Man is it weird reading some peoples interpretations of yesterday's court win.
Lets me just say that there is ZERO doubt that yesterday was a win. The concept of semantics that somehow the court determined that "this is not a done deal" is really grasping at straws by the opposition.
The MOU is a done deal. The challenge that it was unlawful has been firmly rebuked. Judges are always hesitant to issue summary judgement unless the matter is very clear.
As has been mentioned by many people the completed MOU establishes a clearly defined path and set of criteria to get to the contract being a "completely done deal". The project funding is done SUBJECT TO SEPA and its findings just like every single other construction project that makes it past the financing stage and to permitting.
While the project is subject to SEPA I do not believe it is subject to political whimsy any longer. The SEPA process is well established and politically independent A developer who puts in the time and money to participate in SEPA (such as Hansen) and after successfully completing that process found their financial partners (in this case the city) had simply changed their minds and abandoned the contractually agreed up on path for reasons other than the SEPA findings would likely be able to pursue litigation claims for both expenses and damages. Council could not just "change their minds" for any reason other than the actual findings determined by SEPA.
Peter Goldman does not want to start SEPA. The ILWU knows that with the MOU in place and SEPA started the process marches forward and they have lost their ability to put political pressure on electeds to renege on the agreed upon deal without cause. The timing makes it much harder for them to politicize this issue in the mayors race. They totally failed to roll the clock back to the point where a their lobbyists could make a difference.
Lets put it this way. At the time when Sacramento has announced their investors, identified their plan and council approved the plan they will consider it to be done. At that time they will likely be 3 plus months of planning BEFORE they begin their own SEPA process.
So it is done in the sense that a path exists and is contractually agreed upon. Hansen still has to walk this down that path just like any development project before it is "done".
The great news is that it is his risk, not ours. He is the developer who has hopefully anticipated what SEPA will reveal and has to be prepared to mitigate and deal with its findings. He seems willing to take that risk and prepared to move forward. We owe him thanks for that.