Appeals Court Ruling on Canyon Rock Quarry, July 2009

Forestville Citizens for Sensible Growth, a private political organization, has just sent out a public announcement claiming a significant victory in its suit against Canyon Rock Quarry and Sonoma County. (See below.) It initiated legal proceedings in 2006 to prevent the expansion of Canyon Rock quarry.

In 2006 our County Supervisors approved a use permit for the requested 35 acre expansion of the Quarry but also rezoned adjacent Quarry land totaling 113 acres. Forestville Citizens sued that the larger expansion was not anticipated by nor included in the environmental impact report. The 1st District Court of Appeal recently concluded that the County Supervisors had indeed certified an inadequate environmental impact report in rezoning the 113 acres.

For a fuller account, please see the 6/14/09 Press Democrat article at:
Appeals court issues mixed ruling on Forestville rock quarry

According to the Citizens for Sensible growth press release:
“The Court of Appeal sent the case back to the trial court with instructions to enter an order requiring preparation and circulation of an adequate Environmental Impact Report (EIR) before any project is approved or allowed to proceed. ...The Court of Appeal denied the County’s petition for rehearing on June 26, leaving its original instructions to the trial court intact. ...The Court of Appeal did not rule in favor of Forestville Citizens on all of the claims raised in the appeal.

“...However, given that the Court of Appeal’s decision gives Forestville Citizens essentially all the relief sought in the litigation, ...Forestville Citizens elected not to prolong the litigation further. ...Neither the County nor Canyon Rock has filed a petition for review in the Supreme Court.”

The Citizens group anticipates that the County will be required to conduct further study and hold new public hearings regarding the Quarry’s proposed expansion.

I emailed Wendell Trappe, owner of Canyon Rock Quarry, on 8/4 and asked for his understanding of and comments on the situation. As yet, I have not received his response. As soon as I receive his thoughts, I will post them here.

Canyon Rock Update
The following is the full Forestville Citizens for Sensible Growth’s press release:

Forestville Citizens for Sensible Growth has achieved a significant victory in its legal challenge to expansion of the Canyon Rock Quarry in Forestville.

After the Sonoma County Superior Court ruled in favor of Forestville Citizens on one of its claims against the quarry expansion, Forestville Citizens appealed the court’s denial of the remaining claims. On May 28, 2009, the First District Court of Appeal ruled in favor of Forestville Citizens, concluding that Sonoma County had failed to analyze the environmental impacts of rezoning Canyon Rock’s entire ownership for intensive quarrying.

The Court of Appeal sent the case back to the trial court with instructions to enter an order requiring preparation and circulation of an adequate Environmental Impact Report (EIR) before any project is approved or allowed to proceed.

The County filed a petition for rehearing with the Court of Appeal, seeking permission to rezone only the portion of Canyon Rock’s ownership covered by the 20-year mining permit. This effectively would have allowed Canyon Rock to go ahead with the planned quarry expansion without any additional review.

Forestville Citizens vigorously opposed the petition, arguing that the County should be required to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) before any expansion could proceed. The Court of Appeal denied the County’s petition for rehearing on June 26, leaving its original instructions to the trial court intact.

The Court of Appeal did not rule in favor of Forestville Citizens on all of the claims raised in the appeal. For example, the Court of Appeal did not agree with Forestville Citizens that in analyzing the future impacts of the project, the EIR improperly ignored the fact that the quarry would have run out of rock and shut down in a few years absent approval of the expansion. Forestville Citizens carefully considered whether to petition the California Supreme Court for review of this issue.

However, given that the Court of Appeal’s decision gives Forestville Citizens essentially all the relief sought in the litigation, and in light of the low probability of obtaining review, Forestville Citizens elected not to prolong the litigation further.

Neither the County nor Canyon Rock has filed a petition for review in the Supreme Court. The decision of the Court of Appeal is now final, and it will soon be sent back to the Superior Court for entry of judgment.