LAKE COUNTY — A newly formed advocacy group filed a lawsuit against the county last week regarding its approval of a construction project on Rattlesnake Island.
The Lake County Board of Supervisors (BOS) voted 3-2 in mid-October to grant an appeal of Bay Area businessman John Nady, who proposed to build a house, caretaker”s cabin and standalone bathroom on land he owns on the island.
Members of the Elem Indian Colony argued against development on the island, a culturally significant site for the tribe. Tribal administrator Jim Brown promised litigation at the time of the BOS actions.
And Friends of Rattlesnake Island, a group founded this month, followed through last week by having its attorney file a lawsuit.
“I am honored to be a part of this legal case to help preserve and protect the most ancient, sacred tribal homeland island village of Elem-Modun, also known as Rattlesnake Island,” Brown said.
The group is petitioning the court to overturn all county actions approving Nady”s plan, require an environmental impact report (EIR) and temporarily halt any construction work on the project in the interim, according to a copy of the document obtained by the Record-Bee.
Nady had appealed the Lake County Planning Commission”s May 2010 decision to require an EIR for the project.
The BOS ultimately agreed with the landowner, finding that the initial study and associated mitigation monitoring plan already completed for the project constituted the necessary amount of environmental review.
The petition argues the county “abused its discretion and failed to act in the manner required by law” by approving the project without an EIR.
“The mitigated negative declaration and initial study also failed to adequately assess cultural resources within the project”s environmental setting,” the petition stated.
County Counsel Anita Grant said her office has received a notice of commencement of action but has not yet been served with a copy of the lawsuit. She also said she could not comment on the specifics of the pending matter.
Contact Jeremy Walsh at jwalsh@record-bee.com or call him at 263-5636, ext. 37.
