Amy Higuera

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In Center for Biological Diversity, et al. v. U.S. Bureau of Land Management, et al., (2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10555, January 30, 2012), the Court granted Plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees in the amount of $1,003,155.87, despite Defendants claim that the fees were excessive.  Among other things, Defendants argued that the case was overstaffed,  travel…

On January 25, 2012, the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) released draft CEQA Guidelines to implement Senate Bill (SB) 226. Signed by the Governor last October, SB 226 promotes infill development by: (1) providing flexibility in project design by basing eligibility largely on environmental performance rather than prescribed project characteristics; and (2) avoiding…

In an unpublished decision, the Consolidated Irrigation District filed a petition for writ of mandate challenging the City of Selma’s use of a mitigated negative declaration in approving a 160-unit, 44-acre residential development (Consolidated Irrig. Dist. v. City of Selma, Fifth Appellate District Case No. F061103 (Feb. 8, 2012 – unpublished)).  The trial…

In High Sierra Hikers Association v. United States Department of the Interior (N.D.Cal. 2012) 848 F. Supp. 2d 1036, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division, addressed whether the National Park Service (NPS) adequately assessed the environmental consequences of its General Management Plan for Sequoia and Kings Canyon National…

On February 14, 2012, the City of Sacramento will hold a hearing to consider approving the City’s Climate Action Plan (CAP). (http://www.sacgp.org/cap.html.) The CAP is split into two phases. Phase 1, which was adopted in February 2010, addresses GHG emissions from internal municipal operations. Phase 2, which will be considered by the City Council for…

In Friends of Roeding Park v. City of Fresno (E.D. 2012) 2848 F. Supp. 2d 1152, the District Court granted the city’s motion to dismiss Plaintiffs’ lawsuit challenging the planned expansion of the Fresno Chafee Zoo ruling (1) the Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over Plaintiffs’ National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), National Historic Preservation Act…

In Ass’n of Irritated Residents v. United States EPA (9th Cir. 2012) 686 F.3d 668,  the Ninth Circuit granted a petition challenging federal Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to approve the 2003 SIP Revision on each of the three grounds alleged by the Petitioner.  Specifically, Petitioner alleged (1)EPA’s failure to order California to submit a…

General Development Co. v. City of Santa Maria (January 25, 2012)  202 Cal.App.4th 1391

A developer applied to change the zoning designation for a 4.84 acre parcel of vacant land.  The City of Santa Maria denied the request, and the developer filed a lawsuit, 97 days after the city’s final decision.  The court dismissed developer’s…

Sacramento, January 25, 2012.  Today Governor Brown released a package of CEQA reforms designed to simplify and expedite the approval process for key job-creating projects in California.  The package of CEQA reforms provide the regulatory changes necessary to implement SB 226 (Simitian), which the Governor signed October.

Upon finalization, these reforms will simplify the…

On January 23, 2012, Attorney General Kamala D. Harris filed a Notice of Intent to File a CEQA Petition for Writ of Mandate in Intervention to intervene in the CEQA lawsuit filed by the Cleveland National Forest Foundation and the Center for Biological Diversity on November 28, 2011, challenging the 2050 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities…