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In Neighbors for Smart Rail v. Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority (2012 Cal.App. LEXIS 434), the Second Appellate District upheld the lead agency’s determination that a future 2030 baseline was proper for determining the significance of traffic and air quality impacts caused by a proposed light rail project in Los Angeles. The EIR at issue…

On March 6, 2012, the San Francisco Chronicle published an article entitled “Costly, lengthy appeals part of S.F.’s culture.” (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/03/06/MNB21N1TA9.DTL.)  The article highlights how San Francisco’s environmental appeal process and environmental litigation are often used to stall and kill projects within San Francisco.  The article noted that in 2011, eleven CEQA lawsuits were…

In Save the Peaks Coalition v. United States Forest Service (9th Cir. 2012) 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 2563, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals determined that, although Save the Peaks Coalition (“SPC”) abused the judicial process by holding back claims that should have been asserted in an earlier litigation, laches did not bar SPC from…

In Berkeley Hillside Preservation v. City of Berkeley (2012) 203 Cal. App. 4th 656, the Berkeley Zoning Adjustment Board (Board) determined that a new roughly 10,000 square foot home in the Berkeley hills was categorically exempt from CEQA pursuant to (1) the Infill Development Exemption and (2) the New Construction / Conversion of a Small…

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 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…

Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation et al. v. County of El Dorado (January 20, 2012) 202 Cal. App.4th 1156 (Superior Court Case No. PC20080336)

El Dorado County adopted an oak woodland management plan (Management Plan) and mitigation fee program (Fee Program) without first certifying an EIR.  Instead, the County issued a negative declaration that…

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…

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…