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A lawsuit seeks to force a developer to change some building materials planned for a large Folsom subdivision, claiming violations to the California Environmental Quality Act.
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National home builder Toll Brothers, based in Pennsylvania, plans to build 1,424 homes on 464 acres in southeastern Folsom, near the corner of Alder Creek Parkway and Prairie City Road, and on both sides of Oak Avenue Parkway.
The Folsom City Council on June 23 approved the project in a 4-1 vote, with Councilmember Barbara Leary voting against it.
Then last week, the Laborers’ International Union of North America Local 185 (LiUNA) filed the suit in Sacramento Superior Court against the city and its city council. The union, which largely represents construction and energy sector workers, has over 3,200 members who live in Sacramento County and at least 27 who live in Folsom.
The suit alleges the project’s use of formaldehyde-emitting wood composite building products will cause indoor air pollution to nearby homes, exposing residents to increased risk of cancer. It suggested Toll Brothers instead construct the project building “no added formaldehyde resins,” which the California Air Resources Board recommends.
The project falls within the Folsom Plan Area Specific Plan, which was certified in 2011, the suit alleges. When the city approved the project, it was using the environmental impact report from 2011, which did not include indoor air pollution. In addition, science on air pollution and formaldehyde has improved since then, the suit alleges.
The suit asks a judge to rescind the city’s approval of the project and for the city to prepare a new environmental impact report.
“The City supports the development of Toll Brothers’ Alder Creek project as it provides a variety of housing types in Folsom,” said Desmond Parrington, Folsom planning manager, in a statement. “However, the City does not comment on pending litigation.”
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Toll Brothers, which is named as a “real party of interest” in the suit, did not respond to an email seeking comment on the suit.
The project includes both traditional single-family homes, as well as so-called half-plexes on smaller lots, Parrington said. Half-plexes are separate homes on separate lots but with one shared wall separating them. They can be bought and sold individually. The project also includes a neighborhood park and sites for an elementary school and fire station to be built in the future. The development still needs city Planning Commission approval for the design of the homes, which will happen later this year or early next year, Parrington said.
Toll Brothers was planning to start grading the site this fall, and construction will take several years, Parrington said.
CEQA suits in recent years in the Sacramento area do not often result in a judge agreeing to block a project. However, they can delay projects by at least two years, which can make the projects no longer viable.
Earlier CEQA suit delays Sacramento high-rise project
LiUNA also filed a CEQA suit against an LPA Design Studios plan to build four high-rise towers with 787 market-rate apartments along the American River in Sacramento. A judge eventually ruled the project, called American River One, could move forward.
However after the delay the suit caused, along with a suit by Save the American River Association, the market for multifamily properties was “somewhat soft,” Anthony Scotch, the broker for the project, said in January. It’s unclear if the project will move forward.
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