Statute
CEQA
1,311 published works
Land Use Law Blog
EIR Fails For Insufficient Response To One Comment Letter
Court invalidates EIR on the basis of the lead agency's failure to respond to one comment.
Real Estate, Land Use & Environmental Law Blog
Builders Charge New CEQA-Streamlining Laws, Guidelines Unhelpful
The building industry contends a 2011 law aiming to jump-start the economy by streamlining the state's environmental review process for development projects is failing to attract much interest because strict…
CEQA Developments
First District Holds CEQA Baseline For Chevron Marine Terminal Lease Renewal Includes Existing Conditions and Structures, Finds No CEQA or Public Trust Violation In Lands Commission’s Alternatives Analysis
The CEQA “baseline” rules have received a lot of judicial attention in the last several years, and rightly so. The baseline or “environmental setting,” is the fundamental “benchmark” from which…
Real Estate, Land Use & Environmental Law Blog
OPR Releases Proposed Guidelines for Streamlining CEQA Review of Infill Projects
By Alex Merritt Last week, the Governor's Office of Planning and Research released proposed guidelines for streamlining CEQA review of infill projects. The proposed guidelines will implement SB 226 (Simitian)—one…
Environmental and Climate
Federal Court Affirms that the 90-day Rule to Request a CEQA Hearing is Mandatory
In Friends of Roeding Park v. City of Fresno (E.D. 2012) 2848 F. Supp. 2d 1152, the District Court granted the city's motion to dismiss Plaintiffs' lawsuit challenging the planned…
Real Estate, Land Use & Environmental Law Blog
CEQA Trumps Surplus Lands Act; Lead Agency Must Respond to All Comments Regardless of Merit
The Flanders Foundation v. City of Carmel-by-the-Sea et al., No. H035818 (Cal. Ct. App. 6th Dist., January 4, 2012) By Michael Gibson A lead agency must consider and respond to…
CEQA Developments
Rejecting CEQA Alternatives For Economic Infeasibility: Sixth District Lays Down the Law In Flanders Foundation v. City of Carmel
When a CEQA project proposes the modification or demolition of a historically-significant property, or the sale of such a property by a government agency owner, the potentially significant impacts to…
Environmental and Climate
Governor Brown Releases CEQA Reforms in an Effort to Simplify the Approval Process for Infill Projects
Sacramento, January 25, 2012. Today Governor Brown released a package of CEQA reforms designed to simplify and expedite the approval process for key job-creating projects in California. The package of…
Environment, Land & Resources
Court of Appeal in San Francisco Affirms Rule for CEQA Baseline Analysis, Allowing Marine Terminal Operations to Continue
By Taiga Takahashi On December 30, 2011, the Court of Appeal for the First Appellate District affirmed the Alameda County Superior Court’s rejection of petition for a writ of mandate…
Environmental and Climate
Final Environmental Impact Reports Must Include Responses to Public Comments, but Need Not Include Economic Feasibility Analyses
The Flanders Foundation v. City of Carmel-by-the-Sea, et al. (January 4, 2012) 202 Cal. App. 4th 603 A citizens group brought suit against the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea challenging the city’s…