A court upheld an ordinance that restricted development standards in designated overlay zones to protect wildlife corridors, finding that it did not establish a “use” that would be subject to certain requirements of the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act (SMARA).
California Land Use & Development Law Report
Legal Commentary on Planning and Development
Latest from California Land Use & Development Law Report - Page 2
Court Upholds EIR for UCSF Parnassus Expansion Against Wide-Ranging CEQA Claims
The First District Court of Appeal has approved an EIR analyzing a proposed fifty percent increase in density at the Parnassus campus of the University of California, San Francisco. Yerba Buena Neighborhood Consortium, LLC v. Regents of the University of…
Fair Argument Standard Did Not Apply to Claim Regarding Exception to CEQA’s Historical Resources Categorical Exemption
This case addressed both application of CEQA’s categorical exemption for renovation of historical resources and application of an exception to the exemption that turned on the question whether the project complied with Secretary of Interior standards regarding renovation of historic…
Monterey Water Saga Continues: County’s Approval of Desalination Plant Upheld Against CEQA Challenges
A court of appeal has upheld Monterey County’s approvals for a desalination plant, rejecting challengers’ claims that uncertainty regarding the availability of source water for the plant necessitated additional CEQA review. Marina Coast Water District v. County of Monterey, 96…
Court Approves EIR’s Climate Change Analysis for Community Master Plan
The Third District Court of Appeal has held that Sacramento County’s environmental impact report for a master planned community complied with CEQA’s requirements for analysis of greenhouse gas emissions. Tsakopoulos Investments, LLC v. County of Sacramento, 95 Cal.App.5th 280 (2023).…
Trial Court Cannot Retain Jurisdiction if Terms of Peremptory Writ of Mandate are Fully Satisfied
The trial court improperly retained jurisdiction of a CEQA challenge after the City of San Diego filed a return to the peremptory writ of mandate confirming that it had rescinded the project approvals and thereby satisfied the terms of the…
School Districts’ Challenge to EIR Based on Inadequate School-Facilities Funding was Speculative
The Court of Appeal rejected a challenge by two school districts to a specific plan EIR, finding the districts’ claim that the EIR should have analyzed off-site impacts resulting from inadequate school facilities to be speculative. Santa Rita Union School…
Coastal Commission Has De Novo Authority Over Issuance of Coastal Development Permits
The court upheld the authority of the California Coastal Commission to decide appeals of coastal development permits under a de novo standard of review. Cave Landing LLC v. California Coastal Commission, 94 Cal. App. 5th 654 (2023).
The McCarthys owned…
County’s Claimed Failure to Comply with CEQA Was Not a Defense to Enforcement of Encroachment Laws
Property owners who acted illegally by blocking parking on a public street fronting their houses were not entitled to use the County’s alleged noncompliance with CEQA as a defense to actions enforcing encroachment laws. Anderson v. County of Santa Barbara…
EIR for Relicensing of Oroville Dam Adequately Evaluated Environmental Impacts
An environmental impact report need not discuss impacts that are too speculative in nature for proper evaluation or assess economic costs not linked to a physical change in the environment. County of Butte v. Dept. of Water Resources, 90 Cal.App.5th…