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