A California appeals court has dealt a blow to a proposed luxury resort development in Lake County, citing inadequate assessment of wildfire risks. The court rejected the county's environmental review and approval of the Guenoc Valley project, a sprawling upscale resort planned for 16,000 acres in Northern California.
The recent decision upholds and expands upon a 2022 trial court ruling that had ordered Lake County to set aside its approval of the project. The earlier ruling found that the county had failed to properly consider the development's impact on public safety and wildfire evacuations.
The Guenoc Valley project, envisioned as a massive luxury resort and high-end residential complex, has faced opposition due to its location in an area with a long history of wildfires. Notably, the site was actively burning when legal action was initially taken against the project.
Environmental concerns have also played a role in the opposition. The property is home to oak woodlands that provide habitat for sensitive species such as golden eagles, foothill yellow-legged frogs, and western pond turtles. It also serves as a crucial wildlife corridor for the region.
In 2020, the Center for Biological Diversity, later joined by the California Native Plant Society, filed a lawsuit against Lake County. The suit alleged that the county's approval of the project violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
The latest ruling from the California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, goes beyond the previous decision. It determined that Lake County not only failed to adequately consider the project's impact on wildfire evacuation but also did not properly assess how the development would exacerbate existing wildfire risks in the area.
This decision underscores the growing importance of wildfire risk assessment in California's development processes, especially as climate change continues to increase the frequency and intensity of wildfires in the state.