Farmont Case Judge Helped Form Group

The judge hearing the Farmont golf course case brought against Ventura County by an environmental watchdog coalition told attorneys Tuesday that he helped organize the group in the 1960s, but that he is no longer a member.

Before final arguments, which were continued to Thursday, Superior Court Judge William A. Peck said he was among the founders of the Environmental Coalition of Ventura County.

“I haven’t been a member for more than 20 years,” Peck said. “I’m simply announcing it so nobody thinks I’m hiding it.”

Peck invited recusal motions from each of the attorneys, who decided against requesting another judge.

The coalition has asked the court to overturn a permit allowing the Farmont Corp. to develop a golf resort on 200 acres it owns near Ojai. Plaintiffs in the case contend that water to irrigate the golf course should be used for domestic purposes.

Peck on Tuesday morning directed attorneys representing the county, the coalition and the developer to cite specific pages in the records that he should read to become better informed about the case.

Otherwise, he said, he would spend hours poring over thousands of pages describing the project.

Lawyers in the case did not mind the continuance.

“It’s a little more work than we wanted to do, but we’ve got to do it,” said Lindsay F. Nielson, who represents Farmont.