March JPA Settles Lawsuit With Friends Of Hills

The March Joint Powers Authority commission voted Wednesday at the agency’s study session meeting to settle a lawsuit filed against it by the Friends of Riverside’s Hills.

The group fought the approval of a specific plan amendment to the Meridian business park that would have allowed future tenants there to add rail cars to the nearby rail track.

The group claimed more environmental studies were necessary to look at the effect more rail traffic might have on nearby neighborhoods.

The settlement would do away with any rail-related approvals in the specific plan. If LNR, the master developer of the business park, wants to seek approval for rail-related used in the future, it will require a separate environmental study, according to the settlement’s terms. LNR will also pay $16,000 to the Friends of Riverside’s Hills for group’s legal costs and fees.

For a little background read Meridian Plan Approved But Not Without Rail Reservations.