The Rutan Land Use team, led by partner Alan Fenstermacher, recently scored a crucial CEQA victory in a hard fought challenge to the City of Bakersfield’s approval of a state of the art outpatient medical clinic to be operated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Rutan’s client, SASD Development Group, LLC, is the developer and lessor of the challenged project.
The case, an anti-competitive lawsuit filed by the owners of the property where the existing VA medical clinic is located in Bakersfield, challenged the Environmental Impact Report (“EIR”) prepared for the project, in addition to other aspects of the project’s approval. The project underwent an extensive federal review and local entitlement process, starting in 2018 and culminating with the ultimate November 2023 project approval.
The petition alleged numerous deficiencies in the EIR as well as non-CEQA claims, necessitating a detailed and comprehensive defense in hard fought litigation. Ultimately, all of the petitioners’ claims were rejected in detail in a July 8, 2025, ruling issued by the Kern County Superior Court.
This victory opens the door to providing much needed services to Kern County’s veteran community, which has been needlessly delayed for years by well-funded project opponents.
Mr. Fenstermacher is a partner and Section Head of Rutan’s Land Use and Entitlement section, where he specializes in CEQA, land use and entitlement matters, eminent domain, and a wide variety municipal, real estate and land use related litigation, in addition to serving as a City Attorney and working for numerous other cities as special counsel. Jayson Parsons, Stephanie Talavera, and Scott Cooper, all members of the firm’s Land Use and Entitlement Section, assisted Mr. Fenstermacher extensively throughout this case.
Clients with questions are welcome to contact Alan Fenstermacher, or the Rutan attorney with whom you are regularly in contact.
This content is published periodically by Rutan, LLP and should not be construed as legal advice or legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances. The contents are intended for general informational purposes only.
