Lawsuit against Marin County
SENA Unsuccessfully Sued Marin County to Stop 1251 S Eliseo
On March 23, 2022 SENA filed a petition that the County implement the CEQA review process for the proposed development at 1251 S Eliseo. This project is likely to have devastating environmental and community impact. In October of 2022 the judge ruled against us and in favor of the project. This ruling was disappointing, but it was not, in the opinion of our attorneys, worth appealing. We are considering other approaches to halt this project. The input of our supporters is always appreciated. Contact us at info@southeliseo.org.
Your tax-deductible donations funded our lawsuit. Thank you. With them, we retained a highly qualified team of attorneys who represented us professionally and effectively despite our limited resources. We focused on being stewards of your generous donations and we accomplished a lot on a small litigation budget. We're completely volunteer run and have zero overhead. Every penny we raise has been (and will be) spent directly on action to stop and/or mitigate this development. Our limited remaining funds will be allocated only to further action to limit the negative impact of this project on our community.
SENA files for Temporary Restraining Order to Stop Construction
Sena has filed a motion to halt construction at 1251 S Eliseo. This motion will be heard in Marin County Court (Courtroom A) at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 21.
Please attend this hearing! Your presence will make it clear to the court how important this matter is to the community.
SENA files for Temporary Restraining Order to Stop Construction
Sena has filed a motion to halt construction at 1251 S Eliseo. This motion will be heard in Marin County Court (Courtroom A) at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, September 19.
Please attend this hearing! Your presence will make it clear to the court how important this matter is to the community.
July 13, 2022 Funding Update
Concerned community members throughout Greenbrae, Larkspur, and Kentfield have supported our lawsuit with $100, $500 and $1,000 gifts, a $5,000 gift, and even an anonymous $35,000 gift!
Our attorneys and experts spent about 100 hours preparing and filing our CEQA petition, preparing notices of objection at various hearings, meeting and conferring with the County, reviewing documents provided in discovery , and investigating flood plain and hazardous waste issues conveniently dismissed by the County. Moving forward our experts will review discovery documents and continue their independent investigations, our attorneys will prepare and file briefs for the October CEQA exemption hearing, and they are considering additional causes of action to stop this project.
We're working to keep costs down, but suing Marin County and deep-pocketed developers is expensive. With your continued support we believe we will prevail and put an end to this boondoggle. We thank all of our generous supporters!
What the future holds
We are starting a new round of fundraising that, barring any unexpected setbacks, should take us through the October hearing date. Our goal is $75,000. We've already received pledges of $20,000, but we need your support. Please consider a gift of any amount. 100% of your donation goes to our attorneys. We are volunteer-run 501c(3) nonprofit and have zero overhead. Your donations are tax-deductible. Give Now.
March 23, 2022: SENA Petitions for Environmental Review of 1251 South Eliseo Development
The South Eliseo Neighborhood Alliance (SENA) filed a petition in Marin County Superior Court on March 23rd for a mandate that the County properly review the environmental impacts of the proposed development at 1251 S Eliseo.
It is SENA’s contention that the County abused their discretion in finding this project exempt from CEQA. The Notice of Exemption filed by the County did not provide any basis for their conclusory statement, and there is nothing in the public record to indicate the County carried out any analysis.
A lead agency is required to undertake a review and provide sufficient analysis to conclude that a proposed project is exempt from CEQA. The County did not analyze or discuss the nine factors that must be considered in order to make a proper finding of statutory exemption from CEQA. For example, the proposed exemption from CEQA fails on its face because the project fails to serve individuals and families. Without this analysis the public and elected decision makers are unable to determine if the claimed exemption applies.
The County rushed the approval of this project in order to secure state funding. By unlawfully applying the exemption they circumvented environmental protections such as diligently searching for alternative methods of achieving their goals. The County also ignored the public comment process where the majority of commentors voiced opposition to the project. Had the County been more receptive to public input they may have found other solutions.
Furthermore, the County released, on March 17, a notice that public review of the specifics of this project was not undertaken as required by federal law. That the County is only beginning this process now is further evidence that this project was rushed.
SENA is asking for a finding that this project is not exempt from CEQA and that the County undertake a thorough environmental review.