January 23, 2025 - OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Wednesday announced a lawsuit against the City of Tulare challenging its Zoning Ordinance Update, which allows cold-storage and other facilities to be permitted by-right in both light and heavy industrial zones, despite the serious health implications to nearby communities including Matheny Tract. By-right permitting means that development of cold-storage and other facilities can occur in the City without further environmental review or mitigation measures necessary to address health and environmental impacts from such facilities. Cold-storage facilities are known to increase cancer and other health risks for residents living nearly one mile away. In the lawsuit, Attorney General Bonta argues that the City improperly approved its Zoning Ordinance without environmental review even though it allows cold storage and certain other industrial facilities to be developed by right, in violation of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The lawsuit also argues that the Zoning Ordinance  conflicts with policies and protections in the City’s own General Plan in violation of state law.

“As Attorney General, I have a responsibility to enforce the state’s environmental laws, and I am committed to standing up for communities that too often are overlooked,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Matheny Tract residents deserve environmental protections that prioritize their health and well-being. That’s why we’re filing this lawsuit, which would hold the City of Tulare accountable for violating the law and compel the City to fulfill its legal requirements to mitigate the potential environmental harms to local residents.” 

Matheny Tract was established in 1947 by E.S. and Grace Matheny. At the time, racially restrictive covenants in the City prevented African Americans leaving the dust bowl and the Jim Crow south from living there, but they were able to settle in neighboring Matheny. While Matheny Tract is a historically African American community; today, nearly 90% of its over 1,000 residents are Hispanic or Latino. This community has long borne disproportionately high pollution burdens in the State, especially for fine particle pollution, which increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and premature death.

In December 2024, the City Council approved the Update even though the City did not conduct any environmental review, claiming that it is exempt from CEQA. The impacts of cold storage facilities are particularly concerning due to the use of trucks and trailers equipped with transport refrigeration units (TRUs), which are typically diesel-powered. These TRUs emit high levels of toxic diesel particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, and other harmful emissions. TRU diesel engines often must continue to operate, which spews toxic emissions, while the trucks are on-site at a facility for loading or unloading. Trucks with TRUs emit more harmful pollutants than standard trucks.

In the lawsuit, Attorney General Bonta argues that the City of Tulare violated CEQA and State Planning and Zoning Law in its approval of the Zoning Ordinance by failing to: 

• Conduct environmental review for the Zoning Ordinance and its by-right permitting of cold-storage and other industrial facilities.
• Account for the health risk assessment requirement in the City’s own General Plan and impacts of cold-storage and other industrial facilities on the health of its residents.
• Mitigate all significant environmental impacts of the Zoning Ordinance Update, as required by law.

 A copy of the petition can be found here.
Source: CA.DOJ