The Palo Alto City Council moved a step closer Monday to formally opposing the state's controversial high-speed rail project.

The council voted 8-1 to task its Rail Committee with drafting a request to the state Legislature to either kill the now-$99 billion project or place it on the November 2012 ballot for reconsideration.

"It's a big step and we should be deliberate in taking it," Council Member Greg Scharff said.
Council Member Larry Klein cast the dissenting vote. He argued that the council knew enough and that further input from the Rail Committee wasn't necessary to take a formal stand.

"This is an issue that has concerned our community for two-plus years," Klein said. "I think it's time for our voices to be heard."

The majority of the council, however, said it was important to take the time to craft a well-reasoned, fact-based position.

"We don't want to make any inaccurate statements that can be used against us," Council Member Pat Burt said.

The question Monday of whether to oppose the high-speed rail project rose out of the council's discussion of a document defining the role of the Rail Committee and its guiding principles.

The council also voted 8-1 to send the 15 principles back to the Rail Committee for additional review.

Voting no, Council Member Nancy Shepherd argued that they should be implemented now and modified as needed.

Despite disagreements over taking an immediate stand against the project and adopting the guiding principles, council members were united in their opposition to the high-speed rail project.


Klein, in particular, attacked the numbers. When voters passed Proposition 1A in 2008 and freed up $10 billion for the project, they were told it would cost no more than $35 billion, he said.

"The numbers were remarkably incomplete or deliberately misleading," Klein said. "You just don't have projects that are off by 70 percent."

Council Member Gail Price said discrepancies in the California High-Speed Rail Authority's ridership studies have undermined her confidence in a project she wanted to support.

"I really have tried to be open-minded," Price said. "It has been extremely painful for me to see this project implode."