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
environmental
Mitigation Fee Programs Must Be Analyzed In An EIR Prior to Adoption
By Thomas Law Group on
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 League to Save Lake Tahoe’s CEQA Claims are Dismissed by District Court after Motion to Dismiss Related Federal Claims is Granted
By Thomas Law Group on
Posted in Procedural Issues
In May of 2011, the City of South Lake Tahoe (City) adopted the South Lake Tahoe General Plan Update (Plan). Prior to adopting the Plan, the City determined that certain elements of the Plan were not consistent with the 1987 Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s (TRPA) Regional Plan for Lake Tahoe. Because TRPA was in the…
Final Environmental Impact Reports Must Include Responses to Public Comments, but Need Not Include Economic Feasibility Analyses
By Thomas Law Group on
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…
Agencies Can Make Adjustments to Environmental Baseline Early in the Review Process
By Thomas Law Group on
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…