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CEQA
1,312 published works
Government and Public Policy
Rumors of an Impending Work Plan to be Released with the Draft USACE Budget on May 23?? Well, Not Quite Yet.
By Scott L. Shapiro, Andrea P. Clark
Good day! As many of you know, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had scheduled a press conference for Tuesday, May 23 to go over the President's proposed USACE budget…
Real Estate & Construction
A Rare Decision on Preclusion in the CEQA Context
By Christopher I. Rendall-Jackson
In May 2017, the Fifth Appellate District published a decision addressing preclusion, which is rarely a topic in CEQA litigation. On demurrer, the Kern County Superior Court found that a…
CEQA Developments
No Surprises Here: First District Applies CEQA Subsequent Review Standards Mandated by Supreme Court on Remand, Again Affirms Judgment for Petitioner in Friends of the College of San Mateo Gardens Litigation
When all was said and done, it was a case of “same wine, different bottle” for Defendant and Appellant San Mateo Community College District (“District”) after the First District Court…
Energy and Utilities
Up One Day, Down the Next—California Air Resources Board Receives Mixed Reviews in its Implementation of its Cap-and-Trade Program and Low Carbon Fuel Standard
By Darrin D. Gambelin, Kathryn L. Oehlschlager
In recent weeks, California appellate courts issued two decisions regarding California Air Resources Board (CARB) programs implemented under AB32, the Global Warming Solutions Act, with mixed results. The first decision…
Environmental and Climate
Third District Finds that EIR for Residential Development Inadequately Assessed Traffic Impacts
Cities charged with preparing EIRs for proposed projects often look to their general plans and other adopted policies to set thresholds of significance for assessing environmental impacts. A lead agency’s…
Environmental and Climate
Limitations on Subsequent Review Under CEQA
By Christopher I. Rendall-Jackson
Since the California Supreme Court’s 2016 ruling in Friends of the College of San Mateo Gardens v. San Mateo County Community College District, California appeals courts have issued a spate…
Environmental and Climate
Banning Ranch Conservancy v. City of Newport Beach
[caption id="attachment_389" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)[/caption] On March 30, 2017, in the first of at least three CEQA rulings expected this year, the California Supreme…
Environmental and Climate
Second District Denies Mandatory Relief from Adverse Judgment to Plaintiff Whose Counsel Failed to Timely Lodge Administrative Record
On April 13, the Second Appellate District disapproved two of its prior decisions that had expansively interpreted the availability of mandatory relief from default or dismissal under Code of Civil…
California Land Use & Development Law Report
Appellate court upholds approval of master-planned community against multiple CEQA challenges
The court of appeal upheld the County of Riverside’s decision to approve development of a master-planned community, rejecting claims that the County violated CEQA by (1) filing an inadequate notice…
CEQA Developments
First District Holds Sonoma County Vineyard Development (VESCO) Permit was Ministerial Approval Exempt from CEQA
On April 21, 2017, the First District Court of Appeal filed a 22-page published opinion providing significant guidance and analysis concerning the critical, but sometimes elusive, distinction between “discretionary” project…