POWAY, Calif. — California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a lawsuit against the City of Poway, alleging violations of the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, for failing to adequately address the discovery of ancestral remains and other significant archaeological artifacts, according to a press release from the California Attorney General’s Office.
The lawsuit centers on findings made after construction began in October 2025 on a luxury housing project known as Hidden Valley Ranch, being developed by Shea Homes.
The artifacts are believed to belong to the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians, one of 12 federally recognized sovereign Native American tribes located within the Kumeyaay Nation. According to the Attorney General’s Office, the Nation has lived in the Southern California and Northern Baja California region “since time immemorial.”…