Tulare can’t sidestep environmental reviews in zoning. ‘Critical win for public health’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Court voids Tulare zoning update, requires environmental review under CEQA.
- In Jan 2025 AG and union sued; cases consolidated Apr 2025 over zoning update.
- Ruling requires public engagement, rescind approval, and CEQA review.
A Tulare County Superior Court judge ordered the City of Tulare to void a zoning ordinance update that allowed the city to approve certain light and heavy industrial uses without complying with state environmental law.
Environmental advocates said the court’s decision protects a community that has been overburdened by industrial pollution.
“We aren’t against development. We’re against projects that affect our health, with their traffic, their noise and above all for not taking into account the environmental impact,” said Hugo Trujillo, a member of the Matheny Tract Committee, a resident-led group made up of individuals who live in and around the unincorporated community of Matheny Tract.
The committee was formed to advocate for fair land-use practices, environmental protections, and meaningful community participation in decisions that affect their neighborhoods.
The court ruling on Feb. 19, comes after a year of litigation.
On January 2025, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the Laborers International Union of North America, Local Union 294 filed separate lawsuits against the City of Tulare for violating the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). In April 2025, the cases were consolidated into one. And in August 2025, the Matheny Tract Committee, represented by Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability (LCJA), intervened as plaintiff and petitioner in the cases.
The consolidated lawsuits challenged the city’s zoning ordinance update, which allows cold storage and other facilities to be permitted in light and heavy industrial zones despite potentially serious health implications to nearby communities, including Matheny Tract, a residential and unincorporated community established in 1947 that is surrounded on three sides by city jurisdiction and industrial zoned land.
The Tulare City council approved the zoning ordinance update, in December 2024 without conducting any environmental review, claiming that it is exempt from CEQA, said the lawsuit.
“Management is disappointed in the ruling and therefore our legal counsel will be discussing options and next steps with City Council in the coming weeks at which time the City will provide an official response, until then management does not have any further comment,” said Marc Mondell, Tulare’s city manager, in an email statement .
Matheny Tract historically has been an African American community, but nearly 90 percent of its current residents are Hispanic or Latino.
“For too long, communities of color and low-income communities have borne the brunt of pollution, leaving them with devastating impacts to their health,” said Bonta in a statement. “We will continue to stand firm that environmental justice and economic opportunity go hand-in-hand. We will continue to uphold laws, such as CEQA as a cornerstone of both.”
Environmental advocates said the community of more than 1,000 people has endured impacts from heavy truck traffic, warehouse activity and heavy machinery passing through their neighborhood as a health and air quality concern for residents.
“This decision means that the city will need to engage the public and conduct environmental review of its zoning ordinance update,” said Seth Alston, staff attorney with Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability.
“This is a critical win for public health and the residents of Matheny Tract,” Alston said.
Because of the ruling, Tulare is required to rescind its approval of the zoning update and fully comply with the environmental review required by CEQA before any future approval actions, according to the Leadership Counsel.
This story was originally published March 2, 2026 at 2:50 PM.
