Buddhist Center In-plant Expansion Causes Uproar

The expansion of a Northern California Buddhist retreat center’s printing operation has led a nearby citizens' organization to file a lawsuit claiming the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors’ approval of the publishing center was illegal.

According to an article in The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, Calif.), the Ratna Ling Retreat Center, which houses the Dharma Publishing facility, expanded both its printing operation and paper text storage facility. The lawsuit, filed by the Coastal Hills Rural Preservation, claims the permit allowing the center to do this was against state law because it did not require an environmental impact report. The article says that nearby citizens have expressed concern over the publishing facility’s potential as a fire hazard, given its location in a rural wooded area.