Los Angeles lawmakers on Friday touted developer Anschutz Entertainment Group's downtown football stadium as an innovative facility that will transform the South Park neighborhood into a walkable, transit-accessible hub.
 
That's why otherwise green-minded lawmakers said they were willing to back new legislation that would bend the landmark California Environmental Quality Act to accommodate the project.
 
"This would be the most environmentally friendly stadium in the country," said Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Van Nuys, who introduced Senate Bill 292 that would provide a myriad of protections and requirements for the stadium.
 
But environmentalists are balking.
 
They argue the language in the bill - which is backed by a powerful group including Assembly Speaker John Perez, D-Los Angeles, and other L.A.-area politicians - falls short in detailing environmental protections.
 
"If they are promising a green stadium, this proposal falls short of that," said Nidia Bautista, policy director for Coalition for Clean Air, a statewide advocacy organization.
 
With only five days left before the Legislature breaks for recess, the AEG bill will likely take center stage next week as environmentalists, developers and politicians argue over just how green the project truly is, and what impact the law would have on future stadium projects.

AEG has spent more than a year lobbying for legislation to protect its proposed 72,000 seat stadium
from lawsuits.  
In the last few weeks, the company worked feverishly with legislators to create a bill requiring that any lawsuit challenging the stadium's environmental impact report would bypass the Superior Court and go directly to the Court of Appeals to be resolved within 175 days.
 
"Approval of the legislation will ensure thousands of good paying jobs, and a true economic boost for our local economies while building a new event and convention center for Los Angeles - all while protecting the environment and the CEQA process and at no cost to the taxpayers," AEG president Tim Leiweke said in a written statement.
 
In exchange for the expedited legal review, AEG agreed to build a "carbon neutral stadium" and increased transit options, like expanded bus lines.
 
The bill "sets a new standard for environmental reviews and legal reviews," said Padilla, adding his top three reasons for supporting the legislation are "jobs, jobs, and jobs."
 
Downtown supporters agree.
 
"We see too many projects stalled and killed by abusing the CEQA process," said Carol Schatz, CEO and president of the Central City Association, who joined legislators in Sacramento announcing the bill Friday.
 
With these CEQA provisions, she added, jobs could be created.
 
But even those in favor of the stadium are deeply unhappy with Padilla's proposal.
 
"There is a bill we could support, but it's not this one," said David Pettit, senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, which sought a compromise bill with AEG.
 
It's unclear how AEG will enforce its promise to reduce carbon emissions or who would check that the stadium is indeed carbon neutral, Petit said.
 
Pettit wants the bill to more clearly explain how AEG will cut pollution. For instance, AEG could offer free bus passes to fans traveling to the stadium - taking drivers off the road and reducing car emissions.
The politicians are clear on what allowances they are offering AEG, "but less clear on the benefits for the community and the environment," Bautista said.
 
One of her worries is the truncated time frame to resolve lawsuits.
 
"You want to make sure the community has ample time to express concerns about a project that is happening in their neighborhood," she said.
 
This is the second statewide legislation proposed for a football stadium in recent years. In 2009, Assemblyman Isadore Hall III, D-Compton, sponsored a bill for the City of Industry that ultimately eliminated lawsuits that were challenging the Majestic Realty Co.'s $800 million stadium project.
 
The Majestic project is now a competitor to AEG's downtown stadium, both of which are trying to land a NFL team.
 
With Hall's bill, which Padilla supported, the City of Industry was promised the nation's first green NFL stadium, a project that was described as the "most energy efficient and environmentally sustainable NFL stadium in the United States."