Ventura Foothill Neighbors v. County of Ventura

As Oliver Wendell Holmes said: “Men must turn square comers when they deal with the Government.” (Rock Island &c. R. R. v. United States (1920) 254 U.S. 141, 143 [ 65 L.Ed. 188 , 41 S.Ct. 55 ].) Our own California Supreme Court remarked: “. . . ‘It is hard to see why the government should not be held to a like standard of rectangular rectitude when dealing with its citizens.’ [Citation.]” (Farrell v. County of Placer (1944) 23 Cal.2d 624, 628 [ 145 P.2d 570 ]; see Title Ins. Co. v. State Bd. of Equalization (1992) 4 Cal.4th 715, 730 [ 14 Cal.Rptr.2d 822 , 842 P.2d 121 ].) Here the trial court essentially ruled that the government had not turned a square corner in dealing with some of its citizens — adjacent property owners — when it increased the height of a building in violation of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA; Pub. Resources Code, § 21000 et seq.). The trial court’s ruling, requiring a supplemental environmental impact report (EIR), must be affirmed.

The County of Ventura (County), its board of supervisors (Board), and two County agencies appeal from a judgment granting a peremptory writ of mandate in favor of Ventura Foothill Neighbors, respondent.…