In Major Win for Matheny Tract Residents, Attorney General Bonta Secures Final Ruling, Ensures City of Tulare Complies with CEQA in Its Zoning Ordinance Update

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today celebrated the Superior Court of Tulare County’s ruling against the City of Tulare’s Zoning Ordinance Update, which allows cold-storage and other facilities to be permitted by-right in both light and heavy industrial zones. Today’s order found the Update to be in violation of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and directs the City to void its decision approving the 2024 Zoning Ordinance Update and to fully comply with the requirements of CEQA prior to any future approval actions with respect to the Zoning Ordinance Update. 

“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 Attorney General Bonta. “Today’s ruling shows that the rule of the law, including CEQA, ensures California’s economic development does not come at the expense of clean air, safe water, and healthy neighborhoods. It gives communities — especially those too often ignored — a voice in the decisions that shape their lives. At the California Department of Justice, 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.” 

BACKGROUND

In January 2025, California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit against the City of Tulare challenging its adoption of its Zoning Ordinance Update, which allowed 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 and without CEQA review. Similar suits were filed by the Laborers International Union of North America, Local Union 294, and the Matheny Tract Committee, represented by the Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability, and consolidated with Attorney General Bonta’s suit. By-right permitting means that development of cold-storage and other facilities can occur in the City without environmental review or mitigation measures necessary to address health and environmental impacts from such facilities. While California jurisdictions may lawfully adopt by-right permitting, the approval of by-right permitting may itself be subject to CEQA requirements. In the lawsuit, Attorney General Bonta argued that the City improperly approved its Zoning Ordinance Update without environmental review, in violation of CEQA, even though it allows cold storage and certain other industrial facilities to be developed by right. The lawsuit also argued that the Zoning Ordinance Update abandons mitigation measures the City adopted in 2014 to mitigate impacts of its General Plan in violation of CEQA. 

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.  

Cold-storage facilities are known to increase cancer and other health risks for residents living as far as nearly one mile away. The impacts of cold-storage facilities are greater than other types of warehouses due to the use of trucks and trailers equipped with transport refrigeration units (TRUs), which are typically diesel-powered. These TRUs emit more harmful pollutants than standard trucks, including high levels of toxic diesel particulate matter and nitrogen oxides. TRU diesel engines often must continue to operate, spewing toxic emissions, while the trucks are on-site at a facility for loading or unloading.