Environmental petitioners used CEQA to challenge a development just north of Napa County in an area subject to repeated wildfires. The 16,000-acre project site contains oak woodlands, wildlife corridors, and habitat for sensitive wildlife species. The project would bring thousands of new residents and visitors to this isolated corner of Lake County, resulting in more than 30,000 metric tons of new greenhouse gas emissions every year. The state Attorney General joined the lawsuit in 2021.
In January 2022, the trial court held that the County had failed to consider the project’s effect on community safety and wildfire evacuation in the highly fire-prone area. In January 2023, the Attorney General’s office announced a settlement of its case with the County after requiring improvements to the development that would reduce its risk of sparking a wildfire. In 2024, an appellate court went further and found that a new EIR was needed to provide more adequate information about the heightened wildfire ignition risk.