Johnson v. State Water Resources Control Board
Opinion
Opinion
McINTYRE, J.
William P. Johnson and Vail Lake USA, LLC (Vail Lake and, together with Johnson, the appellants), appeal an order of dismissal entered after the superior court sustained without leave to amend a demurrer by the State Water Resources Control Board (the State Board) to their first amended petition for writ of mandate and complaint for damages. The premise of their appeal is that People ex rel. Cal. Regional Wat. Quality Control Bd. v. Barry (1987) 194 Cal.App.3d 158 [ 239 Cal.Rptr. 349 ] (Barry), on which the trial court relied, was wrongly decided or is inapplicable here. We find their argument unavailing and affirm the order.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
Because the challenged ruling arises in the context of a demurrer, we accept as true the material factual allegations of the first amended petition for writ of mandate and complaint for damages (Olszewski v. Scripps Health (2003) 30 Cal.4th 798, 806 [ 135 Cal.Rptr.2d 1 , 69 P.3d 927 ]).
Johnson is the manager and owner of Vail Lake, which owns a 9,000-acre Riverside County ranch property that is zoned for agricultural and recreational uses (the property). In July 1999, Vail Lake graded 132 acres of the property,…