On January 3rd, two days after the start of the New Year, the Tuolumne County board of supervisors approved a highly disappointing new County General Plan that openly promotes development as the primary vision for County direction.
Over many years of planning debates that led up to the Plan’s approval, CSERC repeatedly submitted detailed suggestions for middle-ground policies that would not harm wildlife habitat or open space values. Sadly, the approved Plan completely eliminated some important environmental requirements, such as protective measures for valley oaks and old growth oaks. The new General Plan instead provide incentives to developers and encourages new commercial projects in rural areas where there is no public water or sewer.
One of the most obvious flaws was the failure of the new General Plan to assure any mitigation requirement to compensate for the increase in greenhouse gas emissions resulting from new development that increases traffic and energy use. The failure of the Plan to deal with projects that contribute to Climate Change is not just bad for the planet. It directly conflicts with State legal mandates.
Accordingly, on January 31st - on behalf of CSERC - the law firm of Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger filed a legal challenge to the Tuolumne County General Plan and EIR. Along with focusing on specific environmental issues, the lawsuit identifies a number of internal inconsistencies within the General Plan, as well as the failure by the County to evaluate a reasonable range of alternatives.
John (CSERC’s executive director) shared in a press release: “Our Center bent over backwards to let County officials know that we would litigate if key flaws in the revised General Plan were not corrected. We tried to avoid litigation. But the County showed no interest in compromise or middle ground.” Any outcome for this litigation may not be known for some time. Lawsuits often take two years or longer to work through the legal system, but CSERC will continue to stand up for wildlife and rural values.