Perkins Legal Defense Solar Appeal
Donation protected
In 2014 the Lakeview Terrace, Sunland and Shadow Hills community organized to protest a planned and already approved industrial Solar Farm to be built on a 2.5 acre vacant lot on Foothill Boulevard. Lyles Perkins volunteered to put her name to a formal appeal of the project's approval. Against all expectations, the appeal was actually granted, overturning the permitting approval. The company who had purchased the property and filed to sell the solar power to LADWP filed a lawsuit in 2014 against the City of LA and the regional planning commission for overturning the approval and granting Lyles' appeal. In 2016 the solar company won the lawsuit and the regional planning commission was instructed to allow the project to proceed. The commission overturned the appeal and then, however, immediately rejected the project AGAIN, insisting that it was incomplete without a zoning variance called a Conditional Use Permit.
In January of this year, the solar company again filed a lawsuit naming the City and the planning commission as defendants, and named Lyles Perkins as a Real Party in Interest. The City advised Lyles to obtain her own legal advice to decide how to proceed. Lyles has retained a law firm to represent her in the proceeding, and their estimate is around $5,000 for the matter. The filing fees, if any, would be a minimum of $400.
We are asking for community support to help cover the unfortunate cost of legal representation, since the appeal Lyles has filed is of benefit to all in the community who don't want to see industrial scale commercial solar power plants in rural equestrian and agricultural neighborhoods.
In a related victory for neighborhoods over out-of-state developers, the City of LA has since changed its permitting protocol, and requires all such projects to go through the Conditional Use Permitting process, which allows for substantial community input to the approval process. This particular project, however, is grandfathered and the litigation is because the planning commission is trying to force a CUP approval as a necessary step. Lyles' appeal was a direct cause of the change of City permitting rules, and is of significant value to neighborhoods throughout the City of LA.
In January of this year, the solar company again filed a lawsuit naming the City and the planning commission as defendants, and named Lyles Perkins as a Real Party in Interest. The City advised Lyles to obtain her own legal advice to decide how to proceed. Lyles has retained a law firm to represent her in the proceeding, and their estimate is around $5,000 for the matter. The filing fees, if any, would be a minimum of $400.
We are asking for community support to help cover the unfortunate cost of legal representation, since the appeal Lyles has filed is of benefit to all in the community who don't want to see industrial scale commercial solar power plants in rural equestrian and agricultural neighborhoods.
In a related victory for neighborhoods over out-of-state developers, the City of LA has since changed its permitting protocol, and requires all such projects to go through the Conditional Use Permitting process, which allows for substantial community input to the approval process. This particular project, however, is grandfathered and the litigation is because the planning commission is trying to force a CUP approval as a necessary step. Lyles' appeal was a direct cause of the change of City permitting rules, and is of significant value to neighborhoods throughout the City of LA.
Organizer
Lyles Perkins
Organizer
Los Angeles, CA