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CEQA Developments
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CEQA Developments
Supreme Court Case Involving CEQA’s “Unusual Circumstances” Exception to Categorical Exemptions Now Fully Briefed by Parties; Amicus Briefs Are Up Next in Berkeley Hillside Preservation Matter
The Respondent City of Berkeley and Real Parties (Kapors) filed their joint Reply Brief on the Merits in the California Supreme Court in a much-watched categorical exemption case, Berkeley Hillside…
CEQA Developments
CEQA Standing Reform: Could Statutory Standing Requirements Feasibly Be Tightened To Bar Anti-Competitive Lawsuits Motivated By Economic Rather Than Environmental Concerns?
Meaningful CEQA reform is a topic much discussed by politicians and stakeholders, but its realization remains elusive. For example, in-fill exemptions are fettered with multitudes of complex and convoluted conditions…
CEQA Developments
Common Sense Reading of CEQA Remedies Statute Authorizes “Limited Writ” for Violations, Fourth District Holds, Rejecting Contrary Fifth District Decision
In a recent published decision addressing cumulative impacts, deferred mitigation, and water supply analysis issues, the Fourth District Court of Appeal’s most significant CEQA pronouncements may have been those addressing…
CEQA Developments
Impossible and Useless CEQA Review Is Required If City Opts Under Elections Code to Adopt Legislative Project Approvals Proposed By Qualified Citizen Initiative Petition – Fifth District’s Holding In Walmart Rejects Fourth District Precedent and Creates Split In Authority
In a case notable for its unique conception of “meaningful discretion” for purposes of triggering CEQA review, the Fifth District Court of Appeal has created a split in authority that…
CEQA Developments
EIR Satisfies CEQA Despite Minor Deficiencies and Inaccuracies Where Environmental Review Process Not Prejudiced, Third District Holds
A unanimous Third District panel upheld SiskiyouCounty’s EIR for Roseburg Forest Products Co.’s (Roseburg) electricity cogeneration project involving expansion of its existing wood veneer manufacturing facility. (Mount Shasta Bioregional Ecology…
CEQA Developments
CEQA Roundup: Supreme Court Grants and Holds in City of Hayward; Lengthy Answer Brief Submitted In Berkeley Hillside Preservation; Senator Steinberg Aims for 2013 Reform
As Halloween approaches, there is a “mixed bag” of CEQA developments to briefly note: Just a week after extending its time to act on the City of Hayward’s petition for…
CEQA Developments
CEQA’s Unusual Circumstances Exception To Small Structures Categorical Exemption Is Applied By Third District To Water Supply MOU With Indian Tribe
As the regulated community eagerly awaits completion of briefing at the Supreme Court in the Berkeley Hillside Preservation case, the Courts of Appeal continue to decide CEQA categorical exemption cases…
CEQA Developments
Timing Is Everything: CEQA Notice of Exemption Must Be Both Facially Valid And Properly Filed To Trigger Short Limitations Period
In a partially published opinion filed September 14, 2012, the Fifth District Court of Appeal revived a CEQA lawsuit the trial court had dismissed as time-barred on demurrer because it was…
CEQA Developments
First District Holds CEQA’s Class 3 Categorical Exemption Applies To Installations of Small Telecommunications Equipment On Existing Utility Poles, Recognizes Split In Case Law On Standard of Review For Cumulative Impact Exception
The same appellate panel that decided the controversial Berkeley Hillside Preservation case (which is currently in the briefing stage of Supreme Court review) rendered another significant categorical exemption decision in…
CEQA Developments
Are Courts Actively Limiting CEQA’s Scope In The Absence of Meaningful Legislative Reform?
Governor Jerry Brown was recently quoted in a Capitol Alert piece as calling legislative reform of CEQA “the Lord’s work” – hopefully he didn’t mean the quest for the Holy…