By Peter Simcich, Friends of the Richmond Hills
In January 2017, the Richmond City Council voted unanimously to adopt the Richmond Hills Initiative, thereby protecting from development 430 acres of ecologically rich hillside land in the El Sobrante Valley of Richmond. Soon afterwards, the prospective developers sued the City. The case was heard in court on January 3, 2018, and the judge recently issued a verdict invalidating the Initiative.
The area left unprotected by this ruling is home to many native plants and animals including a variety of rare and endangered species, and boasts commanding panoramic views. Steep, unstable soils make the site completely inappropriate for large-scale development, yet numerous such proposals have been made over the years to do just that.
The good news is that the judge ruled that the majority of the issues raised by the plaintiffs were not valid. So we won on most points. However, the judge did rule that one issue was valid — that the Initiative creates an “inconsistency” with the Richmond General Plan, because the diagrams and maps in the General Plan would no longer match the RHI-amended text.
This inconsistency is there. However, it could be easily remedied. In fact, California State Government Code (section 65754) mandates that if a court finds an inconsistency, it is required to direct the city to fix that inconsistency. In the only precedent decision regarding a voter initiative that created an inconsistency, the appellate court found that remanding the matter back to the city to cure the inconsistency was the appropriate course of action. However our judge did not seem to feel that this applied to this case. He has declined to state why he doesn’t feel that it applies here.
Furthermore, the judge refused to grant “severability”, which would mean that even though one aspect was struck down, the others remain valid and in place. He issued a final ruling in early May 2018, which invalidates the Initiative.
There’s no question that this is a blow. However, the fight is far from over. We are considering our alternatives, which include appealing the decision and re-circulating a new Initiative. We will soon be deciding on the next course of action, and may need your help, so please stay tuned!
You can get the latest information on this campaign at: savetherichmondhills.org.
Photo by Cary Groner.