LAKEPORT — The parties in the Rattlesnake Island lawsuit received a split decision of sorts from a Lake County judge Friday morning.
Friends of Rattlesnake Island, an advocacy group formed last fall, filed a petition in November asking the court to overturn county decisions to approve a development project on the island, which is a culturally sensitive site for the Elem Indian Colony.
The Lake County Board of Supervisors (BOS) voted 3-2 in mid-October to grant an appeal by Bay Area businessman John Nady, who plans to build a house, caretaker”s cabin and standalone bathroom on land he owns on the island.
Nady had appealed the Lake County Planning Commission”s 2010 decision to require a full environmental impact report (EIR) for the project.
Friends of Rattlesnake Island asks the court to mandate an EIR.
The County of Lake and BOS are listed as defendants while Nady is the lone “real party in interest.”
Attorneys representing all the parties appeared at the Lake County Courthouse Friday morning for motion hearings. Nady did not attend.
After considering oral arguments, Judge Richard C. Martin rejected the petitioner”s request for a temporary stay of the project, and then denied a demand from the other side that Friends of Rattlesnake Island and its attorneys receive sanctions for alleged violations of court rules.
Rachel Mansfield-Howlett, who represents Friends of Rattlesnake Island, said the group is considering appealing Martin”s decision to deny a temporary stay.
Nady”s attorney, Frederic D. Schrag, declined to comment after the proceedings.
No trial date has been set and court records do not indicate when the parties will next appear in court. Mansfield-Howlett said she expects another hearing to occur in May.
Contact Jeremy Walsh at jwalsh@record-bee.com or call him at 263-5636, ext. 37.
