In an unpublished decision in Quartz Hill Cares v. City of Lancaster, 2014 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 7571, the Court of Appeal for the Second District upheld the trial court’s discharge of a writ of mandate challenging an addendum to the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for a commercial retail development in the City
Appellate Court Upholds Attorney Fees Award in CEQA Litigation Challenging State Water Board Adoption of Instream Flow Policy
In an unpublished opinion in Living Rivers Council v. State Water Resources Control Board, 2014 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 7321, the California Court of Appeal for the First District affirmed an award of attorney fees to Petitioners Living Rivers Council as the prevailing party in a CEQA lawsuit challenging an instream flow policy adopted
Costs for Preparing Administrative Record May Include Attorney and Paralegal Labor
In a partially published opinion in Otay Ranch, L.P. v. County of San Diego, 2014 Cal. App. LEXIS 875, the California Court of Appeal for the Fourth District affirmed the trial court’s decision to allow San Diego County to recover the reasonable costs charged by outside counsel to prepare the administrative record for a
Appellate Court Finds Governor is Not a Public Agency Under CEQA
In Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians v. Brown, 2014 Cal. App. LEXIS 864, the California Court of Appeal for the Third District rejected a petition for a writ of mandate challenging the governor’s authority to approve a land transfer allowing an Indian tribe to build a casino in Madera County. The court held the
Federal Law Preempts CEQA Review of Northern California Rail Line Operations
In Friends of Eel River v. North Coast Railroad Authority, 2014 Cal. App. LEXIS 877, the California Court of Appeal for the First District affirmed the trial court’s determination that federal law preempts the North Coast Railroad Authority’s (North Coast) obligation to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in repairing and operating
When is Agency Action Considered a Project under CEQA? When the Legislature Says So.
In Rominger v. County of Colusa, 2014 Cal. App. LEXIS 813, the Court of Appeal for the Third District overturned the trial court and held a proposed subdivision approved by Colusa County was a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), even though the proposal did not include any specific plans for development.
Court Publishes General Plan Consistency Discussion in Case Upholding San Francisco Redevelopment Project
On September 4, 2014, the Court of Appeal for the Fifth District granted a request to publish an additional portion of the recent case San Francisco Tomorrow v. City & County of San Francisco, 2014 Cal. App. LEXIS 800. The previously published opinion affirmed the City and County of San Francisco’s approval of a
Ninth Circuit Makes Key Permit Streamlining Act Ruling for Conditional Use Permit Applicants
In American Tower Corporation v. City of San Diego, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 15641, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the City of San Diego’s (City) denial of three conditional use permits (CUP) for three cell tower facilities owned and operated by American Tower Corporation. The court reversed in part and affirmed in
ALL ABOARD! – High Speed Rail Moves Forward with Bay Area to Central Valley Route After Appellate Court Approval
In Town of Atherton v. Cal. High-Speed Rail Authority, (2014) Cal. App. LEXIS 670, the Court of Appeal for the Third District upheld the final program environmental impact report (EIR) for the segment of the California High Speed Rail project linking the San Francisco Bay Area to the Central Valley.
In the EIR, the
Appellate Court Rejects Challenges to Redevelopment Project in San Francisco Neighborhood
In a partially published opinion in San Francisco Tomorrow v. City and County of San Francisco, 2014 Cal. App. LEXIS 735, the Court of Appeal for the First Appellate District upheld denial of a petition for a writ of mandate seeking to overturn approval of a 152-acre redevelopment project near Lake Merced in southwest