ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONS ABANDONED DESPITE RULING
JUDGE GRANTS MOTION FOR STAY
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CONTACT: Marco Gonzalez
Coast Law Group LLP
(760) 942-8505
ENCINITAS, CA – Friday, June 3
This afternoon San Diego Superior Court Judge Linda Quinn issued her ruling granting the City ofSan Diego’s and La Jolla Community Fireworks Foundation’s requests to allow the La Jolla Cove 4th of July fireworks show to go on this year (see attached). This decision came on the heels of Judge Quinn’s ruling last week that the City has been in violation of the California Environmental Quality Act by failing to review and mitigate the potential environmental impacts from this event.
At the beginning of yesterday’s hearing where the City and event organizers requested the stay, the court indicated it was inclined to deny the request. CERF finds the court’s ruling somewhat troubling, primarily because the order fails to identify any rationale whatsoever for the court’s change in position. CERF will take the weekend to consider its options to respond to the ruling.
CERF’s attorney Marco Gonzalez responds, “While we’re of course not happy with the court’s ruling, we understand the immense pressure the City and fireworks organizers have created by delaying these proceedings so long and by dragging in all of the other events that could be possibly impacted by the ruling. But in the end, what’s most important is that regardless of whether the La Jolla fireworks happen this year, there will be significant changes in the way the City handles these events going forward, and that has been our goal all along. We remain committed to working with the City on a solution, and will consider our appeal and other options in the days ahead.”
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