State Wildlife Agency Can’t Sue to Block Development, Judge Rules

Ruling that California’s wildlife agency has no authority to sue to protect natural resources from development, an Orange County judge has dismissed a state lawsuit attempting to block a housing tract in Coal Canyon.

In March, the Anaheim City Council unanimously approved Hon Development’s proposal to build 1,550 homes and a commercial area in the canyon. A month later, the state sued the city, alleging that it violated the California Environmental Quality Act by ignoring the Fish and Game Department’s recommendations to scale back the development to protect areas inhabited by mountain lions.

The case marked the first time in several years that the state sued to halt a development in Southern California using the environmental quality law. In dismissing the suit, Superior Court Judge James Gray agreed with attorneys for Hon Development, who argued that the statute does not explicitly give the state agency the authority to sue to enforce it and that the company had made adequate allowances to protect the resources.