The Colusa City Council has filed a change of venue motion to have the lawsuit filed by the Colusa County Board of Supervisors over the CIP housing development to Sacramento.
Colusa County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey A. Thompson has set March 8 to hear Colusa’s request to transfer the case from Colusa County, where pretrial publicity, size and nature of the community, and notoriety of the opposing parties may prejudice the case if it reaches a jury.
Colusa County last month filed a motion for a temporary restraining order to block further development on the project until full environmental review can be conducted.
Attorney Scott McLeran, with Prentice-Long Law Group, who represents Colusa County, said Tuesday that it is his intent to oppose the change of venue, believing the case could be settled locally.
Thompson was not so optimistic.
County officials maintain the City Council approved the development of 180 single-family homes after CIP was annexed into the city limits, up from 84, which the Board of Supervisors approved in 2008, without formally notifying the Airport Land Use Commission, who claim the project is incompatible with the airport, places the safety of the public at risk, and puts the airport’s future in jeopardy.
The City of Colusa, represented by Russell Hildebrand, of Jones & Mayer Law Firm, disagrees.
City officials claim the project was fully vetted in 2016 and 2018, and that the county did not voice any objection to the project at that time.
The change of venue motion, which the city filed on Feb. 10, has been pushed from March 22 to March 8.
The City of Colusa believes the case should be moved to a jurisdiction that is not familiar with the dispute between the two local government agencies.
Thompson has also given Colusa County until Friday to respond to opposition to the preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order, filed separately last week by the Colusa City Council and Ed Hulbert, CIP chief executive officer. David A. King, the mortgage consultant connected to the project, and Randall S. Thayer, of Blazona, the project builder, also filed oppositions to the county’s request for an injunction.
Thompson agreed to hear the request for the restraining order on Feb. 22, but said he was reluctant to move on a case that may transfer to another jurisdiction. ■