REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Approve Budget Modification No. 13 for Payment of Attorney's Fee Award in San Francisco Baykeeper v. City of Sunnyvale (U.S. District Court Case No. 5:20-CV-00824-EJD)
Report
REPORT IN BRIEF
A budget modification is requested to fund a court-ordered payment of $432,586 to San Francisco Baykeeper.
EXISTING POLICY
Pursuant to Sunnyvale Charter Section 1305, at any meeting after the adoption of the budget, the City Council may amend or supplement the budget by motion adopted by affirmative votes of at least four members so as to authorize the transfer of unused balances appropriated for one purpose to another, or to appropriate available revenue not included in the budget.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The action being considered is not a project within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act because it is a non-discretionary decision (CEQA Guidelines Section 15357).
DISCUSSION
In February 2020, San Francisco Baykeeper, an environmental non-profit organization, filed lawsuits in the U.S. District Court against the cities of Sunnyvale and Mountain View alleging violations of the federal Clean Water Act due to bacterial contamination in stormwater outflows from the cities' creeks and channels into San Francisco Bay. Because of overlapping factual and legal issues involving both cities, the Sunnyvale and Mountain View entered into a joint defense agreement to share the expense of litigation, and the District Court consolidated the cases for discovery and trial. In September 2022, the District Court issued a partial ruling against the cities on a motion for summary judgment, finding an "inference of violations" of the Clean Water Act on three days in 2019. However, the case must still go to trial for final determination of liability and remedies.
Based on the partial grant of summary judgment, in December 2023, Baykeeper filed a motion for approximately $1.8 million in interim attorneys' fees to fund its continued litigatio...
Click here for full text