Background
The Superior Court of California, County of Sutter operated out of two old buildings owned by the county and one leased building. All three facilities had significant security problems, severe accessibility deficiencies, were very overcrowded, and had many physical problems that prevented the court from providing safe and efficient court services to the public.
The historic Sutter County Courthouse (referred to as Courthouse West) was built in 1904. Courthouse West, with three courtrooms, handled all case types except civil and juvenile cases. These case types were heard in The Annex or Courthouse East, built in 1962 across the street. Courthouse West had two courtrooms and housed the Court Executive's office and the District Attorney. The Family Law Center operated in a leased facility with one courtroom.
The new project provides a modern, secure courthouse with seven courtrooms. It consolidates and replaces all court facilities in Sutter County and provide one additional courtroom for a new judgeship. The project improves court operational efficiency, access to justice, and overall public service.
In April 2011, the State Public Works Board approved a site at 1077 Civic Center Boulevard for the new courthouse. Adjacent to City Hall and the County Jail, the site had been set aside for the new courthouse for many years, and the jail already had a partially built tunnel to the proposed location of the new courthouse.
CEQA
The Judicial Council has complied with CEQA by filing a categorical exemption for this project on December 24, 2009.
