A Summary of Published Appellate Opinions Under the California Environmental Quality Act -

The year 2019 saw several trailblazing opinions, indicating that courts continue to grapple with some of CEQA’s core policies. The California Supreme Court weighed in on the threshold question of what constitutes a “project” subject to CEQA. In Union of Medical Marijuana Patients v. City of San Diego, the court recognized that a decision to enact a zoning ordinance is not necessarily a project if the ordinance cannot foreseeably result in changes to the physical environment. It also ruled, however, that where such an ordinance is capable, at least in theory, of resulting in environmental changes, it is a “project” as defined by CEQA, and therefore must be analyzed further to determine whether it is exempt or necessitates preparation of a negative declaration or EIR.

A court of appeal also addressed the same threshold issue, holding that agency inaction is not a project subject to CEQA — even where the agency’s failure to act would result in significant adverse environmental impacts. On a related note, another court confirmed that CEQA is not triggered when an agency’s discretionary authority over a project is limited to design review and does not extend to other aspects of the project that might adversely affect the physical environment.