California suit challenging controversial Tejon Ranch housing development to proceed News
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California suit challenging controversial Tejon Ranch housing development to proceed

A lawsuit challenging the construction of a master-planned community on an undeveloped, environmentally sensitive plot of land approximately 65 miles north of downtown Los Angeles was revived on Friday, even as a settlement in a companion case was reached this week.

The California Native Plant Society (CNPS) and the Center for Biological Diversity (“the plaintiffs”) sued the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors over the permit for Tejon Ranch’s Centennial Project, citing inadequate research about the project’s impact on native wildflowers.

The plaintiffs also allege that the project will destroy an important corridor for mountain lions and other animals. Additionally, the plaintiffs argue that the risk of fire to potential residents was not fully considered and noted that 31 wildfires have occurred within five miles of the site between 1964 and 2015, with at least four burning within the project’s proposed boundaries. The plaintiffs claim these consequences were not fully interrogated in the site’s environmental impact survey (EIS).

The other lawsuit by Climate Resolve, which also challenged LA County’s decision to approve the permit, likewise claimed the EIS was deficient because it did not consider the greenhouse gas emissions that would come from residents and visitors commuting between Los Angeles and Centennial. It also reiterated concerns about fore safety. But Climate Resolve and Tejon Ranch reached a settlement after the developers agreed to nix natural gas hookups for residential units, invest in fire prevention, make all the homes “zero emissions” and install more electric vehicle chargers around the community.

However, according to Center for Biological Diversity senior attorney JP Rose, these concessions do not go far enough to remedy the plaintiffs’ concerns and “Californians shouldn’t have to choose between housing, irreplaceable natural resources and their own safety.”

Celebrating the judge’s decision to allow their suit to proceed, Rose added:

The court knows this project ignored the fire risks of building in a high wildfire zone and shirked responsibility to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions. These threats to public safety and the environment call the entire Centennial project into question.

A hearing on the plaintiffs’ motion for reconsideration will take place on February 25.

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