In Habitat and Watershed Caretakers v. City of Santa Cruz (2012) Cal.App. LEXIS 1213, the Sixth District Court of Appeal reversed a trial court decision and ordered that certification of an environmental impact report (EIR) prepared by the City of Santa Cruz be vacated pending the City’s correction of defects in the identification of project … Continue Reading
Merced Alliance v. City of Merced, 2012 Cal.Unpub. LEXIS 8739 After years battling it out in public hearings and in court, the City of Merced claimed victory in its attempt to bring a 1 million square foot regional Wal-Mart distribution center to a 230-acre industrial site in the southeast section of the City. In an … Continue Reading
In Mount Shasta Bioregional Ecology Center v. County of Siskiyou (2012) 210 Cal.App.4th 184, Siskiyou County (County) approved a project to expand an existing wood veneer manufacturing facility for the cogeneration of electricity for resale. The Mount Shasta Bioregional Ecology Center and the Weed Concerned Citizens (Plaintiffs) sought a writ of mandate against County claiming … Continue Reading
In City of Maywood v. Los Angeles Unified School District (2012) __ Cal.App.4th __ (Case No. B233739), the City of Maywood (City) filed a petition for writ of mandate to overturn the Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD) certification of a final environmental impact report (FEIR) prepared for a high school. The Second District Court … Continue Reading
UPDATE: On August 27, 2012, the Fourth Appellate District Court certified Rialto Citizens for Responsible Growth v. City of Rialto (2012) 2012 Cal. App. LEXIS 849 for full publication. In a decision certified for partial publication, Rialto Citizens for Responsible Growth v. City of Rialto (2012) 2012 Cal. App. LEXIS 849, the Fourth Appellate District … Continue Reading
Petitioner petitioned for a writ of mandate, claiming that the California State Lands Commission (Commission) failed to comply with CEQA and the public trust doctrine in approving Chevron’s lease renewal for a marine terminal. The Superior Court denied the petition. Petitioner appealed to the First District Court of Appeal, which upheld the lower court’s decision. … Continue Reading
In an unpublished decision, Quartz Hill Cares v. City of Lancaster (2012) 2012 Cal.App.Unpub. LEXIS 2026, petitioner sought a writ of administrative mandate to overturn the City of Lancaster’s (City) approval of a 395,000-square-foot commercial project on land previously zoned for residential use under the Planning and Zoning Law and the California Environmental Quality Act … Continue Reading
In Citizens for Open Government v. City of Lodi (2012) ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Opinion), the Court rejected Citizens for Open Government’s and Lodi First’s (Petitioners) challenges to the reapproval by defendant City of Lodi (City) of a conditional use permit for a proposed shopping center to be anchored by a Wal-Mart Supercenter (Project) after the … Continue Reading
In an unpublished decision, Bedford v. Santa Barbara County, 2012 Cal.App.Unpub.LEXIS 886, the Second Appellate District upheld a trial court’s ruling denying a petition challenging the adequacy of an environmental impact report for a wind farm project in Santa Barbara County. First, the Court upheld the trial court’s determination that the Petitioners failed to exhaust … Continue Reading
The Flanders Foundation v. City of Carmel-by-the-Sea, et al. (January 4, 2012) 202 Cal. App. 4th 603 A citizens group brought suit against the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea challenging the city’s Final EIR prepared in connection with the sale of an historic property known as the Flanders Mansion. It its action, The Flanders Foundation claimed that … Continue Reading
In Citizens for East Shore Parks v. California State Lands Commission (Dec. 30, 2011) 202 Cal.App.4th 549, a citizen group challenged the California State Lands Commission’s (Commission) approval of a lease renewal for Chevron’s marine terminal in the San Francisco Bay near its refinery in Richmond, California. At the onset of the review process, the … Continue Reading
