Fight over Bay Area nonprofit's ambitious nature camp escalates with lawsuit
Opponents of an ambitious kids nature camp have filed a lawsuit challenging a project that would develop 37 acres in a rural part of Castro Valley to serve nearly 1,000 students a year.
The Oakland-based nonprofit Mosaic Project proposed building 12 cabins, a dining hall and staff residence building to bring together fourth- and fifth-graders from different backgrounds for an annual summer and year-round camp focused on bridging divides and experiencing the outdoors.
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Read more: Bay Area nonprofit's ambitious kids camp is facing fierce opposition from neighbors
The lawsuit could delay the project by at least 18 months unless the two sides can come to an agreement. A confidential settlement hearing is scheduled for July 15. The Mosaic Project bought the property in 2018 and has spent years and $3 million on developing it.
The opponents, which include a nearby winery and residents of the Cull Canyon area, argue that the project failed to adequately address environmental concerns. The lawsuit, filed in Alameda County Superior Court in May, alleges that the project would deplete groundwater that neighbors rely on and and increase fire risk in the canyon. It also argued that Alameda County supervisors violated county land use designations by approving the project's conditional use permit. Their attorney declined to comment.
Battles over new housing projects in parts of the Bay Area are common, where neighbors challenge developments due to environmental concerns. While it's less typical with mission-driven nonprofits, that familiar playbook is being deployed against a children's camp, supporters argued.
Amanda Monchamp, a lawyer representing the Mosaic Project, said delays caused by lawsuits in development projects can be detrimental. Banks will typically refuse to give construction loans to projects that are going through the legal system. Monchamp said she was surprised that residents went through with the lawsuit.
"This is a camp on a very large parcel, this is not some big development project," Monchamp said. "It is not something that has a huge impact. The county did a very thorough job and our strategy is simply to defend the entitlements alongside the county and go through the process."
Sabrina Moyle, the board chair of the Mosaic Project, said in a statement that the development has gone through years of rigorous public review. She said the organization is committed to being good neighbors to the winery and other residents.
"Mosaic is about inclusion and cooperation and we want nothing more than that with our neighbors, today and always," Moyle said.
The Mosaic Project runs the camp and classroom programs for 4,000 students at 34 Bay Area schools and its proposed project would serve another 1,000 kids at an overnight camp in the summer. The organization currently relies on renting land in Santa Cruz County, but that is untenable for the staff, who mostly live in the East Bay and have to commute, the organization's officials said.
An Alameda County land-use board denied the camp's conditional use permit and environmental review in December even after staff recommended approving it. The Mosaic Project then appealed the decision to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, which approved the project in April.
Even if the Mosaic Project prevails in the challenge, its proposed project will still have to go through lengthy state and county approvals for building permits and plans to construct a water and septic system.
In 2018, a Mosaic Project donor purchased the land on Cull Canyon Road for $1.9 million and donated it to the organization. The project was originally estimated to cost $10 million to build.
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