Society for California Archaeology v. County of Butte, Irvin Schlaf

The Society for California Archaeology (society) (plaintiff) filed a petition for a writ of mandate asking the court to require the County of Butte (Butte) (defendant) to revoke its approval of a 31-acre residential development in California. As part of the approval process for the development, Butte’s planning commission prepared an environmental-impact report (EIR). The EIR referenced six archaeological sites within the area proposed for the residential development and concluded that the development proposal would have a significant effect on cultural resources of local significance. Butte’s planning commission approved the draft EIR, after which the EIR was discussed at a public hearing led by Butte’s board of supervisors (the board). Members of the public objected to the development being built on archaeological sites, so the board referred the EIR back to the planning commission for additional comments. The planning commission created a supplemental report noting that the archaeological sites were possibly unique, containing Indian mounds, some of which were intact. The board did not discuss the supplemental report’s notes on the environmental impact at subsequent meetings or in writing but did approve the supplemental report and the building project. The final report required the developer to set aside some of the archaeological sites for six months to allow for exploration but did not otherwise address any of the environmental impact of the development on the archaeological sites. The society filed suit afterward, and the trial court denied the writ of mandate. The society appealed.