Landslide Update: Vaillancourt Fountain

April 27, 2026

Statement from Susan Brandt-Hawley, attorney for Friends of the Plaza, concerning the lawsuit over the removal of the Vaillancourt Fountain in Embarcadero Plaza:

Friends of the Plaza filed an appeal last week of the preliminary injunction denial. Today Friends filed an appellate petition for a stay and writ of supersedeas to prevent physical disassembly, demolition, or removal of the historic Vaillancourt Fountain from Embarcadero Plaza while the legal case proceeds.

 

Emergency exemption from CEQA, including for a project to substantially alter a qualified historic resource, requires more than deteriorated condition. Exemption is restricted to a “sudden, unexpected occurrence” requiring “immediate action” with no time for CEQA review. (§ 21060.3.) Those are not present here.

 

No substantial evidence supports a conclusion that retaining the fountain in place to protect the court’s jurisdiction during the adjudication of the mandamus petition—projected at four months under the current schedule—could or would cause any harm to the public.

 

The City now admits that it can protect the fountain and the public on the site at a cost of $ 890,000 [Declaration of Eoanna Goodwin]: much less than its current plan to spend $4.4 million for fountain disassembly and relocation. There is no emergency.

 

A stay and supersedeas will give a unique, storied resource of undisputed local, state, and national historic significance the benefit of the public CEQA process required by law—its only chance for survival. The historic Vaillancourt Fountain should not be disassembled or relocated from Embarcadero Plaza while Friends prove that there is no emergency justifying exemption from CEQA. Imminent substantial damage or loss of a historic resource presents exceptionally clear basis for issuance of a stay.

 

An emergency stay—this week—and supersedeas are urgently requested to protect the status quo while the case proceeds.