COUNTYWIDE : Judge Turns Down Group’s Request to Amend Jail Suit
A Santa Barbara judge has denied the request of a Ventura County group to amend its lawsuit alleging that the environmental studies on the county’s new jail are inadequate.
Although Superior Court Judge Ronald C. Stevens did not say in his ruling last week why he would not allow Citizens to Save the Greenbelt to amend its complaint, Ventura County attorneys had argued that the deadline for amendments had passed.
Asst. County Counsel Robert R. Orellana praised the judge’s decision, saying the environmental group has been “grasping for straws” in a last-ditch attempt to impede the project, which is expected to be completed late next year.
Officials estimate that 10% of the construction, in a lemon grove near Santa Paula, is already finished.
The judge is expected to decide this summer whether the lawsuit should be thrown out.
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