REGIONAL: Redwood Valley market owners file suit to set aside Dollar General building permit

NORTH COAST, Calif. – As Dollar General seeks to open more stores across Northern California, owners of a business in Redwood Valley are suing the county of Mendocino, alleging their appeal of a building permit for one of the chain's stores didn't receive a fair hearing.

Alex and Anthony Chehada, the owners of Redwood Valley Market, filed suit in Mendocino Count Superior Court on Friday seeking an order commanding the county to set aside the issuance of a building permit for the Dollar General store that is set to be built across the street from their business, located at 999 E. School Way.

The Chehadas also are asking that the county either perform a study of the environmental impacts of the project or revoke its approval of the building permit altogether.

The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors gave the building permit for the store – to be built by Texas-based Cross Development, the same company that has built Lake County's two existing Dollar General stores – approval this fall, at the same time denying the Chehadas' appeal.

The Chehadas' petition for writ of mandate and declaratory relief alleges that they did not receive a fair hearing before the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors on their administrative appeal and that the county did not proceed in a manner required by law. 

“It is our position that the Board of Supervisors essentially had a loaded gun to their head with the hammer pulled back on Nov. 3 when they reversed their initial 5-0 vote to revoke the building permit made at their Oct. 6 meeting,” said attorney Brian Momsen of the Ukiah law firm of Carter, Momsen & Knight, who is representing the Chehadas.

Momsen said the Board of Supervisors closed the public hearing on Oct. 6 just prior to voting 5-0 in the Chehadas’ favor.

While the board received comments from the public afterwards, it never reopened the hearing and took additional evidence before reversing its vote on Nov. 3, Momsen said.

“All that had changed between Oct. 6 and Nov. 3 was that the Dollar General’s Sacramento law firm submitted a saber-rattling letter improperly and illegally threatening to sue the board members as individuals, with their personal assets being exposed to a judgment,” Momsen said.

The complaint the Chehadas filed alleges that the proposed Dollar General store will cause significant impacts to the environment that have never previously been studied by the county.

The suit also claims the project is inconsistent with the county’s general plan such that Mendocino County has discretion to order further environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act – even though the retail store is consistent with the zoning for downtown Redwood Valley – or deny the permit without further study.  

Dollar General has 30 days to respond to the Chehadas' petition. Momsen said a court hearing to decide the matter likely will be set in late spring or early summer of this year.

Supporters have set up an online fundraiser to support the Chehadas' suit at https://www.gofundme.com/ma9zs5a4 . Donations also can be made at the Savings Bank, where an account has been opened for this cause.

Dollar General opened two stores in Lake County – in Clearlake Oaks and Nice – in early 2015, as Lake County News has reported.

Last year, Cross Development sought to get approval for a store in Kelseyville, which met significant community pushback, resulting in a Lake County Planning Commission denial in May.

Cross Development appealed that decision, but the Lake County Board of Supervisors denied that appeal in August.

Another proposal by Cross Development for a store in Middletown had, at last report, not been formally submitted to the county of Lake.