Orange County Register

For the first time since the federal government’s rejection of the proposed Foothill South toll road, the tollway agency board indicated Thursday it would be open to discussing other possible toll road routes.

But officials with the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency said they’ve made no decision on whether to take the matter to court.

After a closed-door session in which the agency’s attorneys outlined legal options, board members spoke of their disappointment with last month’s decision by the U.S. Commerce Secretary. The secretary, Carlos M. Gutierrez, denied the tollway agency’s appeal of an earlier rejection of the road by the state Coastal Commission. (Disputed area shown at right.)

“I was outraged at the decision,” said board chairman Jerry Amante. But, he said, “we’ll consider our next steps in a thoughtful manner.”

The 16-mile Foothill South toll road, an extension of the 241 toll road,  would have cut through San Onofre State Beach park as well as sensitive habitat in southern Orange County. The proposal provoked a storm of opposition, especially from the Surfrider Foundation and other activist groups worried about possible effects on the famous Trestles surfing beach.

The tollway agency contended it would make up for any environmental damage by growing or preserving habitat elsewhere, and that there would be no effect on Trestles. They said the toll road was vital to relieve future traffic congestion.

But Amante and other board members seemed to strike a more conciliatory note Thursday than they did when the Commerce decision was announced.

“I was of a mind of saying, ‘Oh, I get it, we can’t go through a park,’” said Orange County Supervisor Bill Campbell, who is also a member of the tollway board and who favored the rejected route. “It’s not going to happen that way. We’ve got to find another way to do it.”

After the meeting, Amante said the board will send staff members and consultants into the community to talk to supporters and opponents about possible alternatives.

“We’re open to talking to them,” he said of Surfrider and other toll road opponents. “We’re now in a new reality.”

Mark Rauscher, assistant environmental director for the San Clemente-based Surfrider, said his group would welcome a discussion with the tollway agency on alternative routes.

“Obviously, we’re willing to sit down and talk to them,” he said. “But our ultimate goal is that this board needs to come out and say very plainly that a road will never be built through San Onofre State Beach.”

While board members did not endorse any alternative routes that have been proposed since the Commerce decision, and sounded a note of skepticism about several such proposals from outside the agency, they said they would “reach out” to all concerned, including opponents, to discuss other options.

Amante said the suggestions the agency has received so far, such as widening I-5, are those that it previously rejected after years of study because of too much environmental damage, or because homes and businesses would have to be destroyed.

“We’ll say, ‘Which more damaging alignment is the one you want?’” Amante said.

The Commerce decision precludes federal approval for the Foothill South route, although the tollway agency could make a legal challenge to the decision. Agency officials offered no indication Thursday of how they will decide that question, or when.

Several speakers expressed support for the agency during the public comment part of the meeting, some urging the board to press ahead with its fight for Foothill South.

Related posts:         

• Feds uphold state decision: toll road near Trestles appears dead
• Twitter aflutter with toll road talk
• Toll road overview, issues and arguments
• Players on both sides of the toll road issue
• Trestles timeline
• Wilderness in crossfire in toll road debate
• Coastal Commission rejects Foothill South toll road
• Toll-road hearing full of passion, but controlled

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