River Valley Reservation Project v. Metropolitan Transit Development Board

River Valley Preservation Project (RVPP) appeals an order denying its petition for writ of mandate to require the Metropolitan Transit Development Board (MTDB) to prepare a supplemental or subsequent environmental impact report (SEIR) with respect to the Mission Valley West Light Rail Transit Project (LRT or Project). RVPP also appeals an order awarding MTDB its costs in preparing the administrative record. For reasons we shall discuss, we affirm both orders.

Factual Background

In November 1982 the City of San Diego began making plans for a light rail transit right-of-way in Mission Valley. In June 1985 the San Diego City Council adopted the Mission Valley Community Plan, which included a trolley line as an “essential element of the long-range transportation solution for Mission Valley.” The community plan envisioned a series of urban nodes connected by a six-mile transit system at nine trolley stations from Old Town to San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. In 1987 MTDB adopted this proposed alignment for the Mission Valley West segment.

In 1987, San Diego voters approved a Vi percent sales tax to fund, in part, the Project. MTDB started work in December 1989 on an…