San Diego officials today appealed a federal judge's ruling last month allowing Blackwater Worldwide to open a Naval training center in Otay Mesa. KPBS Reporter Amita Sharma has details.
In papers filed with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the city's attorneys argued Judge Marilyn Huff got it wrong when she said Blackwater's training center could not be subjected to any further review.
The city's attorneys say because the private contractor applied for a variety of permits, San Diego had the right to consolidate the process and take it before the city council for public scrutiny.
The city says Blackwater used surrogates to apply for different permits piecemeal. And it wasn't until the city looked at all of the permits together that it realized the project warranted further study.
The city's lawyers say the judge's ruling, in effect, stops San Diego from regulating how its land is used and should be aside as an abuse of discretion. Meanwhile, Blackwater called the appeal an unnecessary cost to taxpayers.
Amita Sharma, KPBS News.
