Friends of Lagoon Valley v. Vacaville

• Decision Date: 28 August 2007
• Docket Number: No. A113236.,A113236.
• Citation: 154 Cal.App.4th 807,65 Cal.Rptr.3d 251
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
• Parties: FRIENDS OF LAGOON VALLEY, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. CITY OF VACAVILLE, et al., Defendants and Respondents.

65 Cal.Rptr.3d 251

154 Cal.App.4th 807

FRIENDS OF LAGOON VALLEY, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. CITY OF VACAVILLE, et al., Defendants and Respondents.

No. A113236.

Court of Appeal, First District, Division 3.

August 28, 2007.

Stuart M. Flashman, Oakland, for Plaintiff and Appellant.

Gerald L. Hobrecht, City Attorney, Melinda C.H. Stewart, Deputy City Attorney for Defendants and Respondents.

Morrison & Foerster LLP, Clark Morrison, and Andrew B. Sabey, San Francisco; Baird Holm LLP, David C. Levy, for Real Parties in Interest.

McGUINESS, P.J.

Appellant Friends of Lagoon Valley filed a petition for writ of mandate challenging the approval by the City of Vacaville and Vacaville City Council (collectively, City) of a project to develop a portion of Vacaville known as the Lower Lagoon Valley. Appellant claimed the Lower Lagoon Valley Policy Plan Implementation Project (Project) was inconsistent with the Vacaville General Plan and the Lower Lagoon Valley Policy Plan and further claimed approval of the Project's residential development violated the density bonus provisions of municipal and state law. (Gov.Code, § 65915; Vacaville Mun.Code, § 14.09.116.110 et seq.) The trial court denied the petition in a 16-page ruling and awarded $12,000 in costs to real parties in interest Triad Communities, L.P., and Lagoon Valley MPC, LLC (collectively, Triad). This appeal from the judgment and cost award followed. We conclude the City did not abuse its discretion in approving the Project and did not violate the law by awarding Triad a density bonus of 40.5 percent. We also conclude the cost award was within the trial court's discretion. Accordingly, the judgment is affirmed in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

In August 1990, the City adopted the Vacaville General Plan (General Plan), which described the City's policies for land use, circulation, community facilities and environmental resource management. The General Plan required that development in certain areas, including the Lower Lagoon Valley, proceed in accordance with specific policy plans. Shortly after the General Plan was adopted, the City approved the Lower Lagoon Valley Policy Plan (Policy Plan).¹ With the goal of facilitating the development of "a business park of regional significance and `upper-end' housing" in the Lagoon Valley area, the General Plan listed several guidelines for commercial and residential development. Relevant to this appeal, the General Plan required development of the business park and highway commercial areas to be of the highest standard of quality, protecting view corridors and "the open space feel of the valley," and it limited residential development to 730 units, which were to be integrated with a golf course and a recreation complex. In general, the plan stated that development should "enhance the recreational potential of the area." Several guidelines stressed the need to protect existing views of the Lagoon Valley Lake and surrounding hills and to preserve "the open space feel of the valley."

The Policy Plan translated these guidelines into a detailed proposal for development of the region. Specifically, the Policy Plan proposed to reserve a total of 275 acres for creation of an office/business park and 49 acres for a medical complex, which would include a Kaiser hospital. Commercial development was also proposed along Interstate 80, with the possibility of a new hotel construction. The Policy Plan proposed to build 730 single-family residences in a community surrounding an 18-hole golf course, with other recreational facilities possibly to be combined with the golf course clubhouse. In addition to the golf course, the Policy Plan anticipated two major recreational uses of land: a 352-acre regional park, and a trails network in the extensive open space area bordering the Lagoon Valley. A total of 993 acres would be left as open space in the plan.

Despite these plans, no significant development occurred in the Lower Lagoon Valley during the 1990s. By 2002, however, Triad had acquired options to purchase a substantial portion of the Lower Lagoon Valley and had prepared a preliminary plan for developing the site. In June 2004, the City adopted a specific plan proposed by Triad and certified an environmental impact report (EIR) for the project. At the same time, the City approved amendments to the General Plan to implement Triad's proposal. These amendments changed the General Plan's reference to a "Business Park" to "Business Village" and updated the number of residential units permitted from 730 to 1,325.² Shortly after these actions, a group called Greenbelt Alliance filed suit challenging the City's approvals under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The parties eventually reached a settlement that called for the City to rescind its approvals of Triad's 2004 plan and adopt a new plan with lower overall development density and a reduction in residential units from 1,325 to 1,025. The City rescinded its approvals but, consistent with the settlement agreement, let stand its approval of the final EIR for the 2004 plan.

