JHP LLC v. Japp
Del Norte County approved subdivision developments on two residentially-zoned parcels of land owned by JHP LLC (JHP). The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Department) identified those parcels as timberland under the Z’berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act of 1973 (Pub. Resources Code, § 4511 et seq.[1]; hereafter Forest Practice Act) and required JHP to apply for timberland conversion permits (or exemptions from the permit requirement) and for approval of timber harvest plans (THP’s) to cut or remove trees from the parcels. The Department also undertook an environmental review as part of the THP approval process as to one of the parcels, even though the county had already conducted an environmental review of the underlying subdivision project pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), section 21000 et seq.
JHP petitioned for a writ of mandate in the trial court alleging respondents wrongfully classified JHP’s parcels as timberland and required duplicative environmental review. JHP first argues the parcels cannot be classified as timberland under the Forest Practice Act, because they have been locally zoned residential (citing Big Creek Lumber Co. v. County of Santa Cruz (2006) 38 Cal.4th 1139 (Big Creek/Santa Cruz) [local zoning may render land not available for growing a crop of trees and thus not timberland as defined by the Forest Practice Act]). The trial court granted judgment on the pleadings to the Department on this issue, and we affirm. Assuming that local land use regulation could render land not available for growing a crop of trees, as suggested in Big Creek/Santa Cruz, JHP has not pled facts sufficient to show that the Del Norte County land use regulations have done so. Moreover, the county’s approval of the specific subdivision development projects on JHP’s parcels do not render the parcels nontimberland because the Forest Practice Act expressly grants the Department jurisdiction over conversions of timberland to nontimberland use.
JHP also argues the Department’s environmental review as part the THP process is duplicative of the county CEQA review of the underlying subdivision project and thus violates section 21166, which restricts subsequent or supplemental environmental reviews. The trial court granted judgment on the pleadings in favor of the Department on this issue as well. We reverse. We find that JHP’s claim cannot be resolved without development of a factual record.
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