Administrative Record
Petitioner Required To Post Bond For Costs Incurred As A Result Of Delay In Carrying Out Affordable Housing Project In LivermoreAgency Email Correspondence Must be Retained Under CEQA, Appeals Court HoldsFact-Based Residents’ Comments Substantial Evidence Meriting CEQA Review, Special Commission’s Findings Substantial Evidence Meriting CEQA Review
Aesthetics
Design Changes to State Capitol Renovation Revealed in FEIR Did Not Adequately Allow for Public Input or Informed Decision-MakingFourth District Finds Failure to Evaluate Consistency with CAP Rendered MND Incomplete Despite no Fair Argument of Inconsistency; Rejects Piecemealing, Project Description, and Aesthetic Impacts Claims, and Others as Barred by a Failure to Exhaust Administrative RemediesSecond District Court of Appeal Upholds Challenge to an MND for a Mixed-Use Project on Environmentally Sensitive Hillside and Award of Attorney Fees
Agricultural Resources
In Consolidated Appeals, Third District Upholds Multiple Trial Court Decisions in Decades-Long Litigation Over CEQA Review of State Water Project ContractsCourt Rejects CEQA and Williamson Act Challenges to a San Benito Solar Power ProjectThird Appellate District Grants Partial Publication of CEQA Decision Relating to Agricultural Mitigation, Urban Decay, Res Judicata, and the Deliberative Process Privilege
Air Quality
Oakland and the A’s Prevail on All but One Minor Issue in Ballpark EIR Case; Wind Mitigation Found InadequateAnother CEQA Victory for Conservation Groups in Tahoe, another GHG Mitigation Measure Held InadequateGHG Mitigation Once More Found Lacking in San Diego County EIR; Fourth District Also Identifies General Plan Inconsistency but Upholds Wildfire and Air Quality Analyses in Unpublished Opinion
Alternatives
Oakland and the A’s Prevail on All but One Minor Issue in Ballpark EIR Case; Wind Mitigation Found InadequateDesign Changes to State Capitol Renovation Revealed in FEIR Did Not Adequately Allow for Public Input or Informed Decision-MakingImpact Analysis and Mitigation May Be Located in Initial Study Appended to EIR; City Entitled to Deference on Interpretation of Its Municipal Code
Attorney's Fees
Trial Court Failed to Take Catalytic Effect of CEQA Lawsuit into Account When Denying Petitioners Attorney’s Fees Following Voluntary DismissalIn Unpublished Opinion, Court Finds Los Angeles Development Project Description Accurate and Stable Despite a New Alternative Being Added to the FEIR and Approval of a Variation of that New AlternativeIn Consolidated Appeals, Third District Upholds Multiple Trial Court Decisions in Decades-Long Litigation Over CEQA Review of State Water Project Contracts
Baseline
Court Finds Site Visits and Reports Taken Before and After Issuance of NOP Adequate for Establishing Biological Resources Baseline, EIR’s Emergency Evacuation Analysis UpheldDiscretionary Reductions in Water Deliveries Allowed Under Terms of Existing Leases are not a New CEQA ProjectAnother CEQA Victory for Conservation Groups in Tahoe, another GHG Mitigation Measure Held Inadequate
Biological Resources
Design Changes to State Capitol Renovation Revealed in FEIR Did Not Adequately Allow for Public Input or Informed Decision-MakingCourt Finds Site Visits and Reports Taken Before and After Issuance of NOP Adequate for Establishing Biological Resources Baseline, EIR’s Emergency Evacuation Analysis UpheldCEQA Lawsuit, Latest in Decades of Local Opposition Delaying Marin County Housing Development, Met with Judicial Rebuke: “Something is very wrong with this picture”
CEQA Categorical Exemptions
Second District Rejects CEQA and Coastal Act Challenge to Senior Facility in Pacific Palisades Area of Los AngelesConstruction of 90-Foot-Tall Lights at Athletic Field Not Categorically Exempt as either an Existing Facility or Construction of a Small StructureFirst District Finds Petitioner Failed to Exhaust Administrative Remedies in CEQA Challenge to Removal of Controversial Sculpture
CEQA Guidelines
