Bosio v. Superior Court

Opinion

KINGSLEY, J.

The real party in interest proposes to construct a multilane freeway across the Lompoc Valley, by-passing the City of Lompoc. Petitioners brought suit in respondent court, seeking, on environmental and ecological - grounds, to prevent the proposed construction.

1

After a trial, the respondent court issued and filed its memorandum of intended decision, which indicated an intention to decide the cases in favor of the real party in interest. Immediately thereafter the real party in interest let a contract for the projected freeway.

At that juncture, we issued our writ, commanding respondent court to issue its order directing the real party in interest to cause any work of construction on the proposed freeway to cease pending the further order of this court. We also directed the court and the real party in interest to show cause before us why such stay should not be continued in force.

Prior to the return date on that order to show cause, respondent court issued and filed its findings of fact and conclusions of law, in favor of the real party in interest. On November 8, 1973, the day after argument in this court on our order to show cause, judgment was entered in the consolidated case in favor of the real party in interest. Notice of appeal was filed in case number SM 13017 on November 19, 1973, and in case number SM 11049 on November 21, 1973. The record in case number SM 11049 has been filed with this court (2d Civ. No. 43291) and appellants’ opening brief is on

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file; we are advised that the record in case number SM 13017 is in the process of preparation but will not be filed with this court until the end of February 1974, at the earliest.

2

The matter has been fully argued. For the reasons set forth below, we direct the respondent court to see that the stay order heretofore issued remains in force until the underlying litigation is completed.

It is obvious that, if construction is allowed to proceed while the pending appeals are under consideration, damage, whether legally or illegally effected, will occur to the environment and ecology of Lompoc Valley. It is equally obvious that, in light of the time which necessarily will be involved in hearing and considering those appeals in this court and in higher courts, such damage is likely to have reached such an extent as to make the basic issues moot before they are determined. Our examination of the papers before us in the present proceeding convinces us that those issues, which involve important and difficult questions including the interpretation and application of both federal and state legislation in the environmental and ecological fields, are not frivolous.