A judge Monday is scheduled to weigh evidence and consider
arguments in a civil trial against the company trying to build a
399-megawatt solar project in the Panoche Valley.
A judge Monday is scheduled to weigh evidence and consider arguments in a civil trial against the company trying to build a 399-megawatt solar project in the Panoche Valley.
The trial proceeding is set for 9 a.m. Monday in room 201 at the San Benito County Courthouse, according to records. Monterey County retired visiting Judge Robert O’Ferrell will preside over the case and could make a relatively prompt, final decision on the lawsuit. The proceeding might be pushed off for a week, however, because the petitioners’ attorney has requested a continuance.
On Nov. 17, a group of locals going by the name Save Panoche Valley, along with the Santa Clara Audubon Society, filed the lawsuit against the county and solar company. It stems from the San Benito County Board of Supervisors’ project approval days before the suit’s filing. In May, the Sierra Club also joined the lawsuit against the county and company.
That company previously was called Solargen Energy before a new owner in the spring of 2011 acquired it and renamed the Panoche Valley endeavor as PV2 Energy. The project encompasses 4,885 acres in southern San Benito County and includes more than 10,000 acres for mitigation to protect locally endangered species, such as the kit fox and blunt-nose lizard. It is expected to create 50 permanent jobs and nearly 200 construction jobs, according to company documents.
In the suit, the opposing groups are asking for the county to void the approval of all related documents and place a restraining order on the company to prevent any future solar projects.
A judgment could come as early as Monday, if O’Ferrell rejects the attorney’s request for the environmental groups to delay it for a week. That attorney, Santa Rosa-based Rose Zoia, did not immediately return a phone call Friday for comment on the case. The solar company’s attorney, Brad Sullivan, said he expects the trial proceeding could be finished within one day, culminating in a judgment from O’Ferrell.
“We’re ready to proceed Monday,” Sullivan said. “If it goes, it goes.”
Sullivan acknowledged that such complex environmental cases are “exceedingly difficult” to settle before trial, though he did not rule out the possibility there still could be some sort of agreement between the two sides before a ruling from O’Ferrell.
As for the arguments scheduled on Monday, Sullivan said it would be less elaborate than a traditional jury trial. Although there are more than 10,000 pages of evidence, the involved sides will refer to items in the record in making their arguments.
The petitioners’ argument contends that the county board had been “abusing its discretion” and failing to act under the law when approving the solar project. The three groups argue the board’s approval violated the California Endangered Species Act, Fish and Game regulations, the Williamson Act and county planning laws. It describes the final environmental impact report as inadequate and requests a new one.
The defendants believe the three groups have “no legal basis” for the lawsuit, according to the court record.
“Petitioners consist of (a) small group of frustrated neighbors and a chapter of the Audubon Society of the adjacent Santa Clara County, who are unhappy with the board’s policy decision to approve the Project,” according to the county’s filing.
Look for an update Monday at freelancenews.com or in the Free Lance on Tuesday.
