216 Sutter Bay Associates v. County of Sutter

This appeal arises from a controversial land development proposal, a proposal that envisioned four new towns sprouting from twenty-five thousand acres of farmland in southern Sutter County. The proposal engendered not only grand visions but also grand drama. The drama unfolded as a lame-duck board of supervisors (the old Board) approved development agreements for the proposal, while a referendum on the proposal and a newly elected board of supervisors critical of it (the new Board) stood in the wings.

The matter to be resolved on appeal is whether the new Board acted legally in canceling the development agreements. The trial court thought so, ruling in the new Board’s favor in demurrer proceedings that involved the cancellation ordinances and in summary judgment proceedings that involved alleged violations of the open meeting law, the Ralph M. Brown Act (the Brown Act).

Background

Sutter County (Sutter County or the County) has only two incorporated cities—Yuba City and Live Oak—and a population of around sixty-five thousand. The County’s economy is largely agricultural and its economic development has consistently lagged behind other counties in the Sacramento…