With appeal of EIR denied, path clears for Warriors' Mission Bay arena

The Mission Bay Alliance has repeatedly challenged the Warriors in undertaking efforts to halt the building of the team's planned arena in Mission Bay. Like the twenty-three challenges to the Warriors on the court thus far, their endeavors have seemed desperately futile — the latest ploy to fail an attempted appealing of the passage of the Warriors' environmental impact report.

Tuesday, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors nixed their hopes to stop the franchise's arena project, declining to hear the appeal, a key step forward in getting shovels in the ground and actually starting the construction process.

Warriors win a key vote in SF. Board denies appeal of EIR. Clearing the way for new SF stadium. pic.twitter.com/3s6dKEKHuQ

— Jean Elle (@nbcjeanelle) December 9, 2015

Recently re-elected San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, who has been a strong proponent of the Warriors' arena and who in October helped broker an accord between San Francisco, the Warriors, and the University of California-San Francisco, said in a statement today that the ruling "marks a huge win for San Francisco."

"I thank the Board of Supervisors for approving this important project which will benefit San Franciscans for generations," Mayor Lee said. "The rigorous, thorough, and comprehensive public review process demonstrates, once again, the commitment of the City, the Warriors, UCSF, and the community to build a multipurpose arena that works for the neighborhood and serves the entire Bay Area. The Warriors are inspiring a new generation of fans throughout the Bay Area. I can’t wait to welcome them home to San Francisco."

As of now, San Francisco and Mission Bay offices have given the go-ahead to multiple aspects of the Warriors' planned arena. The environmental impact report has been approved by both the OCII and now the Board of Supervisors; furthermore, the Planning Commission has signed off on the two six-to-eleven-story office buildings and 546 parking spaces to built on the arena site.

The Mission Bay Alliance was livid at the city's ruling once again. The group and close to ninety protestors went up against the Warriors after the report was cleared last month by the Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure.

"The Mission Bay Alliance is disappointed with the City's rubber-stamp, damn-the-public process at all costs approach to its approval of the ill-conceived and dangerous Warriors Mission Bay proposal," the faction's spokesman, Sam Singer said.

Calling the Board's approval "short-sighted" and "unlawful," Singer implied the Mission Bay Alliance will call on their esteemed legal team sometime in the near future in preparation for a lawsuit. "We will look at our legal options and likely challenge the City's decision in the courts," he stated.

Follow Sam Sorkin on Twitter @samsorkin23

For more on this story, check out our storystream about the Warriors' S.F. arena project.