Substantial Changes to Marilyn Monroe Art Installation Extends Statute of Limitations to Challenge Under CEQA Petitioner Required To Post Bond For Costs Incurred As A Result Of Delay In Carrying Out Affordable Housing Project In LivermoreResidential Development Project Consistent with Specific Plan Found Exempt from Further CEQA Review
Certified Regulatory Program
Strawberry Fields Forever - Coastal Commission Failed to Complete Environmental Review Before Project’s Approval Under Certified Regulatory Program and Engaged in Post Hoc AnalysisSB 50 “Equitable Communities Incentive” Would Exempt Affordable Housing Developments in “Job-Rich” and “Transit-Rich” Areas from Certain Zoning StandardsCARB Regulatory Advisory “Project Approval” Triggers CEQA Review Despite Agency Certified Regulatory Program, Public Testimony Must Be Adequately Addressed to Meet Cal APA Standards
COVID-19
Trump Signs Executive Order Allowing Agencies to Bypass NEPA, ESA, and CWA RequirementsCOVID-19 Alert: Judicial Council Amends Emergency Rule 9 for CEQA and Planning CasesGovernor Newsom Issues Order Requiring Electronic Posting of CEQA Notices and Suspending CEQA Filing, Posting, Notice, and Tribal Consultation Requirements for 60 Days
Cultural Resources
Design Changes to State Capitol Renovation Revealed in FEIR Did Not Adequately Allow for Public Input or Informed Decision-MakingSecond District Court of Appeal Upholds Challenge to an MND for a Mixed-Use Project on Environmentally Sensitive Hillside and Award of Attorney FeesTwo Wins for the Railyards Development in Third District Court of Appeal
Cumulative Impacts
Another CEQA Victory for Conservation Groups in Tahoe, another GHG Mitigation Measure Held InadequateImpact Analysis and Mitigation May Be Located in Initial Study Appended to EIR; City Entitled to Deference on Interpretation of Its Municipal CodeSupreme Court Rejects the California State University System’s Erroneous Interpretation of City of Marina v. Board of Trustees of California State University (2006) 39 Cal.4th 341 Regarding its Duty to Mitigate Off-Campus Impacts
Downey Brand CEQA Practice
Full Quantification of Water Rights Not Required for CEQA Review, Second District DeclaresIn Unpublished Opinion, Court Finds Los Angeles Development Project Description Accurate and Stable Despite a New Alternative Being Added to the FEIR and Approval of a Variation of that New AlternativeWest Covina Mitigated Negative Declaration Upheld, and Parking Impacts For Infill Projects Deemed Exempt by the Second Appellate District
Endangered Species Act
Court Finds Bumble Bees Fit within Statutory Definition of a “Fish;” All Invertebrates Eligible for Listing under California Endangered Species ActPublic Trust Doctrine Applies to Groundwater, Sustainable Groundwater Management Act Exists Concurrently with Common Law and Did Not “Occupy the Field”Third District Court of Appeal Gives Great Deference in Quasi-Judicial Agency Decision Not to Delist Coho Salmon, Ending Decades-Long Dispute
Energy Impacts
Another CEQA Victory for Conservation Groups in Tahoe, another GHG Mitigation Measure Held InadequateFIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT FINDS WAREHOUSE STORE PROJECT EIR FAILED TO SUFFICIENTLY ANALYZE POTENTIAL ENERGY IMPACTS IN PARTIALLY PUBLISHED OPINIONCOURT FINDS PROGRAMMATIC EIR FOR RETAIL DEVELOPMENT INCLUDED INADQUATE ANALYSIS OF URBAN DECAY AND ENERGY IMPACTS
Environmental Impact Report (EIR)
Oakland and the A’s Prevail on All but One Minor Issue in Ballpark EIR Case; Wind Mitigation Found InadequatePetitioner Required To Post Bond For Costs Incurred As A Result Of Delay In Carrying Out Affordable Housing Project In LivermoreDesign Changes to State Capitol Renovation Revealed in FEIR Did Not Adequately Allow for Public Input or Informed Decision-Making
Environmental Resources
