In an unpublished decision in Sierra Club v. County of San Diego, 2014 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 7762, the California Court of Appeal for the Fourth District granted a writ of mandate to enforce a mitigation measure in San Diego County’s (County) 2011 general plan update to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the
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City Violated its Municipal Code by Delegating CEQA Approval to its Preservation Commission
In Citizens for the Restoration of L Street v. City of Fresno, 2014 Cal. App. LEXIS 786,the Fifth Appellate District affirmed a judgment granting a writ of mandate challenging the City of Fresno’s (City) approval of an infill development project. The court upheld the trial court’s ruling that the City violated the California …
OPR Releases a Preliminary Draft of Changes to the CEQA Guidelines Related to SB 743
On August 6, 2014, the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (“OPR”) released a Notice of Availability of a Preliminary Discussion Draft of Changes to the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) Guidelines Related to SB 743 (Steinberg, 2013; “Preliminary Discussion Draft”). These updates are geared towards the evaluation of transportation impacts under CEQA.
Traffic studies …
Supreme Court Holds that Voter Initiatives with Potential Environmental Impacts Need Not Comply with CEQA Mandates
In Tuolumne Jobs & Small Business Alliance v. Superior Court of Tuolumne County, (August 7, 2014, S207173) __ Cal.4th __, the Supreme Court reversed the appellate court’s issuance of a writ of mandate challenging the City of Sonora’s approval of an ordinance for the expansion of a big box store (Project) without first conducting …
Court Publishes Portion of a Decision Upholding the Adequacy of a Wind Farm EIR
On July 25, 2014, the Court of Appeal for the Fifth District granted a request to publish a portion of the recent case Citizens Opposing a Dangerous Environment v. County of Kern, 2014 Cal. App. LEXIS 679. In the decision, the appellate court affirmed Kern County’s approval of a wind farm near a private…
Court Upholds Discussion of Project Objectives and Alternatives in an EIR for an Infill Project in San Diego
In an unpublished decision in Save Our Heritage Organisation v. County of San Diego, (2014) Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 5121, the Court of Appeal for the Fourth District reversed the trial court and ordered the trial court to deny a writ of mandate challenging the adequacy of the environmental impact report (EIR) for a…
Appellate Court Finds No CEQA or Brown Act Violations For Demolition of Buildings by School District
In an unpublished decision in Civilian Conservation Corps Camp Interest Group v. Valley Center Pauma Unified School District, (2014) Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 4760, the Court of Appeal for the Fourth Appellate District, Division One, upheld the trial court’s denial of a writ of mandate seeking to compel Valley Center Pauma Unified School District…
Renewal of Interim Water Contracts Exempt from CEQA Review
In North Coast Rivers Alliance v. Westlands Water District, (2014) Cal. App. LEXIS 590, the Court of Appeal for the Fifth District upheld the trial court’s denial of a petition for a writ of mandate challenging the renewal of interim water contracts between the Bureau of Reclamation (the Bureau) and Westlands Water District along…
Addendum Upheld: Amendments to San Jose Airport Master Plan Cleared For Landing
In Citizens Against Airport Pollution v. City of San Jose (2014) Cal. App. LEXIS 588, the Court of Appeal for the Sixth District upheld the trial court’s denial of a writ of mandate challenging the City of San Jose’s (the City) approval of an addendum to an EIR analyzing the environmental impacts of amendments to…
Court Grounds Lawsuits Challenging Wind Farm’s Impacts on Airport in Kern County
In Citizens Opposing a Dangerous Environment v. County of Kern, 2014 Cal. App. LEXIS 679, the Court of Appeal for the Fifth District upheld the trial court’s denial of a writ of mandate challenging Kern County’s (the County) approval a wind farm near a private airport east of Tehachapi.
The proposed wind farm would include…