After long delay, Petrovich Development Company’s petition for writ of mandate challenging the city’s denial of the gasoline station will be heard at 9 a.m. Dec. 15 in Department 31 of the Sacramento Superior Court. This will be a hearing on the merits and not an evidentiary trial. No witnesses will testify. Instead, the lawyers argue the merits of the case based on the administrative record and some additional documentary evidence.
The two main legal questions are
- whether the city’s decision to deny the permit was reasonable, and
- whether the city afforded the Crocker Village court hearing development company a fair hearing.
The court hearing will be open to the public, and neighbors are encouraged to attend.
Much of the delay in this case resulted from the Petrovich company’s protracted efforts to obtain evidence outside of the administrative record that it hoped would support its claim that the city failed to provide a fair hearing when it denied the use permit. On Oct. 13, Judge Michael Kenny ruled against Petrovich’s motion for adverse evidentiary inference, which would have helped Petrovich’s unfair hearing claim.
As a result, Petrovich will need to establish this legal claim based on relevant and admissible evidence.
By Patrick Soluri Special to the Viewpoint