Latest Posts › CEQA

Share:

California Supreme Court Reverses First District Court of Appeal’s Decision in UC Berkeley People’s Park Student Housing Case

The California Supreme Court, on June 6, 2024, reversed the First District Court of Appeal’s decision regarding UC Berkeley’s Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) EIR. The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision clears the way for...more

Sixth District Says City’s Specific Plan EIR Need Not Analyze Speculative Alternative Scenario Conjured by Project Opponents

The Sixth District Court of Appeal, in Santa Rita Union School District v. City of Salinas (2023), 94 Cal.App.5th 298, reversed the lower court, finding that the City of Salinas’ (“City”) final programmatic environmental...more

Court of Appeal Finds Substantial Evidence Supports City’s Use of Statutory Exemption to Approve a Zoning Overlay District For...

In Lucas v. City of Pomona (2023) 92 Cal.App.5th 508, the Second District of the Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s decision that the City of Pomona’s (“City”) application of the statutory exemption under CEQA...more

California Supreme Court Grants Review in UC Berkeley People’s Park Student Housing Case

The California Supreme Court, on May 17, 2023, granted review of the First District Court of Appeal’s decision in Make UC a Good Neighbor v. Regents of University of California (2023) 88 Cal.App.5th 656, where the Court of...more

“It just so happens that [Governor Newsom’s Sweeping New Plan to Accelerate Infrastructure Projects] is only mostly dead.” –...

Governor Gavin Newsom announced proposed major new infrastructure permitting reforms on May 19, 2023 in an effort to create thousands of jobs and build California’s clean energy future. The eleven-bill package seeks to...more

Second District Rejects CEQA and Coastal Act Challenge to Senior Facility in Pacific Palisades Area of Los Angeles

In Pacific Palisades Residents Association, Inc. v. City of Los Angeles et al. (March 8, 2023, Case No. B306658) __ Cal.App.2d __, the Second District issued a strong opinion affirming the trial court’s ruling that a proposed...more

Court Finds Use of Addendum Improper as Project’s GHG Emissions Likely Outside the Scope of Prior Programmatic EIR and Unusual...

In IBC Business Owners for Sensible Development v. City of Irvine et al. (Feb. 6 2023, Case No. G060850) ___ Cal.App.5th ___, the Fourth District Court of Appeal held that the City of Irvine (“City”) violated CEQA when it...more

First District Affirms Denial of Anti-SLAPP Motion in a Malicious Prosecution Action Filed Against CEQA Petitioner’s Attorney

In Jenkins et al. v. Brandt-Hawley et al. (1st Dist., Div. 2, 2022) ___ Cal.App.5th ___, the First District Court of Appeal found that CEQA suits can be subject to malicious prosecution actions. The Court of Appeal upheld an...more

Residential Development Project Consistent with Specific Plan Found Exempt from Further CEQA Review

In Citizens’ Committee to Complete the Refuge v. City of Newark (2021) 74 Cal.App.5th 460, the First District Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s ruling that a residential project in a specific plan area in the city of...more

Petitioners Strike Out—Court Finds Statutory Deadline Does Not Preclude Streamlining of Oakland A’s Stadium Project

In August 2021, the First District Court of Appeals issued an opinion in Pacific Merchant Shipping Association v. Newsom, where the court held that Public Resources Code section 21168.6.7 does not impose on the Governor a...more

First District Court of Appeal Finds CEQA Claim Time-Barred Due to Insufficient Tolling Agreement

On June 30, 2021, in Save Lafayette Trees, et. al v. East Bay Regional Park District (Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Real Party in Interest), the First District Court of Appeal upheld the dismissal of a CEQA claim as...more

Residents’ Comments About Existing Fire Hazards Do Not Constitute Substantial Evidence of a New Project’s Impacts Under CEQA

In June 2021, the Third District Court of Appeal upheld the County of El Dorado’s (“County”) mitigated negative declaration (“MND”) for a bridge construction project against complaints that the project’s construction would...more

First District Denies Challenge to Napa County Approval of Mining Operations Because Petitioner Failed to Exhaust Administrative...

In Stop Syar Expansion v. County of Napa (2021) 63 Cal.App.5th 444, the First District Court of Appeal upheld Napa County’s Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the expansion of Syar Industries, Inc.’s aggregate mining...more

Good News for California Housing: SB 7 Extends Expedited CEQA Review to Small-Scale Infill Housing Projects

On May 20, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 7, known as the Housing and Jobs Expansion and Extensions Act, which extends expedited California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) judicial review...more

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

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

In Martis Camp Ruling, Subsequent Review Under CEQA Hinges on the Right EIR

In an opinion published on August 17, 2020, the Third Appellate District in Martis Camp Community Association v. County of Placer ruled that Placer County had violated CEQA by adopting an addendum to support abandonment of a...more

Second Appellate District Expands Baseline Analysis in Upholding Environmental Impact Report for Refinery Project Intended to Help...

Last month, the Second Appellate District upheld the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s (“Air District”) Environmental Impact Report (“EIR”), which the Air District prepared to analyze the environmental impacts of...more

Governor Newsom Issues Order Requiring Electronic Posting of CEQA Notices and Suspending CEQA Filing, Posting, Notice, and Tribal...

On April 23, 2020, Governor Newsom signed Executive Order N-54-20 (the “Order”) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which eased procedural legal requirements as to a variety of types of civil actions, including CEQA cases. ...more

To VMT or not to VMT? Third District Says Level of Service No Longer Valid to Measure Traffic Impacts, But Use of Vehicle Miles...

The Third District Court of Appeals recently weighed in on the interpretation of Public Resources Code section 21099(b)(2) (“Section 21099(b)(2)”) and newly enacted CEQA Guidelines section 15064.3, which govern the...more

Two CEQA Statute of Limitations Cases, Two Different Results

California Courts of Appeal recently issued two cases addressing the strict statute of limitations applicable to agency action under CEQA. Citizens for a Responsible Caltrans Decision v. Department of Transportation – ...more

COVID-19 Alert: Judicial Council Issues Sweeping Emergency Rules; Local Agencies Issue Regional Changes

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the state and several local jurisdictions have issued orders/rules in the last few weeks that affect not only the timing of processing land use and planning entitlements, but also the...more

Fifth Appellate District Invalidates Kern County Oil and Gas Ordinance

On Tuesday, February 25, 2020, the Fifth Appellate District invalidated Kern County’s 2015 Oil and Gas Ordinance (the “Ordinance”), which was intended to streamline the permitting process for a variety of oil and gas...more

California Supreme Court Holds Medical Marijuana Zoning Ordinance is a Project Subject to CEQA

Every CEQA analysis begins with the threshold question of whether the activity is a “project” as defined by Public Resources Code section 21065 and 21080. In Union of Medical Marijuana Patients, Inc. v. City of San Diego, the...more

Court of Appeal Finds No Discretionary Action in St. Helena Multi-family Dwelling Development

On December 18, 2018, the First Appellate District, in McCorkle v. St. Helena (A153238), affirmed the trial court’s denial of a Petition for Writ of Mandate challenging the City of St. Helena’s approval of a multi-dwelling...more

California Supreme Court Requires De Novo Review for EIR Adequacy Challenges and Imposes Heightened EIR Requirements Connecting...

In a long-awaited decision, on December 24, 2018 the California Supreme Court in Sierra Club v. County of Fresno (S219783) affirmed, in part, and reversed, in part, the Fifth District Court of Appeal’s decision concerning a...more

30 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 2

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide