AG Rob Bonta announced a lawsuit against the City of Tulare challenging its Zoning Ordinance Update, which allows cold-storage and other facilities to be permitted by-right in both light and heavy industrial zones, despite the serious health implications to nearby communities including Matheny Tract. By-right permitting means that development of cold-storage and other facilities can occur in the City without further environmental review or mitigation measures necessary to address health and environmental impacts from such facilities. Cold-storage facilities are known to increase cancer and other health risks for residents living nearly one mile away. In the lawsuit, Attorney General Bonta argues that the City improperly approved its Zoning Ordinance without environmental review even though it allows cold storage and certain other industrial facilities to be developed by right, in violation of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The lawsuit also argues that the Zoning Ordinance conflicts with policies and protections in the City’s own General Plan in violation of state law.

Attorney General Bonta Files Lawsuit Against the City of Tulare for Violating CEQA Through Its Zoning Ordinance Update | State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General