Fourth District Court of Appeal Finds Minor Telecommunications Facility on Dedicated Park Land Is Not An “Unusual Circumstance” Exception to CEQA Small Facility ExemptionPrivate Attorney General Doctrine Attorney's Fee Award Proper Where Financial Burden Disproportionate to Financial StakeThird District Court of Appeal Gives Great Deference in Quasi-Judicial Agency Decision Not to Delist Coho Salmon, Ending Decades-Long Dispute
Exceptions to CEQA Categorical Exemptions
Neighbor’s General Complaints of Environmental Concerns Insufficient to Exhaust Administrative Remedies as to CEQA Exemption DeterminationFirst District Rejects “Location Exception” for Project in Earthquake Fault and Landslide Areas and Affirms Class 3 Exemption for Small Residential Projects in the Berkeley Hills
Exemptions
Substantial Changes to Marilyn Monroe Art Installation Extends Statute of Limitations to Challenge Under CEQA Neighbor’s General Complaints of Environmental Concerns Insufficient to Exhaust Administrative Remedies as to CEQA Exemption DeterminationCourt Finds Use of Addendum Improper as Project’s GHG Emissions Likely Outside the Scope of Prior Programmatic EIR and Unusual Circumstances Exception Applied to Use of Infill Exemption
Exemptions and "Not a Project" Determinations
Privately Owned Public Utility Not Required to Comply With CEQA in Eminent Domain ActionNeighbor’s General Complaints of Environmental Concerns Insufficient to Exhaust Administrative Remedies as to CEQA Exemption DeterminationCalifornia Supreme Court Throws the Barn Doors Open, Finding That Groundwater Well Permits Aren’t Necessarily Ministerial
Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies
Oakland and the A’s Prevail on All but One Minor Issue in Ballpark EIR Case; Wind Mitigation Found InadequateNeighbor’s General Complaints of Environmental Concerns Insufficient to Exhaust Administrative Remedies as to CEQA Exemption DeterminationFirst District Affirms Denial of Anti-SLAPP Motion in a Malicious Prosecution Action Filed Against CEQA Petitioner’s Attorney
Final Environmental Impact Reports
Design Changes to State Capitol Renovation Revealed in FEIR Did Not Adequately Allow for Public Input or Informed Decision-MakingIn Unpublished Opinion, Court Finds Los Angeles Development Project Description Accurate and Stable Despite a New Alternative Being Added to the FEIR and Approval of a Variation of that New AlternativeSecond Appellate District Calls Settlement Agreement Part of “Project” for CEQA Consideration In Line with Historically Broad “Project” Definition
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Oakland and the A’s Prevail on All but One Minor Issue in Ballpark EIR Case; Wind Mitigation Found InadequateAnother CEQA Victory for Conservation Groups in Tahoe, another GHG Mitigation Measure Held InadequateGHG Mitigation Once More Found Lacking in San Diego County EIR; Fourth District Also Identifies General Plan Inconsistency but Upholds Wildfire and Air Quality Analyses in Unpublished Opinion
Hazards
Oakland and the A’s Prevail on All but One Minor Issue in Ballpark EIR Case; Wind Mitigation Found InadequateGHG Mitigation Once More Found Lacking in San Diego County EIR; Fourth District Also Identifies General Plan Inconsistency but Upholds Wildfire and Air Quality Analyses in Unpublished OpinionMaacama Watershed Alliance v. County of Sonoma (2019) Cal.App.5th 1007
Historic Site
Design Changes to State Capitol Renovation Revealed in FEIR Did Not Adequately Allow for Public Input or Informed Decision-MakingLake Norconian Club Foundation v. Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation, 39 Cal. App. 5th 1044Third District Echoes Pocket Protectors, Holds “Large Number” of Public Comments on Nontechnical Aesthetic Impacts Support Fair Argument
Housing
Second District Rejects CEQA and Coastal Act Challenge to Senior Facility in Pacific Palisades Area of Los AngelesPetitioner Required To Post Bond For Costs Incurred As A Result Of Delay In Carrying Out Affordable Housing Project In LivermoreApproval Upheld for Lafayette Affordable Housing Project Delayed for a Decade
Impact Analysis
