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In The Highway 68 Coalition v. County of Monterey (2017) 14 Cal.App.5th 883, the Sixth District Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court and upheld the County’s approval of a shopping center proposed by Omni Resources LLC (“Omni”), known as the Corral de Tierra Neighborhood Retail Village (“Project”).

The Project, proposed for construction on eleven acres of land located at the intersection of Highway 68 and Corral de Tierra Road in Monterey County, consists of ten retail buildings, including a grocery store, a two-story office building, and other retail spaces for a sporting goods store, bank, florist, mail store, post office branch, or a barber/beauty salon.

After the Board of Supervisors certified an EIR and approved the project in February 2012, the plaintiff sued the County, alleging failure to comply with CEQA. The trial court rejected the plaintiff’s claims of CEQA violations, but issued an order of interlocutory remand to allow the County to clarify whether the Project was consistent with the County’s general plan requirement that the Project have a long-term, sustainable water supply.

On remand, the Board adopted a resolution finding that the Project was consistent with the County’s general plan. In March 2015, the plaintiff filed its opening brief, contending that the County violated both CEQA and procedural due process during the remand proceedings. In 2015, the trial court again held for the County and Omni.

In the published portion of the opinion, the court rejected the plaintiff’s argument that the trial court erred in issuing an interlocutory remand. According to plaintiff, where an agency abused its discretion, the only allowable procedure, as provided by Public Resources Code (“PRC”) section 21168.9, was an order compelling compliance with CEQA. The court found that the mandate procedures in PRC section 21168.9 did not apply because the issue of whether a proposed project was consistent with a county’s general plan was not a CEQA issue. Citing Voices of the Wetlands v. State Water Resources Control Board (2011) 52 Cal.4th 499, the court concluded that the trial court’s choice to issue an interlocutory remand was eminently practical and well within the court’s inherent power. Because there was a single, discrete non-CEQA issue of general plan consistency that required clarification before the County’s approval of the Project could be upheld, the court concluded interlocutory remand was proper in this case.

The court rejected the plaintiff’s contention that the EIR failed to analyze whether the project was consistent with the County’s 2010 general plan. The court found that, although CEQA requires an analysis of general plan inconsistency, CEQA does not require an analysis of general plan consistency. The court also rejected the plaintiff’s argument that the County’s finding on interlocutory remand that the project was consistent with the County’s general plan and had a long-term sustainable water supply was not supported by substantial evidence.

Key Point:

The Sixth District Court of Appeal found that PRC section 21168.9 addresses CEQA issues, and is not applicable to an inquiry into whether or not a proposed project is consistent with a county’s general plan. The Court also held that interlocutory remand is proper where there is a single, discrete, non-CEQA issue of general plan consistency that the trial court determined required clarification before approval of a proposed project.