Special Districts

Best Best & Krieger provides clients with advice on complex transportation matters. Our experience covers areas of transportation project development from environmental review and defense, legislative drafting, funding compliance, funding agreement negotiations and preparation, property acquisition, eminent domain, Buy America utility compliance, consultant contracting, construction procurement, and construction claim defense.

We have assisted clients in all manner of project implementation from rail projects, highway expansion and interchange development, to commuter rail station development, and local street and road projects.

We have acted as general and special counsel to a variety of transportation agencies, including the Riverside County Transportation Commission, Contra Costa Transportation Authority, North County Transit District, Omnitrans, Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) and others. We have experience in a wide variety of transportation matters including funding issues, civil rights claims, property acquisition for highways and rail projects (including extensive corridor-wide eminent domain), inverse condemnation, personnel matters, construction contracts and litigation, procurement policies and procedures, railroad liability, and environmental compliance.

Representative Matters:

• We are currently assisting the Riverside County Transportation Commission to implement two express lane toll projects which will add about 50 miles of tolled HOV lanes in the County. We have been involved in all phases of these cutting edge multi-billion dollar projects.
• We are also assisting the Commission with the construction of the Perris Valley Line rail expansion, a 24-mile expansion to the Metrolink rail system. 
• We assisted the North San Diego County Transit District related to the planning, design and construction of the $385 million Sprinter Project. The Sprinter is a 22-mile, 15-station, diesel multiple unit light rail system running from Oceanside to Escondido in North San Diego County.

We regularly provide legal advice on transit issues, including state and local hearing requirements on fare and service changes, restrictions on providing charter services, federal procurement requirements, 13(c) and other labor issues, and specialized transit. And we provide advice on the proper use of various federal and state grant monies.

We have developed a niche in handling legal issues associated with complex transportation projects, including extensive work with utilities and railroad companies, including Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe railways.