3. Proposed Rail Crossing

The City seeks an order authorizing it to construct a new roadway and at-grade railroad crossing to serve its Gridley Industrial Park being developed west of the railroad tracks. In return, the City proposes to close an existing Laurel Street railroad crossing 3,560 feet north of the proposed new crossing. The application is filed pursuant to Pub. Util. Code §§ 1201 through 1205. Section 1201 provides in pertinent part:

No public road, highway, or street shall be constructed across the track of any railroad corporation at grade ... without first having secured the permission of the commission. ... The commission may refuse its permission or grant it upon such terms and conditions as it prescribes.

Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), an Environmental Impact Report was prepared for the Gridley Industrial Park in February 2003. It identified construction of the new at-grade crossing in order to route industrial and commercial traffic to State Route (SR) 99 directly from the industrial park. A Final Environmental Impact Report, including a traffic impact analysis prepared by kdAnderson Transportation Engineers, was issued in April 2003. A Notice of Completion was filed with the State Clearinghouse on May 12, 2002, and a notice of compliance was given on April 9, 2003. The City filed a Notice of Determination on May 12, 2003. Because our decision today denies the application for the new crossing, without prejudice to refiling, we need not at this time state our concurrence as a CEQA Responsible Agency with the City's Negative Declaration.