California Attorney General Rob Bonta is suing a Central Valley city for failing to evaluate the health impacts of cold-storage facilities on nearby disadvantaged communities.

According to the lawsuit, the city of Tulare approved its Zoning Ordinance Update last month in violation of state planning and zoning laws, as well as the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA.

By approving the ordinance, the city failed to conduct environmental review for the Zoning Ordinance and its by-right permitting of cold-storage and other industrial facilities, according to the state’s lawsuit. Bonta’s complaint also alleges the city failed to account for the health risk assessment requirement in its General Plan and failed to mitigate all significant environmental impacts of the Zoning Ordinance Update, as required by law.

The lawsuit said these facilities could have serious health implications for communities like Matheny Tract, “a previously racially-segregated community that is now one of the most pollution-burdened and disadvantaged communities in the State.”

Cold storages are essentially “refrigerated warehouses,” the lawsuit said, and require the use of diesel-powered trucks and trailers with “transport refrigeration units,” which emit more harmful pollutants than standard trucks, the lawsuit said.

These facilities are known to increase cancer and other health risks for residents, Bonta said in a statement.

“Matheny Tract residents deserve environmental protections that prioritize their health and well-being,” Bonta said. “That’s why we’re filing this lawsuit, which would hold the City of Tulare accountable for violating the law and compel the City to fulfill its legal requirements to mitigate the potential environmental harms to local residents.”

Mario Zamora, city attorney for Tulare said in a phone interview that he was aware of the suit but had not yet seen a copy.

“As far as I know, we haven’t been served yet,” he said.

The Zoning Ordinance Update, which was approved by the Tulare City Council, allows warehouses and cold-storage facilities to be developed “by right,” meaning without environmental analysis, mitigation measures or with limited public notice or participation in all zones in which they are allowed.

The updated ordinance says these developments are exempted from state environmental review because they fall under the “common sense” exception of the law. Under this exception, the city must demonstrate “with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment,” the lawsuit said.

According to the lawsuit, the city is not properly applying this common sense exemption to CEQA review.

“By forgoing CEQA review of its Update, the City allows large facilities with known human health and environmental impacts to be built without environmental review or appropriate mitigation, harming residents, families, communities, and the environment in violation of CEQA and state law,” the suit said.

Matheny Tract is a a historically Black community established in 1947 by E.S. and Grace Matheny during a time in which racially restrictive covenants prohibited Black people from living in the city.

Today, the majority Latino census-designated place is home to about 1,000 residents and 330 homes, according to census data.

The lawsuit said there is “substantial pre-existing pollution in the area” given the residential community is surrounded by industrial land on two sides.

Residents in the community suffer from some of the highest exposures statewide to fine particulate matter (95th percentile), which are microscopic particles that can enter into human lungs and are linked to increased risk of premature death, cardiovascular disease, lung cancer and asthma attacks, the lawsuit said.