MENDOCINO CO., 8/25/26 — Three Redwood Valley residents have filed a lawsuit against Mendocino County to block construction of a Chevron gas station and vacate the use permit granted in May by the Board of Supervisors to the Faizan Corporation, arguing that it violates local zoning laws.
The lawsuit cites a chapter of the Mendocino County Zoning Code that states that a business’s “proposed use will not constitute a nuisance or be detrimental to the public health, safety, or general welfare of the persons residing or working in the neighborhood of the proposed use, or be detrimental or injurious to property or improvements in the neighborhood or to the general welfare of the county.”
The suit, filed Aug. 17, argues that the increased traffic and potential environmental impact from the gas station would violate the provisions stated in the code. It also mentions Faizan Corporation’s past environmental violations, presenting them as evidence that the town’s welfare was not made a priority.
The Board of Supervisors, named in the suit, has been instructed to refrain from giving public comment.
“It would be inappropriate for the county to comment on this lawsuit at this time,” said Katharine Elliot, Mendocino County Counsel.
Mahmood Alam, president of Faizan Corporation, has also chosen to keep mum.
“I’m sorry, it’s sensitive,” replied Alam when asked by the Mendocino Voice if he was willing to comment. He also pointed out that the suit was directed at the county, not himself.
In 2023, Faizan Corporation, which operates gas stations in Sonoma, Alameda, Contra Costa, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, and Yolo counties, came under investigation by the Environmental and Consumer Law Division of the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office. It was ordered to pay a $500,000 settlement for failing to adequately install and operate equipment designed to detect petroleum leaks. Additionally, the Ukiah-based company was found to have falsely advertised the sale of lower-octane gasoline as higher-octane at certain stations.
Four years prior, the North Coast Regional Water Board issued a cleanup and abatement order against Faizan’s ExpressMart in Ukiah after detecting gasoline in nearby groundwater. However, after pumping out groundwater for testing, the site was found to be uncontaminated, and the case was closed.
The new suit comes on the heels of what had seemed like the final chapter in a long debate over the gas station’s construction.
Public outcry began almost a decade ago when residents, wary of increased traffic, light and noise pollution, first heard of plans for the station in 2017. Criticism increased when Faizan Corporation’s environmental and consumer violations came to light.
Local groups that registered negative comments about the station include the Redwood Valley Municipal Advisory Council, which advises the Board of Supervisors, the Mendocino County-based environmental group GrassRoots Institute, and the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians. These groups spoke against the gas station’s construction at the May 19 Board of Supervisors meeting about the use permit, while others countered that the owners had a right to establish a business and the gas station would transform an otherwise vacant lot.
Supervisor Ted Williams said the project’s Mitigated Negative Declarations did not adequately address the project’s environmental impacts. MNDs are used under CEQA when a project’s initial study identifies potentially significant environmental impacts, but revisions or mitigation measures lessen these effects to an insignificant level. Williams called for a fuller and more rigorous environmental impact report.
“With the proposed roadway expansion and acceleration and decelerations at lanes, the record also raises unresolved concerns regarding tire-derived stormwater pollutants associated with braking and acceleration zones, including compounds such as 6-PPDQ. Under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), substantial evidence supporting a fair argument of potentially significant impacts warrants a higher level of environmental review… Given the unresolved questions and substantial evidence in the record, I believe a full EIR is warranted rather than an MND,” Williams said.
The board ended up approving the permit 4-1, and the project’s opponents reluctantly accepted that construction on the station would begin.
But Christine Boyd, member of the Redwood Valley Municipal Advisory Council and an outspoken opponent of the project, along with Frances Owen and Patricia Ris-Yarbrough, changed course a month later. They filed a petition for a writ of mandate with the County of Mendocino to perform a more complete environmental review of the gas station.
They claimed that the project’s “environmental review failed to adequately evaluate impacts associated with traffic, circulation, traffic safety, roadway modifications, lighting, aesthetics, stormwater runoff, cumulative impacts, and other significant environmental effects identified during the administrative process.”
Their request was promptly denied by Mendocino County Superior Court Judge Patrick Pekin because the time limit for presenting legal challenges after the project’s notice of determination had run out. Under CEQA, there is a 30-day window for legal challenges once a project is approved. The gas station’s notice of determination was filed on May 21 and the petitioners filed their writ of mandate on June 22, 31 days after the notice. The petitioners were under the impression they were within the window due to the Juneteenth holiday.
Despite this swift denial, Boyd, Owen and Ris-Yarbrough were not ready to give up the fight.
“We’re just rookie citizens who want to see the right thing done. And the very fact that we even filed without help of a lawyer, I think, is pretty remarkable, because there’s so many hoops you have to jump through that I’d never heard of,” Boyd said in late June.
In July, they hired an attorney to conduct an appeal of the dismissal of their CEQA petition, which resulted in the suit filed last Monday.
