Rail opponents say they're ready to ask a federal judge for an immediate stop to Honolulu's rail project if construction gets underway before an environmental suit is resolved.
The city says they'll try to work with the opponents to resolve concerns quickly, but that the rail project has to be kept on pace due to complex stages of construction.
A lawsuit filed against rail over the environmental process that selected the project saw its first day in court Wednesday.
With all Hawaii district federal judges recusing themselves from the case, a California judge presided, as the city challenged the standing of some of the plaintiffs, including former governor Ben Cayetano, whom the city says never entered submissions into the administrative record during the public comment periods.
"You show up later on as a plaintiff in a lawsuit saying you're dissatisfied with the document, the environmental review document or the procedures that were followed, but you never pointed that out to anybody along the way then. That's not appropriate," said Gary Takeuchi, attorney for the City.
"I've been speaking out on this thing forever, you guys know, I've written op-eds, and then the city responded to my op-eds. I've said things at press conferences, and the mayor and Yoshioka and all those guys get bent out of shape and they make statements, what more notice do you need?" Cayetano says.
The judge did not rule on the standing motion but said even a finding in favor of the defense won't undercut the case overall. The judge said the case is likely to take until at least next summer or fall to reach conclusion, and said a preliminary injunction could be likely between now and then since construction may start soon.
"It's a very big, complicated project. Things have to occur in certain sequences, and so as far as I know the intention is to proceed as planned and try to get resolution of this matter as quickly as we can," Takeuchi says.
"If the city and the FTA are going to plunge ahead and start significant kinds of construction, we will have no alternative but to go in for preliminary injunction," said Nicholas Yost, attorney for the rail opponents.
With the judge and a lawyer on each side all residing in California, it was agreed in court that some of the procedural hearings could take place there, but the final hearing on the merits or any motions to block construction would be held here.
