Native Americans
Aug. 16, 2002
Indians Get OK to Build Housing
SAN FRANCISCO - A state appellate court ruled in favor of an American Indian tribe Wednesday in a Mendocino County land-use battle that pitted affordable housing against open space preservation.
The 3-0 decision by a panel of the San Francisco-based 1st District Court of Appeal allows the Sherwood Valley Rancheria tribe to go forward with plans to build 15 low-income homes near Willits over the objections of a community group that wants the development site to remain designated only for agriculture.
The issue for the court was whether to uphold a vote by the county's board of supervisors approving the housing project or to set aside the approval and require a full-scale environmental impact study.
A trial judge had set aside the county's approval and ordered a study, but the appellate panel decided that's not necessary.
"The desire of many of Willits Valley's residents to preserve their bucolic environment is understandable,' Justice Linda Gemello wrote in a partially published opinion. "In the considered judgment of their elected officials, however, the project will not significantly alter that environment. We find no substantial evidence to support a fair argument for the contrary view, and thus no basis for disturbing the county's decision and requiring a full [environmental impact report]."
Gemello was joined by Justices Lawrence Stevens and Mark Simon in Sherwood Valley Rancheria v. Friends of East Willits Valley, A094872.
The 400-member tribe first set its sights on the 160-acre property in May 1997, after winning a federal subsidy to help acquire the land and construct homes. The proposed cluster of homes would have occupied only 31/2 acres on hilly land that has marginal farming value.
But since 1971, the entire property has been off-limits to development because the private owners and the county had agreed to maintain the land as agricultural. Under the Williamson Act, private landowners and local officials can agree to preserve land for agricultural use for up to 10 years.
The controversy started in September 1997 when the tribe and the owners of the land jointly applied to the county to cancel the Williamson contract. Opponents of the project argued it would open the door to other development on the site and in the surrounding area.
Finally, after a series of contentious public meetings, the board of supervisors voted 3-2 to adopt a "negative declaration" that the project would have no significant environmental impact.
The suit that followed was filed by a group of residents called the Friends of East Willits Valley. The group persuaded Superior Court Judge Vincent Lechowick to issue a peremptory writ of mandate directing the county to set aside its approval of the project.
David Rapport of Ukiah, who represents the tribe, was pleased with Wednesday's decision overruling the trial judge.
He said the published portion of the opinion dealing with the Williamson Act sets an important precedent by holding that the cancellation of a land preservation contract does not have to conform to the community's general land use plan.
However, Rapport expressed concern that another part of the opinion may weaken Indian sovereignty by rejecting the tribe's argument that the court had no jurisdiction over the land dispute in the first place.
"There's language in that part of the opinion that is somewhat troubling for Indian law practitioners such as myself," he said, adding that he may ask the appellate panel to depublish that language.
The attorney representing the Friends of East Willits Valley could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Peter Blumberg
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