Caltrans using suits to fund roads

Caltrans, long foiled by lawsuits accusing it of recklessly plowing over the habitat of endangered species, polluting the air and contaminating waterways, is now filing its own legal challenges. Using a law that says developers must mitigate the impact of their projects on highways, the agency is suing cities and builders for money to fund freeway expansion and other improvements that relieve congestion.

Developers say the suits are extortion: Pay the state's ransom or see projects bogged down in litigation indefinitely. Local governments complain that the state is trying to grab funds that should be going to their streets and to enviro-friendly transportation projects.

The state has challenged, or threatened to challenge, major projects in Sacramento, Fresno, Irvine and elsewhere, leading to settlements such as a $1.1-million agreement in Monterey County. In Fresno, builders have paid millions in fees over the past year.

"It is very apparent that these lawsuits have become nothing more than a fundraising source for Caltrans," said Rex Hime, executive director of the California Business Properties Assn.

The agency's moves come only months after voters approved $20 billion in borrowing for transportation projects. Experts have cautioned that the state needs to spend many times that sum to substantially improve traffic conditions.

Adding a carpool lane to a 10-mile stretch of the 405 in Los Angeles County, for example, will cost taxpayers more than $1 billion. Meanwhile, California's population is growing rapidly, which means more cars on the road in the coming years.

"Caltrans is recognizing we need to be more strategic and smarter" about raising funds for freeways, said Gregg Albright, a planning official at the agency. "There just isn't enough of a revenue stream otherwise. The consequences of not doing this are significant."

Albright said Caltrans has had the authority to force developers to pay impact fees for decades but has opted not to use a heavy hand. The agency slowly began to change its policy a few years ago and in recent months has become considerably more aggressive.

"Developers should contribute their fair share," Albright said.