When confronted, Liccardo claimed the secrecy was necessary to save the taxpayers money -- and said he will call for an independent review of the project.
The VTA needs to show the federal government by October 2023 that it can line up an additional $1.66 billion to fund the extension to downtown San Jose.
A 27-year-old San Jose resident was charged with arson and a series of thefts leading up to massive blaze; questions remain as to why the entire building was destroyed.
Investigators are still working to determine the cause of the Home Depot fire. For the Santana Row blaze, officials were never able to say exactly how it started.