Oakland and the A’s Prevail on All but One Minor Issue in Ballpark EIR Case; Wind Mitigation Found InadequateThird District Invalidates Water Bottling Facility EIR for Overly Narrow Project Objectives and Failure to RecirculateThird Appellate District Upholds EIR for El Dorado Irrigation District’s Upper Main Ditch Piping Project
Initial Studies
Impact Analysis and Mitigation May Be Located in Initial Study Appended to EIR; City Entitled to Deference on Interpretation of Its Municipal CodeFirst Appellate District Denies Initial Study Noise Level Challenge to Transitional Housing Project Based on Non-Expert AnalysisIN UNPUBLISHED OPINION, COURT OF APPEAL UPHOLDS CEQA REVIEW FOR FRESNO’S FULTON MALL PROJECT
Land Use/Planning
CEQA Lawsuit, Latest in Decades of Local Opposition Delaying Marin County Housing Development, Met with Judicial Rebuke: “Something is very wrong with this picture”Sacramentans for Fair Planning v. City of Sacramento (2019) 37 Cal.App.5th 698, 704.South of Market Community Action Network v. City and County of San Francisco (2019) 33 Cal. App. 5th 321
Legislation
California Enacts More Than Two Dozen Laws This Year to Combat Housing CrisisGovernor Newsom’s New Executive Order Establishes End Dates For Pandemic-Related Suspensions for CEQA Filing, Posting, Notice, and Tribal Consultation Requirements and Brown Act Meeting RequirementsGood News for California Housing: SB 7 Extends Expedited CEQA Review to Small-Scale Infill Housing Projects
Litigation
Neighbor vs. Neighbor Dispute Over Home Remodel Leads to Reversal of Anti-SLAPP Motion in Court of AppealFirst District Affirms Denial of Anti-SLAPP Motion in a Malicious Prosecution Action Filed Against CEQA Petitioner’s Attorney Trial Court Failed to Take Catalytic Effect of CEQA Lawsuit into Account When Denying Petitioners Attorney’s Fees Following Voluntary Dismissal
Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND)
Project Applicants and Lead Agencies Cannot Have it Both Ways: CEQA Requires Preparation of an MND or EIR, But Not BothAre Reductions in Parking a CEQA Impact – Second District Finds Context is KeyResidents’ Comments About Existing Fire Hazards Do Not Constitute Substantial Evidence of a New Project’s Impacts Under CEQA
Mitigation
Oakland and the A’s Prevail on All but One Minor Issue in Ballpark EIR Case; Wind Mitigation Found InadequateAttorney General Issues Guidance Outlining Best Practices for Analyzing and Mitigating Wildfire Impacts Under CEQACEQA Lawsuit, Latest in Decades of Local Opposition Delaying Marin County Housing Development, Met with Judicial Rebuke: “Something is very wrong with this picture”
Negative Declaration
Project Applicants and Lead Agencies Cannot Have it Both Ways: CEQA Requires Preparation of an MND or EIR, But Not BothFourth District Finds Failure to Evaluate Consistency with CAP Rendered MND Incomplete Despite no Fair Argument of Inconsistency; Rejects Piecemealing, Project Description, and Aesthetic Impacts Claims, and Others as Barred by a Failure to Exhaust Administrative RemediesAre Reductions in Parking a CEQA Impact – Second District Finds Context is Key
NEPA
Ninth Circuit Holds That a Project’s NEPA Analysis Need Not Explain Why Its Impact Significance Conclusions Differ from CEQA Analysis of the Same Project; Dissent Perceives Environmental Racism at WorkLake Norconian Club Foundation v. Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation, 39 Cal. App. 5th 1044Ninth Circuit Rejects NEPA Challenges to Los Angeles Metro’s Light Rail Extension Project
Our Cases
Approval of Initial Entitlement Triggers CEQA Statute of Limitations, Even Where Project Requires Additional Entitlements for ImplementationIn Unpublished Opinion, Court Finds Los Angeles Development Project Description Accurate and Stable Despite a New Alternative Being Added to the FEIR and Approval of a Variation of that New AlternativeThird District Holds City’s Explanation and Substantial Evidence Supported Traffic Impact Conclusion, Discharge of Writ of Mandate Proper
Planning and Zoning
