Lawsuit filed against Tejon Mountain Village
A group of environmental justice advocates, Native Americans and endangered species activists filed suit today in Bakersfield against the proposed resort community Tejon Mountain Village.
Kern County Supervisors last month approved the project, which features two golf courses, 750 hotel rooms, a long string of homes and housing tracts on 5,000 acres in the Tehachapi Mountains along the Grapevine.
Activists oppose the development for many reasons, including a concern for the California condor, the sacred sites of the Chumash people and air quality.
"Tejon Mountain Village straddles the two worst-performing air districts in the country," said Brent Newell of the Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment. "Thousands of car trips going in and out of this resort -- which we all know will include daily commuters, given its proximity to Los Angeles -- will further dirty the air and increase pollution-related health problems of the people who live here."
The lawsuit was filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, Wishtoyo Foundation, TriCounty Watchdogs, and the Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment.
Comments:
This is a good lawsuit. Building two golf courses and thousands of luxury homes in one of the last wild places in the state is insane. Politicians are selling out the future to appease developers. Tejon Ranch and the Kern County Board of Supervisors are corrupt. When will they ever learn?
Posted by: airqualityguy at November 12, 2009 3:45 PM
Between Sept. '87 and Jun. '88, as an adjunct instructor I taught electronics classes at CSULB through its Engineering and Industrial Technology Dept. Each week, I would leave Fresno in the morning on Mon. or Tues. depending on assignment and return either Thurs. or Fri. in the afternoon. The highlight of my drive both to and from was Tejon Pass. I always looked forward to the kinds of consistently clear blue skies that Tejon afforded - coming and going.
Do I understand why developers are interested in developing this region? Probably. Do I understand why activists are opposed to the type of development mentioned? Absolutely!
On two recent trips to Phoenix and back (one in Spring and one in the Fall), I encountered pretty consistent smog. It wasn't pretty, let me tell you. In fact, the air didn't begin to clear until the Ariz. border was reached. During the Fall trip, air quality was markedly better, particularly on the return trip to Fresno probably due to the recent rains in the Valley. San Bernardino was enveloped in haze, though, both times - going and coming. Even the sky over Tejon was somewhat dulled compared to what I was accustomed to in '87 and '88.
If more traffic traverses Tejon Pass, air quality will only get worse in my opinion. Is that what we want?
Posted by: Alan Kandel at November 18, 2009 9:39 AM
Post a comment
(read the comment policy before posting)