The Center for Biological Diversity has once again filed a legal challenge to the Northlake project in Castaic, which opponents called the epitome of problematic “sprawl development.”
The project’s developer, Woodbridge Capital, described the plan as “thoughtful” in its balance of the need to create thousands of homes for the area, with affordable housing and concern for the sensitive ecology throughout the more-than-1,300-acre property.
The L.A. County Board of Supervisors heard public comment and then denied a project appeal March 31, clearing the project for development after three decades of revisions.
Northlake has a green light to construct 3,150 homes, including 315 affordable-housing units, 95 for seniors, west of Castaic Lake and east of Interstate 5, on nearly 800 acres.
Throughout the planning process, opponents have said the plan’s descriptions, like the “partial creek-avoidance alternative,” have been intended to deceive under the pretense of environmental awareness.
“We analyzed the partial creek-avoidance alternative that preserves 20% of Grasshopper Creek on the project site and reduces impacts to biological resources. It also provides additional wildlife crossing opportunities in the north,” according to Damon P. Mamalakis of Armbruster Goldsmith & Delvac, speaking on behalf of the project, during the March appeal hearing.
During that same hearing, Evan Levy, an associate attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, said the plans failed to address many of the concerns brought forth in a lawsuit seeking to protect riparian habitats, and also directly disputed some of the developer’s claims.
In referring to Grasshopper Creek, Levy said, “the vast majority of the creek will be physically erased from the landscape by filling in the channel or creating debris basins.” He also said the area’s wildlife would all be threatened by building in the flammable wildlands.
The developer touted the housing and additional environmental protection at that hearing, which was a result of the courts siding with environmentalists in a 2019 lawsuit that ordered a recirculation of the plan.
Levy filed his letter of intent to commence legal action over the latest approval on April 23, and then filed his complaint and writ seeking injunctive relief to stop the plan.
In a ruling issued five years ago in the previous lawsuit, the courts found the Northlake plan improperly deferred mitigation for rare plants and the western spadefoot toad, and the failure to consider alternatives. The current lawsuit claims those failures remain in the plan that the county approved once again, in March.
The “partial-creek avoidance” from the county, according to the lawsuit, develops “the entire mainstem of the creek through the 3-mile long project site.”
The second lawsuit also states numerous organizations like the CBD shared concerns about the revised environmental impact report the county circulated after the first lawsuit, which were ignored.
A representative for the project declined to comment on the claims in the lawsuit due to it being a part of pending litigation.
Helen Chavez Garcia, a spokeswoman for LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, issued a statement on behalf of the supervisor via email:
“I recognize that strong opinions remain on all sides of this issue. As the legal process moves forward, I respect the role of the courts and will continue to monitor the case,” she wrote.
