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s we reported last year, the California Supreme Court in Center for Biological Diversity v. California Department of Fish and Wildlife invalidated the greenhouse gas analysis and mitigation for the fully-protected unarmored stickleback on review of an environmental impact report (“EIR”) prepared for the Newhall Ranch development in northern Los Angeles County. In its ruling, the Supreme Court remanded the case to the lower appeals court to determine two issues left undecided—the project’s impacts on tribal cultural resources and the endangered steelhead trout.
On July 11, 2016, the Second Appellate District finally issued its ruling after remand from the Supreme Court. In unpublished sections of its opinion, the court provided further direction to the trial court and lead agency on the greenhouse gas analysis and species issues and reiterated its earlier ruling—that the EIR’s evaluation of tribal cultural resources and steelhead trout was supported by substantial evidence. In the only published portion of the opinion, the court grappled with a procedural issue that only a CEQA aficionado could love—whether the appeals court itself can retain jurisdiction to supervise directly the agency’s compliance with its ruling. Appeals court jurisdiction in CEQA cases has witnessed some interesting turns in recent years, as the Legislature has added targeted streamlining provisions and original jurisdiction in the court of appeals in some instances. (See, e.g., Pub. Resources Code, §§ 21168.6 [CPUC challenges], 21185 [environmental leadership projects].) The court here, however, found that it did not have the authority to step into the shoes of the trial court.
In 2014, the appellate decision in California Clean Energy Committee v. City of Woodland (“CCEC”) caught many lead agencies and CEQA consultants off-guard, by holding that the type of energy impacts analysis conducted in many EIRs actually fails to comply with CEQA. EIRs prepared post-CCEC have generally included a much more in-depth analysis of energy impacts, to ensure compliance with that decision. But what to do about EIRs certified prior to CCEC, where further approvals are necessary or the EIR is being challenged? A recent decision by the First District Court of Appeal, 
Cities and counties across the state have revised their general plan policies to address the interrelated issues of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy consumption by new commercial and residential development, often in proactive and innovative ways. However, the rubber only meets the road when those projects undergo CEQA review, and courts evaluate whether those paper policies translate into real-world action. The Fourth Appellate District recently weighed in on one such situation – and found that key information got lost in translation.
The City of Modesto and Downey Brand client Berberian Holdings, L.P. (“Berberian”), have prevailed in a legal challenge to a commercial development project proposed by Berberian. On June 7, the Fifth District Court of Appeal issued a 
2015 was a banner year for CEQA rulings by the California Supreme Court, with four decisions handed down, each of which addressed key issues in the application of the statute and its governing regulations: