Twelve Bridges residents continue to fight against hotel in court

The grassroots Stop Lincoln Twelve Bridges Hotel group is continuing its fight against the now approved La Quinta Hotel as the group filed a lawsuit against the city on Dec. 6, 2019. "Stop Lincoln Twelve Bridges Hotel is an unincorporated association whose mission is to protect and enhance the environment and community in the City of Lincoln," the lawsuit states. The lawsuit followed the Oct. 22, 2019 Lincoln City Council decision to not reverse the Planning Commission's approval of a conditional use permit for the proposed hotel on Aug. 30, 2019. According to the lawsuit, the project's approval by Lincoln City Council and by the Planning Commission is a violation of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). "Respondent's (city's) action in determining the project is categorically exempt violates CEQA in that Respondents (city) failed to proceed in a manner required by law and their decision to approve the project based upon a categorical exemption is not supported by substantial evidence," Stop Lincoln Twelve Bridges Hotel's lawyer, Donald Mooney alleges in the lawsuit. According to Lincoln Community Development director Steve Prosser, the project "fell in" with the pre-analyzed impacts of any potential future development. "The analysis would show that it was already taken into consideration in the overall circulation of the specific plan area and/or that change from general commercial to hotel created a net benefit to that traffic area," Prosser said. Stop Lincoln Twelve Bridges Hotel group members are also concerned that their way of life in the area will be impacted by the city not conducting an updated CEQA evaluation, according to the lawsuit. When asked about the lawsuit by The Lincoln News Messenger, Lincoln city attorney Kristine Mollenkopf and Lincoln City Manager Jennifer Hanson declined to comment. "It is not my custom to speak to the media regarding pending litigation," Mollenkopf said. Another California Environmental Quality Act issue that Mooney mentioned was that the city relied on a section in the act's guidelines that did not fit the project's situation. In the city's staff report from Aug. 21, 2019, CEQA section 15183 is referred to as a means of exemption from needing to conduct a new environmental impact report for the project. "CEQA mandates that projects which are consistent with the development density established by existing zoning, community plan, or general plan policies for which an EIR was certified shall not require additional environmental review, except as might be necessary to examine whether there are project-specific significant effects which are peculiar to the project or its site," the staff report states about section 15183. Prosser confirmed that if the project, the hotel, is in line with the existing zoning and planning, then there is no need to conduct an additional environmental impact report. The lawsuit goes on to state that section 15183 does not exempt projects that are "peculiar to" impacts that were considered significant in the initial environmental impact report. "Nothing in the SEIR (Subsequent Environmental Impact Report) discusses hotels within the general commercial area," Mooney stated in the lawsuit. "Nothing in the SEIR addresses the impacts of placing a hotel adjacent to or in close proximity to a school or a residential neighborhood." The group was concerned that because the hotel is in close proximaty to schools, there might be an increased chance of human trafficking and kidnappings, according to public comment made by the group during the Oct. 22, 2019 City Council meeting. For property and future hotel owners Jim and Jeanette Guertin, the close proximity to schools was never a concern, given Lincoln's safety in general, they told The Lincoln News Messenger last week. "We have one of the safest communities within the city of Lincoln and have an excellent police force," Jim Gurtein said. "The safety and welfare of children is extremely important to us and we believe nothing harmful would come from a quality hotel located within a good safe community and run by a highly professional well-trained management and staff." According to the Gurteins, the negative reactions about the project were not expected, given the positive feedback from residents early on in 2018. "In general, the majority of the residents from the city of Lincoln and surrounding community seem very positive about bringing in another quality hospitality suites and hotel to the area," Jim Gurtein said. "It wasn't until the social media frenzy was brought to their attention that there were individuals who felt opposition toward the project." Last summer, then Lincoln Mayor Paul Joiner positively posted on Facebook about the hotel. Hundreds of residents left nearly 1,000 negative comments about the project. However, the Gurteins said that those opposing the hotel will see how much of a value the hotel will be to the area when it opens. "We believe wholeheartedly in our project and continue to support our local community, because we believe that it will be an economic benefit for our entire community," Jim Gurtein said. "We look forward to getting through this lawsuit and achieve our goal of bringing a quality hotel and suites into Lincoln for our relatives, business travelers and individuals looking forward to visiting our community." According to Stop Lincoln Twelve Bridges Hotel spokesman Matt Gardner, no court date has been established yet between the city and the group.