Politics & Government
No Toxic Air Files Lawsuit Against Santa Clara County, Lehigh Cement
Group asks court to throw out Board of Supervisors' vote last February giving Lehigh 'vested rights.'
The leaders of No Toxic Air filed a lawsuit Friday afternoon against the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and Lehigh Southwest Cement asking a judge to throw out the supervisors' Feb. 8 vote giving the company vested mining rights.
Cupertino Councilman Barry Chang and leaders Paula Wallis and Rod Sinks, along with attorney Stuart Flashman, carried in 50 pounds of documentation into Santa Clara Superior Court to back up their claim that the supervisors voted improperly.
"We believe the county decision on Feb. 8 was a flawed decision," Wallis said to reporters before filing the suit in San Jose. Flashman added, "We're asking them to go back and do it right."
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The supervisors voted to give Lehigh 'vested rights' to a larger portion of its quarry in the foothills above Los Altos and Cupertino, despite a more limited recommendation from the county's own Planning Department staff. Vested rights allows the company to mine its land using older county regulations, rather than having to seek new use permits under newer regulations.
