Judge David Cohn’s ruling with regard to multiple points in a citizen group’s lawsuit contesting the Upland City Council’s approval of Bridge Development Partners’ distribution center for online retail behemoth Amazon, due to take place this afternoon, has been postponed until May 17.
In giving the project approval by a 4-to-1 margin on April 1, 2020, the Upland City Council used a less exacting mode of environmental certification, a mitigated negative declaration, for the 201,096-square foot building to be located north of Foothill Blvd. south of Cable Airport.
A citizen’s group calling itself Upland Community First formed and sued, seeking to have the project approval rescinded, and a comprehensive environmental impact report carried out in conjunction with the city council’s reconsideration of the project.
The city, supported by Bridge Development Partners, has asserted that the city and the developer fulfilled all of the requirements for project approval under the law, and that the project complies with all environmental regulations.
Upland Community First contends the testimony of several experts with regard to land use and environmental impacts put into the record at the April 1, 2020 meeting and previous planning commission meetings made it incumbent upon the city to consider specific elements of the project proposal and undertake a more comprehensive evaluation of the project or deny it outright.
Upland Community First, in submitting a transcript of the city council and planning commission hearings, asserted there was evidence to suggest Upland Director of Community Development Robert Dalquest knowingly provided the city council with erroneous information in favor of the project proposal.
An unspecified emergency required that Judge Cohn postpone today’s 1:30 p.m. hearing, according to the assistant clerk of the court.