Advertisement Lawsuit, possible referendum emerge against arena plans Sacramento City Council approved deal Tuesday Share Shares Copy Link Copy

One day after the Sacramento City Council approved plans for a new downtown sports arena, critics launched two efforts against it, including a lawsuit filed in Sacramento County court Wednesday.Watch report: New lawsuit filed over downtown arena planThe lawsuit claims an environmental review of the project – considered the largest in the city’s history – was defective.Arena planners haven’t accounted for how big events might affect traffic on Interstate 5 and at ramps on and off the highway at J Street, according to the filing. It also claims planners haven’t accounted for how noise might impact people in nearby Old Sacramento.Twelve people are named as petitioners in the lawsuit, filed against the city and the owners of the Sacramento Kings, Sacramento Basketball Holdings, LLC.In the filing, those behind the lawsuit anticipate "riot conditions" at a new arena, "as occurs often in conjunction with NBA events." The documents filed in court also discuss the possibility of “bonfires, tear gas if necessary to disperse crowds, destruction of surrounding property."Sacramento City Manager John Shirey said while the lawsuit is being filed on environmental grounds, it does not offer legitimate reasons why the project is bad for the environment."We have a great law in California to protect our environment, but people abuse it," Shirey said. "And they abuse it by using that law to stop projects that they just don't like, rather than projects that have any adverse impact on the environment."In a separate effort announced at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, Sacramento attorney Patrick Soluri promised a referendum on the issue. It would mark the second effort toward a public vote on the arena. The last effort failed when the city clerk invalidated the petitions, which contained varying language.A referendum would ask voters if they want to vote on the City Council’s decision to approve the arena, Soluri said.If voters answer yes, that could create the need for a second vote.Soluri, who said he and others are still forming a political action committee needed to move forward, would need to gather nearly 12,900 signatures within 60 days of Tuesday’s City Council vote.Shirey said if either the lawsuit or the referendum are successful, they could delay the city’s plans to issue long-term bonds to pay for an arena, but he said the city has contingency plans.“That won’t mean the project is delayed because the Kings will invest their money first,” Shirey said. “We’re actually putting a $12 million loan into the project, so hopefully, we’ll be able to manage the project such that construction won’t be delayed even though we may be delayed in issuing our bonds.”