In an unpublished decision, Citizens Advocating for Roblar Rural Community v. County of Sonoma, 2014 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 3393, the Court of Appeal for the First District reversed the trial court’s decision granting a petition for writ of mandate that challenged County certification of a final environmental impact report (EIR) and issuance of
Mitigation
You Can’t Abate if You Don’t Correlate: Appellate Court Finds EIR for Proposed Master-Planned Senior-Living Community Included Inadequate Analysis of Air Quality Impacts and Mitigation Measures
In Sierra Club v. County of Fresno, 2014 Cal. App. LEXIS 459, the Court of Appeal for the Fifth Appellate District reversed and remanded the lower court’s denial of a petition for writ of mandate challenging the County’s adoption of a proposed master-planned community.
In February 2011, the County of Fresno certified the Environmental…
Appellate Court Upholds CEQA Exemption for New Fiber-Optic Cable Utility Boxes in San Francisco
In an unpublished decision in San Francisco Beautiful v. City and County of San Francisco, 2014 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 3108, the First District Court of Appeal affirmed the denial of a writ of mandate challenging the City and County of San Francisco’s decision to approve AT&T’s installation of 726 metal utility boxes without…
COURT FINDS PROGRAMMATIC EIR FOR RETAIL DEVELOPMENT INCLUDED INADQUATE ANALYSIS OF URBAN DECAY AND ENERGY IMPACTS
In California Clean Energy Committee v. City of Woodland, 2014 Cal. App. LEXIS 300, certified for partial publication on April 1, 2014, the Third District Court of Appeal reversed the trial court’s denial of a petition for writ of mandate to vacate the City of Woodland’s certification of an EIR for a regional shopping…
APPELLATE COURT REJECTS MARIN COUNTY EIR AND REQUIRES GREATER MITIGATION TO PROTECT COHO SALMON AND STEELHEAD TROUT
In an unpublished opinion, Salmon Protection and Watershed Network v. County of Marin, 2014 Cal. App. LEXIS 1578, the Court of Appeal, First District, reversed the trial court and granted an environmental group’s petition for a writ of mandate challenging the sufficiency of the EIR for Marin’s Countywide General Plan (CWP). The Court also…
Court Holds EIR’s Inadequacy Is Rooted In Its Failure to set Forth A Significance Threshold For Impacts To Old Growth Redwoods And To Properly Disclose Related Impacts And Mitigation Measures
In Lotus v. Department of Transportation, 2014 Cal. App. LEXIS 97, the California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, reversed the trial court’s denial of appellants’ petition for writ of mandate challenging the adequacy of the EIR for a highway realignment project.
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) sought to realign and widen portions…
Court Allows ARB’S LCFS Regulations to Remain In Effect Pending Outcome of New Proceedings
In POET, LLC v. California Air Resources Board, 2013 Cal. App. LEXIS 554, the Fifth District Court of Appeal reversed the trial court’s decision denying plaintiffs’ petition for a writ of mandate seeking invalidation of California Air Resources Board (“ARB”) approval of low carbon fuel standards (“LCFS”) regulations for non-compliance with CEQA. In an unpublished…
California Supreme Court Issues Neighbors for Smart Rail Decision: Predicted Conditions Baseline Allowable Under CEQA in Limited Circumstances
In a much anticipated decision, the California Supreme Court held in Neighbors for Smart Rail v. Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority that lead agencies can use future predicted conditions as an environmental baseline in assessing the impacts of proposed projects. The court held that in order for an agency to omit the normally required existing…
A Mendocino County Quarry Project Can’t Keep the ACE in the Hole, Court Finds Inadequate the EIR’s Farmland Conversion Analysis
On July 27, 2010, Mendocino County approved the Kunzler Terrace Mine Project, a 65.3 acre sand and gravel quarry one mile north of Ukiah. Project opponents sued, alleging various CEQA violations. The First District Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the challengers and published the portion of the decision addressing impacts to agricultural lands.…
Court Rejects CEQA and Williamson Act Challenges to a San Benito Solar Power Project
In Save Panoche Valley v. San Benito County, the Court of Appeal for the Sixth Appellate District affirmed a ruling denying a petition for a writ of mandate alleging violations of CEQA in San Benito County’s (County) approval of a solar power project and related cancellation of Williamson Act contracts. This decision follows on the…