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California Environmental Quality Act Mitigation

Perkins Coie

Agricultural Conservation Easements Partially Mitigate the Loss of Agricultural Land

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After deciding in a prior appeal in the same case that offsite agricultural conservation easements (ACEs) were not effective at reducing a project’s conversion of agricultural land, the Fifth Appellate District held that ACEs...more

Farella Braun + Martel LLP

Still in the Line of Fire: CEQA Claim Challenging Firing Range Not Moot After Project Completion

In an opinion filed on March 29, 2024, the First District Court of Appeal found that a CEQA claim was not mooted by completion of a project to demolish an existing shooting range and to construct a new shooting range...more

Miller Starr Regalia

Fifth District Clarifies That Agricultural Conservation Easements (ACE’s) Qualify As Legally Permissible “Compensatory Mitigation”...

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In a partially published (but mostly unpublished) opinion filed on March 7, 2024, the Fifth District Court of Appeal reversed the trial court’s judgment and writ-discharge order which had upheld Kern County’s most recently...more

Perkins Coie

Compensatory Mitigation Infeasible for Loss of Historic Building

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The Court of Appeal upheld the City’s determination that compensatory mitigation for the loss of a historic building in the form of funding of other historic preservation was not feasible because there were no other buildings...more

Downey Brand LLP

Sixth District Upholds City’s Rejection of Proposed Compensatory Mitigation for Demolition of Historic Building

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The Sixth Appellate District, on May 10, 2023, published a decision in Preservation Action Council of San Jose v. City of San Jose (2023) __ Cal.App.5th __ upholding the City of San Jose’s certification of a final...more

Miller Starr Regalia

Sixth District Holds Downtown San Jose Office Project FSEIR’s Brief Discussion And Rejection of “Compensatory” Mitigation for...

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In an opinion filed April 18, and belatedly ordered published on May 10, 2023, the Sixth District Court of Appeal upheld the City of San Jose’s (City) certification of a final Supplemental EIR (FSEIR) for development of three...more

Downey Brand LLP

Oakland and the A’s Prevail on All but One Minor Issue in Ballpark EIR Case; Wind Mitigation Found Inadequate

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In E. Oakland Stadium Alliance v. City of Oakland (Mar. 30, 2023, No. A166221) ___Cal.App.5th___ [2023 Cal. App. LEXIS 240], the First District Court of Appeal concluded that the EIR prepared for the proposed Oakland A’s...more

Perkins Coie

EIR For Martis Valley Project Near Lake Tahoe Rejected on Four Grounds But Wildfire Evacuation Analysis Complied with CEQA

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In a lengthy opinion tackling several of CEQA’s hot topics, a court of appeal has rejected the EIR for the Martis Valley West project, finding its Lake Tahoe water quality analysis, GHG and traffic mitigation measures, and...more

Perkins Coie

Can a Responsible Agency Impose Mitigation Measures Not Considered in the Lead Agency’s EIR?

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In Santa Clara Valley Water District v. San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, No. A157127, 2020 WL 7706795 (Cal. Ct. App. Dec. 29, 2020), the court ruled that CEQA does not constrain an agency’s authority to...more

Downey Brand LLP

First Appellate District Approves Responsible Agency’s Imposition of Mitigation Not Considered in the EIR

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In an opinion filed on December 29, 2020, the First Appellate District in Santa Clara Valley Water District v. San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board upheld a Responsible Agency’s imposition of additional...more

Perkins Coie

Court Holds That CEQA Does Not Limit Agencies’ Authority to Impose Mitigation Pursuant to Other Laws

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The First District Court of Appeal ruled that CEQA does not constrain an agency’s authority to administer and enforce any other laws, including those authorizing imposition of mitigation requirements. Thus, even after an EIR...more

Perkins Coie

Do Conservation Easements Provide Effective Mitigation for Loss of Farmland to Development?

