Description: Challenge to the environmental review for a 50-lot residential development adjacent to Big Bear Lake in California.
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Friends of Big Bear Valley v. County of San Bernardino
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 08/27/2020 Petition for Writ of Mandate Download Verified petition for peremptory writ of mandate and complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief filed. CEQA Lawsuit Filed to Challenge Review of Lakeside Development . Three organizations filed a lawsuit asserting that San Bernardino County violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) when it approved a 50-lot residential development adjacent to Big Bear Lake. The petition alleged that the environmental impact report’s (EIR’s) conclusion that the project would not result in a significant impact on climate change was not supported by adequate analysis or substantial evidence. The petition asserted that the EIR’s measures to mitigate greenhouse gas emission would not be effective. With respect to proposed voluntary measures to require information be provided to tenants regarding the climate change mitigation benefits of reducing trash and vehicle miles traveled, the petition alleged that these measures “do not appear to be seriously designed to mitigate” emissions. The plaintiffs also said a requirement that the developer require at least 20% of landscape maintenance equipment be electric-powered was not within the developer’s authority and, moreover, did not appear to have been required by the County as a condition of approval. The petition also alleged that the County should have used an updated environmental baseline that included increased wildfire danger due to climate change and other factors.