Now the three are focused on raising money to fund their case. They have approached environmental groups and have launched a GoFundMe campaign called “Redwood Valley Smart Growth vs Big Oil.” At press time, it had raised $1,000 out of its $35,000 initial goal.
dear grumpy old boomers who had every advantage and the worlds largest carbon footprint,
stop pissing your pants about everything
use some science and facts to make educated decisions
california is the 4th or 5th largest economy on earth depending on the day
we are 1/2 of 1% of the entire world population
we contribute less than 1% of
ALL global fossile fuel polution
CA runs almost entirely on solar all day every day and now i to the nights- we had zero % solar just a few decades ago
i know, i have devoted my life to solar and renewables and i drive a gas truck
the only contradition there is ignorant people making uniformed decisions
god bless american and our freedom , except people whos ideas we dont like i guess
fuck them
that will teach them
OK Boomer
Well said Ok Boomer. Just too many hand wringing whiners these days. The world is not static and as long as basic environmental protections are present, life will expand.
How many gas stations do we really need? I’m sure the neighboring property owners just love it.
I hate waiting in line at the casino gas station.
Hating on boomers is a strange way to make a nebulous point. Have the honesty and courage to say specifically what’s on your mind. Don’t hide behind veiled whining like a little coward. Maybe your boomer parents or grandparents never taught you how to be respectful, but I bet they did and it just didn’t take.
It doesn’t help that it’s Boomers whining and making the lawsuit happen. Aside from the generational conflict being displayed here, the county has deteriorating roads and, a stagnant tax base. Many of the state roads and grants issued by the state are funded by gas taxes. For a community that refuses to fund road taxes in its own county all while keeping many new businesses out of its community, yet whines about the disrepair of its infrastructure. As the old saying goes, you can’t have your cake and eat it too.
Look at any one of the various protest party photos from around the county and you can see perfectly well why someone might point a finger. Respect is earned.
dont cry carlos
its math
I lived in Redwood Valley for a number of years and I would not like to see this gas station happen there. Put it somewhere else. We need some towns to remain small and rural.
hey susan
keep saying no to everything
end up woth nothing
funny how all ypu negative nancys never pose a solution or alternative and expect everyone else tp forfiet thier opportunity to access the same services and goods you ised your entire life and raised your kids on
the hypocrocy is toxic
btw- why shouldnt we burn gasoline?
california is carbon megative,
and if the entire world did exactly as we are doing roght now in ca
climate change (human caused) would be motigated right away
read a book susan and no
facebook isnt a book
Non boomers also worry about a big new gas station. Besides, boomers will be gone before anything effects them. Gas stations come with traffic and transients and trash. People live right there, they will breathe the fumes. Thank you boomers, for giving it to the man one last time before you go. The rest of us are just chicken.
The Boomers aging out means lower housing prices, more room on the road, and fewer bloated retirements. I fixed your comment.
I sincerely don’t think less boomers will mean less traffic or more housing.
I sincerely disagree.
https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/boomers-sell-homes-survey/
Did a boomer spank you too hard? Did some grandparent ignore you over the other the other nieces and or nephews? Did you know it’s only been a few generations since all the elderly save a few lucky rich even had any assets in old age? They mostly died on the street eating pet food, unless their kids could or would take care of them. The American economy is a crapshoot for every generation. You can whine about your elders or can learn some social skills and try to climb some corporate ladder or you can be creative and start and work a business. I put in 40 years of nose to the grindstone 60 hour workweeks and I’m still struggling. But I never blamed my elders like you.
Last time I checked it was three elders whining about a gas station being built near the neighborhood. I’m just stating the facts.
Dude, you should have your license to post thoughtlessly revoked. An issue bothers you. There are three members of the public who are advancing an alternate idea. Those three happen to be elderly. There is a thing called correlation does not imply causation. Those are big words so I’ll give you a moment to look them up. ……… And then there’s the lawsuit. Filing a lawsuit is expensive. Three elderly people would generally not have the means. That means they have to have supporters. Many, many supporters. It’s not just the three people, you may infer lots more. You would do well to take a basic logic course. But that would be asking a lot of you. In the meantime, just try to be a better, more thoughtful person, will you?
“An issue bothers you /me.” – Does it? I think you’re confused and/or projecting. I’m not spending thousands of dollars to stop something as common as a gas station over an empty platitude.
There is a concept called an inconvenient truth. The world has plenty of them. They aren’t always accepted by the masses either.
The gas station is not the problem. The demand for it is. When you prevent development you suffer consequences. All three of these folks pride themselves on being gate keepers of development.
“Filing a lawsuit is expensive.” – You would be correct. Someone has the time (Likely retired) and money (A Pre-PEPRA pension) to obstruct a new service from coming into the neighborhood. RV, like much of America, is a rural suburb. It is dependent on fossil fuels and it’s tax revenue thanks to decades of local county building standards.
“I put in 40 years of nose to the grindstone 60 hour workweeks and I’m still struggling.” – Good for you, I think? Sounds a bit ominous if you are struggling.
Quit blaming the Boomers for everything! There’s enough blame to go around. Maybe look at this corporation’s history of violations. They failed to install, monitor, operate, and calibrate important equipment on-site to detect leaking tanks. They failed to comply with laws that regulate hazardous wastes and hazardous materials at certain stations. They had incorrect octane labels and price per gallon labels and falsely advertised the sale of lower octane at higher octane at certain stations and was found guilty, paid a $500,000 fine. That is enough to not want it anywhere in Mendocino. But still they were given the green light. The county needs to protect our environment and its citizens. But people will get gas there, not me.