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A long-running legal battle over development of an idyllic spot in Rocklin marked a milestone Friday when a state appellate court ruled the project complies with all the demands of the California Environmental Quality Act.

The then-owners of a pristine area known as Clover Valley applied to develop the site 20 years ago. The city approved the current owners’ significantly less ambitious project in 2007.

Over the years, development of Clover Valley has been hotly debated by residents and a lively topic in local political races in Rocklin and the incorporated town of Loomis.

A coalition of Rocklin residents, the Sierra Club and the town of Loomis mounted legal challenges to Rocklin’s approval of the project and its environmental impact report.

The 622-acre proposal calls for 366 acres of open space. It would include 558 homes, a 5.3- acre park, 5 acres of commerce and an acre for a fire station.

The lawsuit’s plaintiffs asserted the EIR is flawed on many fronts.

They alleged it fails to describe the site’s cultural resources, consider a sewer line’s growth-inducing effects, consider all oak trees that will be removed, protect a threatened species, analyze view and traffic impacts, and document an adequate water supply.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Lloyd G. Connelly disagreed and decided the project passes legal muster.

On Friday, the 3rd District Court of Appeal affirmed his decision.

“This is a case where CEQA worked,” declared a three-justice appellate panel.

Acting Presiding Justice George Nicholson wrote the 79-page published opinion, and Associate Justices Harry Hull and Ronald B. Robie concurred.

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