Residential Development Project Consistent with Specific Plan Found Exempt from Further CEQA ReviewTrial Court Decision Indicates that Housing Must be Permitted at General Plan Density, Regardless of More Restrictive ZoningImpact Analysis and Mitigation May Be Located in Initial Study Appended to EIR; City Entitled to Deference on Interpretation of Its Municipal Code
Population/Housing
Sacramentans for Fair Planning v. City of Sacramento (2019) 37 Cal.App.5th 698, 704.Hollywoodians Encouraging Rental Opportunities v. City of Los Angeles (2019) 37 Cal.App.5th 768, 772-773.SB 50 “Equitable Communities Incentive” Would Exempt Affordable Housing Developments in “Job-Rich” and “Transit-Rich” Areas from Certain Zoning Standards
Pre-Commitment (Save Tara)
Discretionary Reductions in Water Deliveries Allowed Under Terms of Existing Leases are not a New CEQA ProjectCEQA Lawsuit, Latest in Decades of Local Opposition Delaying Marin County Housing Development, Met with Judicial Rebuke: “Something is very wrong with this picture”Approval of Initial Entitlement Triggers CEQA Statute of Limitations, Even Where Project Requires Additional Entitlements for Implementation
Procedural Issues
Substantial Changes to Marilyn Monroe Art Installation Extends Statute of Limitations to Challenge Under CEQA Exhausting Administrative Remedies Does Not Toll the Statute of Limitations When the CEQA Determination Is Not at IssueDiscretionary Reductions in Water Deliveries Allowed Under Terms of Existing Leases are not a New CEQA Project
Project Description/Piecemealing
Design Changes to State Capitol Renovation Revealed in FEIR Did Not Adequately Allow for Public Input or Informed Decision-MakingIn Unpublished Opinion, Court Finds Los Angeles Development Project Description Accurate and Stable Despite a New Alternative Being Added to the FEIR and Approval of a Variation of that New AlternativeIn Consolidated Appeals, Third District Upholds Multiple Trial Court Decisions in Decades-Long Litigation Over CEQA Review of State Water Project Contracts
Public Services
Design Changes to State Capitol Renovation Revealed in FEIR Did Not Adequately Allow for Public Input or Informed Decision-MakingON REMAND, FIRST DISTRICT MODIFIES CITY OF HAYWARD OPINION TO REQUIRE FURTHER CONSIDERATION OF THE FEASIBILITY OF OFF-SITE MITIGATIONNewly Published Appellate Decision Holds Analysis of Parkland Impacts for Campus Master Plan Fails to Comply with CEQA
Recirculation
Oakland and the A’s Prevail on All but One Minor Issue in Ballpark EIR Case; Wind Mitigation Found InadequateDesign Changes to State Capitol Renovation Revealed in FEIR Did Not Adequately Allow for Public Input or Informed Decision-MakingAnother CEQA Victory for Conservation Groups in Tahoe, another GHG Mitigation Measure Held Inadequate
Recreation
Public Trust Doctrine Applies to Groundwater, Sustainable Groundwater Management Act Exists Concurrently with Common Law and Did Not “Occupy the Field”ON REMAND, FIRST DISTRICT MODIFIES CITY OF HAYWARD OPINION TO REQUIRE FURTHER CONSIDERATION OF THE FEASIBILITY OF OFF-SITE MITIGATIONNewly Published Appellate Decision Holds Analysis of Parkland Impacts for Campus Master Plan Fails to Comply with CEQA
Remedies
Supreme Court Declines to Stay Court-Imposed Enrollment Cap at UC BerkeleyIn Consolidated Appeals, Third District Upholds Multiple Trial Court Decisions in Decades-Long Litigation Over CEQA Review of State Water Project ContractsFifth District Upholds Grant of Petition Challenging Inyo County’s Use of Eminent Domain to Acquire Ownership of Landfill Sites it Leases and Operates Under a Categorical Exemption
Responsible Agencies
Third Circuit Makes Clear That Lead Agencies and Responsible Agencies Alike Must Make Findings Under CEQAPoseidon’s Desalination Plant’s Supplemental EIR Holds Water According to the Court of AppealFirst Appellate District Approves Responsible Agency’s Imposition of Mitigation Not Considered in the EIR
Scope of CEQA
