by Jerry Feitelberg

SACRAMENTO–If things weren’t complicated with three citizens filing an evironmental and private subsidy complaint against the City of Sacramento to block the Sacramento Kings new arena at Downtown Plaza which is bad news for the Kings construction schedule. Another group has filed a lawsuit on Thursday, the group Sacramento Coalition for Shared Properity says that the city and the Kings are responsible for affordable housing and assisting small businesses who could be forced out by the Kings new arena.

Shared Prosperity said in a news release on Thursday that the Kings did not “diclose analyze or mitigate impacts to local street traffic, air quality and climate change” those studies according to the group were not set up when the arena blueprints were created at downtown plaza. Shared Prosperity also says that the city and the Kings are responsible for “the impact of the health and safety of low income residents.”

Shared Prosperity said that they are not trying to stop the construction of the $477 million arena but they request in the lawsuit that the Kings adress solutions on affordable housing, low income residents, consider local street traffic and air quality. The Kings biggest fear of these two lastest lawsuits is the delay in meeting their deadline set by the NBA by having the arena finished by 2017.

The 2017 deadline is expected to be met or the NBA will relocate the franchise, the arena project could face a legal challenge that could stall construction that is scheduled to start at downtown plaza for demolition in late July. The other fear by the city is the judge in the case could order the city to make it clear as to how downtown infrastructure, air quailty, and other specific environmental impacts are met prior to any groundbreaking at the plaza.

To make matters worse for the Kings and the city’s concerns of making the schedule the coalition has also been joined by the Sacramento Housing Alliance and the Environmental Council of Sacramento in the suit. The groups are asking the city and the Kings to start a fund that will commit $40 million to affordable housing and have monies set aside for small businesses who might be affected by street changes, neighborhood construction, temporary moves due to construction, and assurances that they will be able to continue to do business in the Downtown Plaza neighborhood.

Jerry Feitelberg is covering the new arena developments for the Sacramento Kings and the Golden State Warriors for http://www.sportsradioservice.com