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CEQA
1,311 published works
CEQA Developments
Third District Dismisses Appeal In CEQA Case As Moot Where Plaintiff Failed To Timely Seek Or Obtain Preliminary Injunction And Project Construction Was Completed Before Trial
In an opinion originally filed on August 26, and later certified for publication on September 16, 2020, the Third District Court of Appeal dismissed a plaintiff group’s (“Parkford”) appeal from…
Land Use Developments
Completion of Development Project Rendered Opponent’s Challenge to County’s Issuance of a Building Permit Moot
The Third District Court of Appeal published an important new case on September 16, 2020—Parkford Owners for a Better Community v. County of Placer, __ Cal.App.5th __ (2020) (Case No.…
California Land Use & Development Law Report
County’s Blanket Classification of All Well Permits As Ministerial Under CEQA Was Improper
Where a county ordinance allowed for exercise of discretion in some circumstances regarding issuance of well construction permits, such permits could not categorically be classified as ministerial and hence exempt…
Unfamiliar Terrain
2020 Housing Legislation Overview: Started with a Bang, Ended with a Whimper
By Tay Via, Miles Imwalle, Ashley Weinstein-Carnes
[Originally posted on September 9, 2020, updated on October 15, 2020] Like so much of this unprecedented year, the 2019-2020 California Legislative Session ended with unexpected twists and pointed disappointments…
CEQA Developments
Legislature Enacts SB 288 to Provide New and Expanded CEQA Exemptions for Sustainable Public Transportation Projects
Senator Scott Weiner’s Senate Bill (SB) 288 has passed both houses of the California Legislature, and was enrolled for proofing on September 4, 2020, prior to its delivery to the Governor…
CEQA Developments
Hitting A CEQA Snag: Third District Affirms Rejection of Statutory Road Abandonment And Brown Act Challenges And Inverse Condemnation Claim, But Holds Placer County Violated CEQA By Adopting Addendum To Wrong Project’s EIR
In a published opinion filed on August 17, 2020, the Third District Court of Appeal mostly affirmed the trial court’s judgment upholding Placer County’s partial abandonment of public easement rights…
Environmental and Climate
California Supreme Court Throws the Barn Doors Open, Finding That Groundwater Well Permits Aren’t Necessarily Ministerial
By Christian L. Marsh, Austin C. Cho
On August 27, 2020, in Protecting Our Water and Environmental Resources v. County of Stanislaus, Case No. S251709 (“Protecting Our Water”), the California Supreme Court held that the County in…
CEQA Developments
Supreme Court Holds Stanislaus County Well Permit Decisions Under State Standards Are Neither Categorically Ministerial Nor Categorically Discretionary In Nature; Rather, Whether CEQA-Triggering Discretion Exists Must Be Determined On Case-By-Case Basis
On August 27, 2020, the California Supreme Court filed its unanimous opinion, authored by Justice Corrigan, in Protecting Our Water and Environmental Resources v. County of Stanislaus (2020) 10 Cal.5th…
CEQA Developments
Burnishing the “Golden Door”: Fourth District Modifies Recent Opinion Requiring Lead Agency Preservation of CEQA Administrative Record Documents, Denies Petitions for Rehearing and Leaves Judgment Unchanged
In a detailed 6-page order, issued by Presiding Justice McConnell and filed on August 25, 2020, the Fourth District Court of Appeal denied three petitions for rehearing, and “polished up”…
Land Use Law Blog
Automatic Deletion Of Agency Emails Conflicts With CEQA
By Abbott & Kindermann, Inc., William W. Abbott
Golden Door Properties, LLC v. Superior Court, 2020 Cal. App. LEXIS 710 In Golden Door Properties, LLC v. Superior Court, the Fourth Appellate District addressed several key issues involving the…