Trust for Public Land turns up heat in Coast Dairies case

The Trust for Public Land, a conservation group seeking to transfer a 5,500-acre swath of North Coast land for public use, is taking an unusual and aggressive stance against a group of Bonny Doon neighbors who've tied up the project in court for years. This week, Trust for Public Land asked the neighbors to pony up $200,500 in attorney's fees — the cost of defending the case in court. The case has lingered for years, with the San Francisco-based group recently winning a judgment that seemed to clear the way for the former Coast Dairies and Land property to be transferred to the Bureau of Land Management, a move that was expected earlier this year. But neighbors, represented by Save Our Agricultural Land, the Rural Bonny Doon Association and four individuals — Don Croll, Jodi Frediani, Bruce Kosanovic and Celia Scott — recently appealed the case again, leading to the unusual request. "I haven't seen anything like this in my 25 years of practice," said Bill Parkin, a Santa Cruz environmental attorney representing the neighbors in court. Indeed, it usually works the other way around. California law grants individuals and their lawyers the right to act as "private" attorneys general on behalf of the public. Those lawyers commonly recover fees from the parties sued, including the government. While some see the law as a boon for plaintiff's lawyers, it is also one way environmental litigation becomes feasible for those with little economic resources. But Trust for Public Land is arguing that they are acting in the public interest, not Bonny Doon neighbors...more