Society for California Archaeology v. County of Butte

The Society for California Archaeology appeals from the denial of its petition for a writ of mandate seeking to order the County of Butte (hereinafter Butte) to revoke its approval of a 31 -acre residential development near Chico.

The dispute centers around an Environmental Impact Report (hereinafter EIR) prepared by the County of Butte under CEQA (the Cal. Environmental Quality Act, Pub. Resources Code, § 21050 et seq.) at the request of the developer and real party in interest, Irvin D. Schlaf. It is a composite of two documents, a draft EIR and a later supplement thereto. The draft EIR describes the project as a “rural type subdivision of forty (40) lots as an extension of an existing development” located at the mouth of Stilson Canyon, “approximately four miles southeasterly of Chico on the southerly side of Little Chico Creek.”

The draft EIR contains the results of a walking archaeological survey led by Michael J. Boynton, Staff Archaeologist at California State University, Chico. That survey revealed six archaeological sites, including three “bedrock mortar stations” located near, but not on, the property. The other three sites, which were actually on the…