The Fresno City Council got a sobering message about the state's high-speed rail dream -- building it may be more trouble than it's worth.

In an hour-long workshop Thursday, Assistant Public Works Director Scott Mozier told the council that construction of the system through the city's heart will pose immense problems for City Hall and for Fresnans trying to live a normal life.

And it'll go on like this for about five years, he added.

"This is new territory for us," said Mozier, who took no policy position of the wisdom of high-speed rail but works for a mayor who strongly supports the project.

It was the first time the council had been publicly warned in detail about the high social and financial costs of a train system that has been pitched as a cure for Fresno's economic ills. The three council members whose districts will be most affected -- Andreas Borgeas, Blong Xiong and Oliver Baines -- already had received staff briefings on the challenges.

But Mozier's calm but relentless recitation of displaced businesses, threatened tax revenues, incessant traffic jams, split neighborhoods and angry residents clearly stunned many council members.

The potential effects of the rail line in Fresno haven't exactly been a secret. The California High-Speed Rail Authority's draft environmental impact reports for the Merced-to-Fresno and Fresno-to-Bakersfield sections of the statewide project have been publicly available for two months. Next Thursday is the deadline for the city -- and anyone else -- to comment on the draft reports.

Specific answers to the city's concerns likely won't come until at least January, when the rail authority expects to release a final version of the Merced-Fresno environmental report. The final report will include all of the comments submitted by cities, counties, other agencies, businesses and the public, as well as the authority's responses and any revisions to the plans based on the feedback.

A revised draft of the Fresno-Bakersfield report, which includes part of the city south of downtown, is due to be reissued in five or six months.

Baines said he supports high-speed rail 100%, but was "floored" Thursday by what Mozier said Fresnans can expect to go through in the next five years.

He said his biggest concern is that high-speed rail is barreling toward Fresno in a matter of months, but Fresnans still have no clear idea of the extent of the challenges, their cost or possible measures to resolve them.

Big hit to businesses

Supported by a 37-page slide show, Mozier reviewed problems both big and small.

It's been well documented that the route from northwest Fresno at the San Joaquin River to southwest Fresno near Malaga will kick hundreds of businesses out of their current locations.

Mozier said this will put a big strain on the city's planning staff as it tries to process paperwork for relocations. The planning staff already has been reduced during the budget crisis, and city officials may have to decide whether routine city planning business takes a back seat to high-speed rail issues, he said.

Council Member Larry Westerlund said he is worried displaced businesses may give up on Fresno and relocate elsewhere in the Valley or out of state.

Mozier said City Hall is concerned that a slowdown in business along the proposed route could lead to lower property- and sales-tax revenue for the city.

Mozier said another potential threat to business, not to mention the patience of drivers, is the construction of complex interchanges where major east-west streets would cross the high-speed rail route.