RIVERSIDE: Chinatown appeal ruling is a reversal 
Published in The Press Enterprise, 10/27/11 

The sale of Riverside’s historic second Chinatown property to a developer was legal, but the city’s approval of a medical building for the site was flawed and invalid, according to a tentative ruling from a state appellate court.

The news is a partial victory for the Save Our Chinatown Committee, a citizens group that sued to block development of the Chinatown site at Tequesquite and Brockton avenues. The ruling issued this week by the Fourth District Court of Appeal reverses both findings of a lower court’s 2009 decision, which said the Riverside County Office of Education’s sale of the parcel was improperly done, but the city’s approval of developer Doug Jacobs’ plan for the property was valid.

The tentative appeal ruling sets aside Riverside’s approval of Jacobs’ project and the environmental report on it. Attorney Raymond Johnson, who represents the Chinatown committee, said this decision may actually be better for the group, because it would have been easier for officials to correct any issues with the property sale and then proceed with building the project.

M. Rosalind Sagara, the committee’s chairwoman, said in a news release she hopes the ruling “will send a message to our public officials that community members want our city’s historic and cultural resources to be preserved.”

Jacobs was unruffled by the decision. He said he expects it will merely be a matter of correcting any deficiencies the court found in the environmental report.

Once those issues are resolved, “My plans are to go ahead and build the building,” Jacobs said. “Basically the tentative decision says I can buy the land.”

The lower court held that the Riverside County Office of Education failed to follow state guidelines for selling surplus property and thus the sale of the parcel to Jacobs was improper. The appeals court opinion said that because the county office of education is not a school district, the guidelines don’t apply.

The Chinatown site is on the National Register of Historic Places and has city and county landmark status. A mid-1980s excavation yielded about three tons of items from when the city’s Chinese community was centered there in the 1890s.

Jacobs plans to build a medical office complex focused on breast cancer services. He has said the project would include a Chinese garden and a museum in the building lobby to display artifacts from the site.

The appeals court found that Riverside’s environmental study of Jacobs’ project did not adequately look at alternatives, as required by state law.

Under an indemnification agreement with Jacobs, the city is being represented by Jacobs’ attorneys. Riverside City Attorney Greg Priamos noted that the ruling is not final and could change after oral arguments, which the court requested but are not yet scheduled.

“We have not yet determined what exactly is necessary to comply with the court of appeals decision,” Priamos said, but if it becomes final the city would work with Jacobs’ attorneys on revising the environmental report to address the court’s concerns and then bring it back to the City Council for approval

Steps Toward Victory for Campaign to Preserve Riverside’s historic Chinatown

Riverside, CA – On Monday, October 24, 2011, the Fourth Appellate District of California Court of Appeals issued a tentative opinion that found in favor of Save Our Chinatown Committee’s (SOCC) argument that the City of Riverside failed to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

The Court held that the City failed to consider a reasonable range of project alternatives, including proposals that would protect the site’s historic archaeological remains.  The opinion would overturn the project approval and require the City and the developer, Doug Jacobs, to mend their environmental documents to come into compliance with CEQA.  A final opinion will be issued after oral arguments are declined or after they occur as requested by the parties.

“Hopefully the Court’s tentative opinion will send a message to our public officials that community members want our City’s historic and cultural resources to be preserved,” says M. Rosalind Sagara, Chair of the Save Our Chinatown Committee.  “The court’s tentative opinion encourages us to continue our work to secure long-term protection for Riverside’s historic Chinatown.”

Save our Chinatown Committee is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving Riverside’s diverse cultural heritage.  Since 2008, the organization has led community efforts to preserve and protect Riverside’s historic Chinatown, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990, and has State, County and City historic landmark designations. 

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• Public Comments, RCBOE mtg 11/10/10
• New Video: Chinatown Was Here
• Press Enterprise Article
• Land Swap FAQ sheet
• RCBOE Negative Declaration
• RCBOE Notice of Intent

Update: To date there has been no response to our letters to RCBE on this issue.  We will be monitoring the Board for activity on this issue:

• RCBOE Meeting Calendar and Agendas