Overview
- A federal judge extended a temporary stop to construction for at least one week, keeping work paused through Sept. 15 as she reviews a tentative finding that plaintiffs likely will succeed on environmental-law claims.
- California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Santa Clara County sued in June, arguing the project proceeded without required National Environmental Policy Act review, violated the Administrative Procedure Act, and ignored county zoning rules.
- Federal lawyers say the site will be mostly office space with a short-term holding area for roughly 10 people, a claim county officials dispute after reviewing blueprints that they say show detention capacity for more than 100 people.
- Plaintiffs have raised site-safety concerns because the 25-acre parcel was used for agricultural research and pesticide testing and because its septic system may not support the proposed occupancy, issues the judge pressed attorneys to address in court.
- Local leaders, school districts and hundreds of demonstrators rallied against the plan, and the judge has signaled a further ruling by Sept. 15 with a possible final disposition later in October that could keep the project frozen during lengthy litigation.