Sierra Club Action Results in Fresno County Supervisors Rescission of Approval of Sprawling Housing Development
Health Risks to Valley Residents from Friant Ranch Air Pollution Must Be Analyzed
FRESNO, Calif., April 13, 2021 (Newswire.com) - After losing in the California Supreme Court and Court of Appeals to plaintiffs Sierra Club Tehipite Chapter and the League of Women Voters of Fresno, who were represented by Chatten-Brown, Carstens & Minteer LLP, the Fresno County Board of Supervisors is expected today to comply with a court order to rescind its approvals for Friant Ranch, a proposed 942-acre, 2,500-unit residential and commercial development on former grazing lands, six miles north of Fresno. This Board action is a belated response to the plaintiffs' unanimous, landmark 2018 California Supreme Court victory.
That court decision, Sierra Club v. County of Fresno, requires all California agencies preparing Environmental Impact Reports to include an analysis of projected air pollution harms from the project on residents in the region and must reasonably inform the public of its findings, as required by the California Environmental Quality Act. The legal victory promotes environmental justice throughout the state, because air pollution disproportionately harms low-income residents and, in the San Joaquin Valley, predominately Latino communities.
See Attached Press Release
Source: Chatten-Brown, Carstens & Minteer LLP