Santa Barbara County is facing a lawsuit from an organic farmer over the rezoning of land to build several hundred housing units at the Glen Annie Golf Club.

Attorneys for Glen Annie Canyon Ranch and Glen Annie Organics filed a suit in Santa Barbara County Superior Court alleging that the county did not adequately review the impacts on the environment and wildlife in the area.

Seaward International Company, based out of Las Vegas, Nevada, filed the suit on behalf of the farm, which owns property north of the Glen Annie site. The ranch is located off Glen Annie Road, about 1,500 feet from the entrance to the Glen Annie Golf Course. The 45-acre farm is certified organic.

"Numerous impacts will result from the encroachment of high-density and single-

family residential development on the border of an organic farming operation and rural ranch," the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit outlines a variety of alleged impacts from rezoning the sites, including risk of potential contamination of the organic fields by residential application of herbicides and fertilizers, potential bacterial and fecal coliform contamination of the organic fields by roaming pets including cats, and transportation safety and traffic impacts to

employees as they drive to and from the farm and ranch.

The suit also claims impacts to wildlife and habitat, including birds and insects on which organic farming is dependent, and increased risk of wildfire from residential development in and on the edge of the county's rural area.

The suit names the county, the Board of Supervisors, and JTGV, the owners of the Golf Course.

Steve Lavagnino, chair of the Board of Supervisors, told Noozhawk he could not comment on litigation matters.

"The county has received the litigation," said Kelsey Buttitta, spokeswoman for the county. "Petitioner is preparing the administrative record, and the county will file a response after that is completed."

The owners of the Glen Annie Golf Club responded to Noozhawk.

"While we cannot comment on ongoing litigation, we remain confident that the new vision for Glen Annie will continue to move forward," said Ted Mehm, co-owner of Glen Annie / JTGV LLC. "Our goal is to create an inclusive, mixed-income community that integrates housing, public recreation, and open space."

The owners of the Glen Annie Golf Club want to build between 800 and 1,000 new homes on the existing golf course, on a hill across the street from Dos Pueblos High School in Santa Barbara.

The plan calls for the demolition of the course, and in its place, a mix of housing types, including apartments, studios and single-family homes.

The developers have also proposed a child-care center, hiking trails, a community center, a swimming pool and other public amenities. They are in talks with the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce, the Santa Barbara Unified School District and Habitat for Humanity of Southern Santa Barbara to build affordable housing at the site.

The overall site is 175 acres, and 100 acres would be for public use.

Mehm said in a statement that the development would be good for the community.

"We are building strong partnerships with key local organizations, including the Santa Barbara School District, the Chamber of Commerce, LEAP, Habitat for Humanity, and others, to bring this vision to life," he said. "Together, we are committed to providing affordable housing for teachers, childcare, diverse public amenities, and workforce housing for local employees."

The lawsuit, however, states that many impacts were not considered before a majority of county board members voted to rezone the property for housing.

"The Draft Enviromental Impact Report does not discuss the number of vehicle trips or vehicle miles travelled that would result from residential development consistent with the proposed rezoning of the Glen Annie site," the complaint states. "The DEIR does not discuss any potential localized air quality impacts from constructing residential development consistent with the proposed rezoning of the Glen Annie site."

The board of supervisors in May approved rezoning 26 sites to build potentially up to 5,000 units of housing by 2031.