Atwell v. City of Rohnert Park

238 Cal. Rptr. 3d 248, 27 Cal. App. 5th 692
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal, 5th District
DecidedSeptember 18, 2018
DocketA151896, A153011
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 238 Cal. Rptr. 3d 248 (Atwell v. City of Rohnert Park) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal, 5th District primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Atwell v. City of Rohnert Park, 238 Cal. Rptr. 3d 248, 27 Cal. App. 5th 692 (Cal. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

Margulies, J.

Appellants Nancy Atwell, Elizabeth Craven, and Matthew Weinstein appeal the denial of their petition for writ of mandate against the City of Rohnert Park (City). In 2010 and 2015, the city council approved and reapproved an expansion for an existing Wal-Mart store, which would include a full grocery component. Appellants contend the city council's second approval was inconsistent with its General Plan and land use policy LU-7. The trial court concluded appellants' petition was barred by res judicata because a prior petition challenging the city council's initial approval also asserted a claim contesting General Plan consistency. The trial court further held appellants' petition was barred by the statute of limitations and substantial evidence supported the city council's determination the expansion complied with the General Plan. We affirm the judgment.

I. BACKGROUND

A. The Initial Project and EIR

The City's General Plan includes land use policy LU-7 (hereafter Policy LU-7) which declares the City's obligation to: "Encourage new neighborhood commercial facilities and supermarkets to be located to maximize accessibility to all residential areas. [¶] The intent is to ensure that convenient shopping facilities such as supermarkets and drugstores are located close to where people live and facilitate access to these on foot or on bicycles. Also, because Rohnert Park's residential population can support only a limited number of supermarkets, this policy will encourage dispersion of supermarkets rather than their clustering in a few locations." (Italics omitted.)

In 2009, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Wal-Mart) filed an application with the City, proposing to expand its existing store located in the northwest corner of town. The expansion would add approximately 36,000 square feet to the existing Wal-Mart "big box" discount store for the addition of a 24-hour grocery/supermarket (Project).

In 2010, the City prepared a draft environmental impact report (EIR). That EIR evaluated whether the Project was consistent with the General Plan. With regard to Policy LU-7, the draft EIR concluded the Project was "consistent." It stated: "The proposed project would expand the existing Walmart store to add space for food sales. There are no existing grocery stores within a 1-mile radius of the project site; therefore, the proposed project would be consistent with the commentary language concerning dispersal of grocery uses throughout the City. Furthermore, the proposed project would install bicycle storage facilities and enhance pedestrian facilities to improve accessibility for these *251modes of transportation. Finally, the 24-hour operation of the expanded store would provide local residents with the opportunity to shop at times when existing stores are not open.... These characteristics are consistent with the objective of maximizing accessibility to supermarkets."

In response, the City received public comments asserting the Project was not consistent with the General Plan or Policy LU-7. These letters argued the Project would close existing neighborhood-serving grocery stores, is located in a large commercial area, and would contribute to an over-concentrated area around the U.S. Highway 101/Rohnert Park Expressway interchange.

The City addressed these comments in its final EIR. It concluded the concerns lacked merit and did not detract from the Project's consistency with Policy LU-7. Specifically, it noted the Project would be "well-positioned" to serve residents in northern Rohnert Park as well as residents in Cotati and southwest Santa Rosa. The City further noted drive times to the Project are shorter than or similar to the time needed to reach other existing supermarkets.

The planning commission subsequently considered the EIR. Following a public hearing, the planning commission declined to approve the original EIR or the Project. The planning commission instead concluded the EIR and Project did not comply with the General Plan and was, in part, inconsistent with Policy LU-7.

Wal-Mart subsequently appealed the planning commission's decision to not certify the EIR, arguing the EIR satisfied the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA; Pub. Resources Code, § 21000 et seq. ) and complied with Policy LU-7. Following a public hearing at which Policy LU-7 was discussed, the city council granted the appeal and specifically found "The Project would be consistent with all applicable General Plan goals and policies...." The resolution approving the site plan concluded: "The Project, as proposed and with recommended conditions and mitigation measures, will be consistent with the General Plan and Zoning Ordinance."

B. The Sierra Club Action

Sierra Club and Sonoma County Conservation Action (SCCA) filed a petition for writ of mandate in Sonoma County Superior Court challenging the city council's EIR and Project approvals. (Sierra Club v. City of Rohnert Park (2012, No. SCV248112) (Sierra Club action).) Appellants were not named parties in that action. The petition asserted three causes of action for violating CEQA, the state Planning and Zoning Law ( Gov. Code, § 65000 et seq. ), and the Rohnert Park Municipal Code. The second cause of action for violations of the state Planning and Zoning Law alleged: "The Project is inconsistent and incompatible with applicable goals, policies and objectives of the Rohnert Park General Plan, including but not limited to ... Policy LU-7...." The Sierra Club action requested in part a peremptory writ of mandate commanding the City to set aside its EIR certification and Project approval.

Although raised in its petition, Sierra Club and SCCA did not pursue the claim that the Project conflicted with Policy LU-7. The trial court subsequently granted the petition and ordered the resolutions approving the Project be vacated and the Project be remanded for additional environmental review. Specifically, the court ordered "the EIR must address each and every traffic mitigation measure proposed for the Project and reanalyze the cumulative noise impacts...."

*252C. Revised EIR and Subsequent Administrative Appeals

The City vacated the Project approvals and prepared a revised EIR. However, the revised EIR did not alter the original EIR's analysis of the Project's consistency with the General Plan.

In 2014, the planning commission held a public hearing on the revised EIR. Appellants objected to the Project during this hearing, alleging the Project "is in a section of town that has very few residents in it, and ... that's clearly at odds with the LU-7 plan. The original economic plan says that it would draw customers from a wide area." In response, the City asserted the Project "is consistent with City of Rohnert Park's General Plan. [¶] Even now, one and two neighborhoods coming on line in the west side of Rohnert Park are neighborhoods that will need grocery stores and services. There are other businesses operating at an expanded time frame, where those workers do need grocery stores and services." The City also took the position that the issue of urban decay was not part of what the court found inadequate about the EIR and thus is not before the planning commission.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
238 Cal. Rptr. 3d 248, 27 Cal. App. 5th 692, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/atwell-v-city-of-rohnert-park-calctapp5d-2018.