$283,313.18 for Katherine Roberts' lawyer?

Fees Not Trees: Thomas N. Lippe, the lawyer for Katherine Roberts and Trees Not Cars, has filed a "Motion for Award of Attorneys' Fees" for the great public service he performed by taking on the anti-garage, anti-MLK widening litigation. Since attorney's fees are awarded to the "prevailing" side in this kind of litigation, exactly what victory did Lippe win for the people of San Francisco? Good question. 

I hope Judge Warren agrees, but I don't see why Lippe should get a dime of the public's money, since he lost on every single issue, except for the "dedicated" entrance to the new underground garage on the Concourse of Golden Gate Park. 

But even his client, Katherine Roberts, didn't like the idea of widening MLK Blvd. to create entrance and exit lanes to and from the garage. Neither did the voters of San Francisco, who voted overwhelmingly against widening MLK---to not create lanes dedicated to the garage entrance---by passing Proposition G last November. So why should Judge Warren award Lippe the astonishing sum of $283,313.18?

Lippe's argument should get an award for chutzpah, if nothing else:

The result[of the litigation] has conferred significant benefits on the public by not only ensuring that their elected officials comply with the law, but by ensuring that the carefully crafted citizen initiative known as Proposition J, which conditionally permitted an underground parking garage in Golden Gate Park, is strictly obeyed. In this case, the Court found that the City violated Proposition J by approving an underground parking garage design that includes an entrance/exit inside Golden Gate Park without dedicated access from outside the park.

But, except for the entrance to the garage issue, Judge Warren, in his Statement of Decision of August 10, 2004, did in fact find that the city was complying with Proposition J in every other way, rejecting all Lippe's arguments to the contrary. 

And everyone except me hated the idea of widening MLK, a proposal only made by the Concourse Authority after Judge Warren's order in his 2004 Decision. Lippe argued in court last June that the "dedicated" entrance to the garage should really be a tunnel, another terrible idea that everyone---even me---hates, since digging a tunnel from Lincoln Ave. to the garage entrance on Academy Drive would do untold damage to both the park and the neighborhood on the southern side of the park. 

Lippe and Trees Not Cars did nothing for the people of San Francisco except try to stop the construction of the garage they voted for under Proposition J in 1998.

To view Judge Warren's Aug. 10, 2004 Statement of Decision, and the June 16, 2005 Statement of Decision, go to http://www.sftc.org/ and enter the case number, 427163 after clicking on "Case Number Query."

See also the Interview with Mike Ellzey.