Privately Owned Public Utility Not Required to Comply With CEQA in Eminent Domain ActionCEQA Lawsuit, Latest in Decades of Local Opposition Delaying Marin County Housing Development, Met with Judicial Rebuke: “Something is very wrong with this picture”Small, Domestic Water Permit Deemed Ministerial, Exempt From CEQA
Significance Thresholds
Attorney General Issues Guidance Outlining Best Practices for Analyzing and Mitigating Wildfire Impacts Under CEQAAnother CEQA Victory for Conservation Groups in Tahoe, another GHG Mitigation Measure Held InadequateFirst District Court of Appeal Considers Certified Regulatory Programs' Potential Mitigation Measure Disclosure Standards
Standard of Review
Petitioner Required To Post Bond For Costs Incurred As A Result Of Delay In Carrying Out Affordable Housing Project In LivermoreFirst District Upholds the Constitutionality of the Housing Accountability Act and Overturns City’s Denial of Housing DevelopmentTHIRD DISTRICT AFFIRMS FOLSOM’S USE OF A MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION
Subsequent CEQA Review
Court Finds Use of Addendum Improper as Project’s GHG Emissions Likely Outside the Scope of Prior Programmatic EIR and Unusual Circumstances Exception Applied to Use of Infill ExemptionPetitioner Required To Post Bond For Costs Incurred As A Result Of Delay In Carrying Out Affordable Housing Project In LivermoreFirst District Court of Appeal Finds University of California’s Decision to Increase Enrollment Is Not Exempt from CEQA Review
Supplemental Environmental Impact Report
First District Court of Appeal Finds University of California’s Decision to Increase Enrollment Is Not Exempt from CEQA ReviewSecond District Prohibits Preparation of Subsequent EIR Where Project-level EIR Covered All “Reasonably Foreseeable Consequences” of Later Plan-level Project; Spot-Zoned Target Store Permissible Where in Public InterestSecond Appellate District Upholds PG&E Lease Extension as Categorically Exempt from CEQA, Finds Unusual Circumstance Exception Inapplicable to Extension of Nuclear Power Plant Lease
Tiering/Streamlining
Oakland and the A’s Prevail on All but One Minor Issue in Ballpark EIR Case; Wind Mitigation Found InadequateAnother CEQA Victory for Conservation Groups in Tahoe, another GHG Mitigation Measure Held InadequateApproval of Mixed-Use Development Found Consistent with General Plan, Other Planning Documents – Court Upholds Project’s Sustainable Communities Environmental Assessment
Transportation
Design Changes to State Capitol Renovation Revealed in FEIR Did Not Adequately Allow for Public Input or Informed Decision-MakingCEQA Lawsuit, Latest in Decades of Local Opposition Delaying Marin County Housing Development, Met with Judicial Rebuke: “Something is very wrong with this picture”Another CEQA Victory for Conservation Groups in Tahoe, another GHG Mitigation Measure Held Inadequate
Urban Decay
FEDERAL COURT GRANTS SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON MOST CLAIMS TO LOCAL AND FEDERAL AGENCIES FOR CEQA AND NEPA CHALLENGES TO LOS ANGELES LIGHT RAIL PROJECTCOURT FINDS PROGRAMMATIC EIR FOR RETAIL DEVELOPMENT INCLUDED INADQUATE ANALYSIS OF URBAN DECAY AND ENERGY IMPACTSCOURT FINDS PROGRAMMATIC EIR FOR RETAIL DEVELOPMENT INCLUDED INADQUATE ANALYSIS OF URBAN DECAY AND ENERGY IMPACTS
Water Quality
California Appeals Court Rules that State Water Board’s Duty to Prevent Waste and Unreasonable Use of Water is “Highly Discretionary”Discretionary Reductions in Water Deliveries Allowed Under Terms of Existing Leases are not a New CEQA ProjectThird Circuit Makes Clear That Lead Agencies and Responsible Agencies Alike Must Make Findings Under CEQA
Wildfire
Court Finds Site Visits and Reports Taken Before and After Issuance of NOP Adequate for Establishing Biological Resources Baseline, EIR’s Emergency Evacuation Analysis UpheldAttorney General Issues Guidance Outlining Best Practices for Analyzing and Mitigating Wildfire Impacts Under CEQACEQA Lawsuit, Latest in Decades of Local Opposition Delaying Marin County Housing Development, Met with Judicial Rebuke: “Something is very wrong with this picture”