SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Not many industries are more powerful than the railroad, the Salt Lake Tribune reports.
U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart acknowledged as much Tuesday, dismissing Salt Lake City’s lawsuit against Union Pacific to stop freight trains rumbling through west-side neighborhoods. Stewart concluded the city had violated its own franchise agreement with the railroad. But, he said, the contract does not matter much anyway — federal law pre-empts it.
“Congress has clearly given exclusive jurisdiction over abandonment of rail lines to the [federal Surface Transportation Board],” Stewart said. “The court finds it has no authority” to stop trains running along 900 South.
On Aug. 3, Mayor Rocky Anderson summarily revoked Union Pacific’s 1989 franchise agreement to cross city streets along the rail corridor. Omaha, Neb.-based Union Pacific appealed to federal regulators in Washington, D.C.. At the same time, city attorneys filed suit in U.S. District Court to validate the contract and its revocation.
Last week, the transportation board backed the railroad, deciding interstate commerce outweighs quality-of-life issues next to the tracks. Stewart’s ruling was the city’s second defeat in a week.
Anderson’s senior adviser D.J. Baxter says the city intends to appeal both cases to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. “We knew this would be a tough fight from the beginning,” he said.
West-side residents are less philosophical. “We have known all along that federal law gives railroads an incredible amount of power,” said Edie Trimmer, chairwoman of the Poplar Grove Community Council. “Citizens have no rights in this — none. There’s something wrong with the system and it needs to be changed.”
While Glendale and Poplar Grove neighbors cheered Anderson’s quick response to Union Pacific’s plans in the summer, Stewart was less impressed. The mayor’s decision to end the contract without giving the railroad 30 days to respond to the city’s concerns and correct the problems actually violated the deal.
“The notice sent to Union Pacific immediately revoked the agreement without any opportunity for a hearing, without any opportunity to determine what the defects were and without any opportunity for a cure,” Union Pacific attorney Dennis Farley said. “Because the city failed to do that, they failed to revoke the agreement.”
Assistant City Attorney Steve Allred insists Salt Lake City did not need to give Union Pacific one month’s notice. The line seemingly had been abandoned for years — far longer than the nine months the city’s franchise agreement required for termination. Union Pacific’s complaints are disingenuous, Allred said. “I’m at a loss as to how you cure non-use. There’s nothing you can do to make that nine months not expire. You can’t unring a bell.”
Although Stewart ultimately agreed with Farley’s interpretation of the contract, Anderson’s dramatic revocation did not really count — the point is moot. Federal law pre-empts state statutes, city ordinances, even private pacts.
Still, the judge skewered Farley for negotiating and signing a meaningless contract. “Why did you sign an agreement when you knew full well everything was pre-empted?” he asked.
Farley blames the decision on money: Union Pacific wanted to avoid a lawsuit. So company attorneys worked with city attorneys to negotiate the terms of 50 railroad crossings, including several along the 900 South line. The contract expires in 2003.
Regardless of whether Salt Lake City’s promised appeals materialize, the city and the railroad will face each other in little more than a year, when the franchise agreement expires. While Union Pacific’s Farley argues such a contract is unnecessary, city leaders are likely to force the issue again — if only to get compensation for the portions of city streets Union Pacific uses.
“The city’s roads are private property,” Allred said. “It took us four years to negotiate the last agreement. I don’t know” what will happen next time.
Meantime, residents with trains running behind their homes will do what they can to hold Union Pacific accountable. The Salt Lake City School District has hired a consultant to review crossings near two elementary schools. And neighbors have hired an attorney and have asked the Utah Department of Transportation for more safety improvements at crossings.
“Union Pacific has done the minimum to protect the neighborhood,” Trimmer said. “It’s been a slap in our face from the beginning. They are not to be believed.”
Others are pledging not to shop at Boyer’s Gateway, which they blame for their predicament.
“I’ll drive to West Valley City before I’ll shop there,” said Phil Gonzalez, whose kitchen cabinets have cracked from the vibration of the trains behind his home.