Ventura Foothill Neighbors v. County of Ventura

Filed 12/15/14

CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION SIX

VENTURA FOOTHILL NEIGHBORS, 2d Civil No. B254120

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. 56-2008-00323043-CU-PT- OXN) v. (Ventura County) COUNTY OF VENTURA et al.,

Defendants and Appellants.

As Oliver Wendell Holmes said: "Men must turn square corners when they deal with the Government." (Rock Island A. & L.R. Co. v. United States (1920) 254 U.S. 141, 143; 65 L.Ed. 188, 189.) Our own California Supreme Court remarked: " 'It is hard to see why the government should not be held to a like standard of rectangular rectitude when dealing with its citizens.' [Citation.]" (Farrell v. County of Placer (1944) 23 Cal.2d 624, 628; see also Title Ins. Co. v. State Board of Equalization (1992) 4 Cal.4th 715, 730.) Here the trial court essentially ruled that the government had not turned a square corner in dealing with some of its citizens - adjacent property owners - when it increased the height of a building in violation of the spirit, if not the letter, of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The trial court's ruling, requiring (EIR), must be affirmed.

The County of Ventura (County), its Board of Supervisors (Board), and two County agencies appeal from a judgment granting a peremptory writ of mandate in favor of Ventura Foothill Neighbors, respondent. Respondent's members reside near a building that the County recently constructed in the City of Ventura. The peremptory writ of mandate requires the County to prepare a supplemental EIR for the completed building. The original EIR was for a building with a maximum height of 75 feet at a specified location. County constructed a 90 foot high building at a different location. Instead of filing a supplemental EIR, the County filed an EIR addendum that considered the environmental impact of the change in location but did not mention the change in the building's height. Appellants contend that County acted within its discretion in proceeding by way of an addendum instead of a supplemental EIR. They also contend that respondent's action is barred by a 30-day statute of limitations. These contentions are without merit. Factual and Procedural Background In 1993 Board decided to construct a five-story ambulatory care clinic (the Clinic) on the 40-acre campus of the Ventura County Medical Center in the City of Ventura. The 1993 EIR stated that "[t]he building would be up to 75 feet in height." The EIR included drawings of the proposed building that did not show its height. In January 1994 Board certified the EIR and approved the project. It filed a Notice of Determination (NOD) stating that County would construct an "Ambulatory Care Clinic." The NOD mentioned nothing about the building's height. In June 1994 detailed plans for the Clinic were prepared. The plans showed that the height to the roofline would be 72 feet. Parapets, additional walls on the roof, increased the height to 88.5 feet. County delayed constructing the Clinic until May 2005 when Board decided that Clinic should be "relocated from its original orientation to reduce the environmental impact of the Project and to more centrally locate the Project around 2