Seghesio

Plaintiffs, Frank and Elvera Seghesio and Thomas and Dorothy Nelson, brought this mandamus action against the County of Napa, the board of supervisors of that county and James Hickey, in his capacity as Director of Conservation—Development and Planning Department of the County of Napa.

By such action, plaintiffs sought to compel defendants to withdraw an environmental impact report (EIR) requirement in connection with plaintiffs’ application for a timber harvest permit. Plaintiffs also sought an award of attorney’s fees under section 800 of the Government Code, based upon their allegation that defendants had acted arbitrarily and capriciously in continuing to insist upon an EIR.

In their verified petition, plaintiffs alleged they were exempt from the requirement that an EIR be prepared because, on January 6, 1976, the Secretary for Resources of the State of California certified that the regulation of timber operations on private lands in this state by the California Department of Forestry and Board of Forestry met the criteria contained in section 21080.5 of the Public Resources Code. Plaintiffs alleged that, on March 30, 1979, they filed an application for a timber…