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In 2018, the CEQA Guideline which defines the term “mitigation” was amended to add “conservation easements” to the list of measures that can provide “compensatory” mitigation for an environmental impact. Guideline §15370(e)....more

Miller Starr Regalia

Can a Responsible Agency Get A Second Bite At The CEQA Apple? First District Says “Sometimes, Yes,” Upholds Regional Water Board’s...

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In a published opinion filed December 29, 2020, the First District Court of Appeal affirmed a judgment denying a petition for writ of mandate filed by the Santa Clara Valley Water District (District) challenging waste...more

Perkins Coie

CEQA Year in Review 2020

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A Summary of Published Appellate Opinions Involving the California Environmental Quality Act - Despite relatively few published opinions this year, there were significant appellate court rulings on a range of topics,...more

Perkins Coie

Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Measure Allowing Purchase of Offset Credits Fails to Comply With CEQA

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While a number of court decisions have considered how CEQA lead agencies should assess the significance of a project’s greenhouse gas emissions, few have examined mitigation measures for those impacts. In Golden Door...more

Nossaman LLP

[Webinar] Key CEQA Compliance Considerations for Vehicle Miles Traveled Analyses - August 4th, 11:30 am - 12:30 pm PT

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Please join us on August 4, 2020 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. PT for “Key CEQA Compliance Considerations for Vehicle Miles Traveled Analyses.” This complimentary webinar will examine the California Natural Resources Agency’s...more

Perkins Coie

University Campus Was Not an Illusory Element of Project Under CEQA

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The court of appeal found the EIR for a master planned community sufficient because it adequately described and analyzed impacts of the proposed project, which included a university, and was not required to consider the...more

Miller Starr Regalia

Third Time Is Not The Charm: Fourth District Affirms Judgment Setting Aside San Diego County’s Climate Action Plan And Related...

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In a mammoth 132-page published opinion (with an additional five pages of appendices) filed on June 12, 2020, the Fourth District Court of Appeal (Division One) mostly affirmed the trial court’s judgment invalidating San...more

Perkins Coie

EIR Improperly Deferred Formulation and Implementation of Mitigation Measures for New Oil and Gas Drilling

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The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal found multiple defects in a Kern County EIR for a proposed ordinance streamlining the permitting process for new oil and gas wells. King and Gardiner Farms, LLC v. County Kern 45 Cal.App.5th...more

K&L Gates LLP

Real Estate Developers Grapple with CEQA’S Vehicle Miles Traveled Metric for Measuring Transportation Impacts

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The metric by which transportation impacts are analyzed under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) has changed, and real estate developers are quickly realizing that it is affecting the economic bottom line of...more

Perkins Coie

CEQA Year in Review 2019

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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...more

Perkins Coie

Power Plant EIR Defeated By Inadequate Responses to Commenters’ Proposed Mitigation Measures

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An EIR that did not squarely respond to detailed comments recommending additional mitigation measures has been held not to comply with CEQA. Covington v. Greater Basin., 3d Dist. Court of Appeal Case No. C080342 (certified...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

California Supreme Court Clarifies Standards for Judicial Review and Air Quality Analyses

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The Sierra Club decision affects both the preparation of EIRs and judicial review of agency decisions certifying EIRs. Key Points: ..An environmental impact report’s (EIR) discussion of potential environmental impacts...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

California Supreme Court Clarifies Scope of De Novo and Substantial Evidence Standards Of Review In CEQA Cases

In Sierra Club v. County of Fresno (S219783), the California Supreme Court unanimously reaffirmed that the substantial evidence standard of review does not always apply when a lead agency prepares an environmental impact...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

California Supreme Court Clarifies Standard of Review for EIRs and Requirements for Air Quality Impact Analyses

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CEQA Case Report: Understanding the Judicial Landscape for Development - In a published opinion issued December 24, 2018, Sierra Club v. County of Fresno, Case No. S219783, the California Supreme Court determined that an...more

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