Consolidated Irrigation District v. Superior Court

Consolidated Irrigation District (CID) petitions for a writ of mandate after the respondent superior court denied CID’s motion to conduct limited discovery, a motion to augment the record of proceedings, 1 and a petition for writ of mandate under the California Public Records Act (Public Records Act) (Gov. Code, § 6250 et seq.). 2 The superior court’s orders were issued in a proceeding brought under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (Pub. Resources Code, § 21000 et seq.) 3 that challenged the City of Selma’s (City) approval of an environmental impact report (EIR) for Selma Development Partners, LLC’s (Developer) proposed Rockwell Pond Commercial Project.

*703 We issued an order to show cause and stayed further proceedings in the superior court. The petition raised novel legal questions regarding the proper interpretation and application of section 21167.6, subdivision (e). We reach the following conclusions.

First, tape recordings of public agency hearings qualify as “other written materials” for purposes of section 21167.6, subdivision (e)(10), and therefore, copies of tape recordings should have been included in the record of proceedings that City lodged…