County Fair approves rodeo study

Santa Cruz County Fair leaders, under threat of a lawsuit, agreed Tuesday to study the environmental impact of a planned rodeo. But the fair board also wants to prove the research isn't required under the California Environmental Quality Act. "I really hesitate before jumping off a cliff and joining with the CEQA people," board member Christopher Smith said. Stars of Justice Inc., a nonprofit offshoot of the Santa Cruz County Deputy Sheriff's Association, proposes to hold a two-day rodeo in October to raise money for charity. But neighbors and animal rights advocates insist the fair must take a look at the potential impact of noise, traffic and livestock. Smith and other board members argued rodeos are no different than ongoing equestrian events, which pre-date the 1970s passage of CEQA and so are "grandfathered" out of the environmental law. Smith called the exemption "bulletproof," and worried that by approving the study the fair would set a precedent and lose its right to the waiver. But in a March 22 letter to the board, lawyer Jonathan Wittwer, representing the Community Alliance for Fairgrounds Accountability, said the proposed rodeo "would intensify past uses" and create cumulative impacts as an addition "to an already busy schedule."...more