The town of Los Gatos will join Saratoga and Cupertino in a lawsuit against Caltrans and VTA, saying the environmental report completed for the proposed Highway 85 expansion is insufficient. The municipalities hope to persuade a judge to order a full environmental impact report.

The Los Gatos Town Council decided to join the lawsuit on May 19 following a closed session and a public hearing.

Caltrans and VTA say the proposed expansion will not have any significant environmental impacts, but the cities disagree. They want more information on the proposal to convert Highway 85’s existing high-occupancy vehicle lanes to express lanes, add a second express lane in each direction and allow single drivers to pay a toll to drive in the express lanes.

“This looks like a quick fix that’s not going to last very long,” Councilman Rob Rennie said of the proposal.

He pointed out that the Caltrans/VTA plan doesn’t offer any alternatives. “We need to work with other cities to get VTA’s attention,” Rennie added.

Mayor Marcia Jensen called the existing environmental study “inadequate,” while Vice Mayor Barbara Spector said joining the lawsuit was a “no brainer.”

Council members Steve Leonardis and Marico Sayoc concurred, so the decision was unanimous.

Highway 85 was also discussed Tuesday night by the Mountain View City Council. Mountain View did not join the West Valley cities’ lawsuit but will send representatives to a joint cities meeting where the issue will be discussed.