In January 2005, Triad submitted a revised development plan for the Lower Lagoon Valley—the Project that is challenged in this appeal. Significant aspects of the Project include: (1) construction of a business village and town center with 700,000 square feet of office space and up to 50,000 square feet allocated for retail and commercial uses; (2) development of a 338-acre residential community, with a variety of housing types integrated with a golf course and associated recreational facilities; (3) preservation of 443 acres of open space, including parks and recreational uses; and (4) creation of public uses such as a new fire station and roadways. The planned residential community would include 874 single-family homes (including 24 affordable housing units) and 100 attached townhouses reserved for senior citizens. An additional 51 affordable housing units would be located in the mixed-use town center.

A report of the City's planning commission explained that the Project reduced the overall development from that approved in the 2004 plan and from the guideline set forth in the Policy Plan. Although approximately 300 more residential units would be constructed, substantially less square footage would be devoted to office space and commercial uses, and this reduced `space eliminated the possibility of "big box" retail uses. The City also discussed the Project in an addendum to the previously certified EIR. No supplemental EIR was necessary, the City concluded, because the Project's smaller development area would actually reduce the potential intensity of uses in the area and thus would not produce any significant new environmental impacts. On February 22, 2005, the City approved the addendum to the EIR and the Project itself, along with the Project's vesting tentative map and planned development permit. This permit included approval of a density bonus (Gov.Code, § 65915) for the Project.

On April 7, 2005, appellant filed a petition for peremptory writ of mandate and complaint for injunctive relief against the City, naming Triad and several Lagoon Valley property owners as real parties in interest. Appellant alleged the City's approvals violated the Subdivision Map Act (Gov.Code, § 66473.5) because the Project was inconsistent with several policies expressed in the General Plan and the Policy Plan. In addition, appellant asserted the Project's residential component violated state and municipal density bonus laws. (Gov.Code, § 65915; Vacaville Mun.Code, § 14.09.116.110 et seq.) An 81-volume administrative record, consisting of nearly 20,000 pages, was certified less than three weeks later, and the matter proceeded to hearings on August 25, 2005 and October 27, 2005. On November 18, 2005, the trial court issued a detailed ruling rejecting all of appellant's claims and denying the petition for writ of mandate and request for injunctive relief.

After judgment was entered on the order, Triad filed a memorandum of costs seeking to recover a total of $13,508.30 in costs. Nearly all of this sum—$12,841.30—consisted of costs incurred for preparation of the administrative record. These amounts were later amended, with Triad claiming a total of $18,231 in costs, $16,841.74 of which was attributed to costs for preparing the administrative record. Appellant moved to tax costs, arguing this amount was excessive because large portions of the administrative record were not relevant to the challenges raised in the petition and because portions of this record "may actually have been prepared, and associated costs already paid or forgiven, in a prior case." The trial court granted the motion in part, fixing Triad's cost recovery at $12,000.

DISCUSSION

I. Project Is Consistent with Applicable Plans

The Legislature has required every county and city to adopt "a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city...." (Gov.Code, § 65300.) A general plan provides a "`charter for future development' " and sets forth a city or county's fundamental policy decisions about such development. (Federation of Hillside and Canyon Assns. v. City of Los Angeles (2004) 126 Cal.App.4th 1180, 1194, 24 Cal. Rptr.3d 543.) These policies "typically reflect a range of competing interests." (Ibid.) Nevertheless, a city's land use decisions must be consistent with the policies expressed in the general plan. (Corona-Norco Unified School Dist. v. City of Corona (1993) 17 Cal.App.4th 985, 994, 21 Cal. Rptr.2d 803 (Corona-Norco).) "`[T]he propriety of virtually any local decision affecting land use and development depends upon consistency with the applicable general plan and its elements.' [Citation.]" (Citizens of Goleta Valley v. Board of Supervisors (1990) 52 Cal.3d 553, 570-571, 276 Cal.Rptr. 410, 801 P.2d 1161.)

While recognizing that some aspects of the Project deviated from particular planning...