Below is a press release issued by the Center for Biological Diversity.
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The California Court of Appeals has rejected Lake County’s environmental review and approval of a sprawling luxury resort development in Northern California, citing the county’s failure to assess the risk of wildfire ignition.
Today’s decision follows a 2022 first order that ordered the county to withhold approval of the project because it also failed to consider how the development would impact public safety and wildfire evacuation. This follows the judgment of the trial court.
Peter J. Broderick, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, said: “This landmark decision requires local governments and developers to publicly demonstrate how harmful it is to place new areas in wildfire zones. This confirms what needs to be clarified.” “This is the first time a California appellate court has suspended an environmental review for failing to study wildfire ignition risks. This decision promotes the construction of low-density development in California’s wildfire-prone regions. This is a clear signal to those who continue to do so.”
Placing your home in a fire-prone area will result in more ignitions. Studies have shown that approximately 95% of California wildfires are caused by human factors.
The proposed Genoc Valley project is a large-scale luxury resort and luxury residential development planned for 16,000 acres in Lake County. The area has a long history of wildfires and was actually burning at the time the center filed its lawsuit.
The property also contains oak woodland, which is home to sensitive species such as golden eagles, foothill yellow-footed frogs, and western pond turtles, and serves as an important wildlife corridor for the area.
The center, which was later joined by the California Native Plant Society, sued Lake County in 2020 for approving the project in violation of the California Environmental Quality Act.
In 2022, Lake County Superior Court ruled that the county violated CEQA by failing to properly consider how the project would affect wildfire evacuation. Today’s decision by the California Court of Appeals, First Appellate District, goes further, finding that the county failed to assess how the project would exacerbate existing wildfire risks.
