Statute
CEQA
1,312 published works
Environmental and Climate
COURT OF APPEAL EXTENDS CEQA HOLDING ON RECORD PREPARATION LABOR COSTS TO OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD CASES
After successfully defending a challenge to a resolution granting nonconforming use status to a mining operation in Santa Clara County, Respondent’s attorney filed a motion to recover costs associated with…
Administrative and Regulatory
Appellate Court Rejects Urban Decay Claim Based on Lay Witness Opinion, Upholds Mitigated Negative Declaration
When cities and counties conduct CEQA review of a large-scale commercial development project including a major national chain like Wal-Mart or Costco, a common objection is that the project will…
California Land Use & Development Law Report
General Plan Sustainability Requirements Doom Wal-Mart Project
By Julie Jones
Finding a variety of legal errors, including failure to comply with a city policy requiring on-site electricity generation “to the maximum extent feasible,” a court of appeal has overturned the…
Land Use Law Blog
Fifth Appellate District Defers To Municipality When Reviewing Findings Of General Plan Consistency
Naraghi Lakes Neighborhood Preservation v. City of Modesto (June 7, 2016, F071768) ___ Cal.App.4th ___. By William W. Abbott Why Words Matter In Your General Plan: Resolving Issues Of Horizontal…
CEQA Developments
Discovery Rule Does Not Postpone Accrual of CEQA Cause of Action; Events Specified In CEQA Statute of Limitations Provide Constructive Notice of Project Approval or Commencement
In a short but significant published opinion filed July 19, 2016, the First District Court of Appeal affirmed the San Francisco County Superior Court’s judgment of dismissal following the sustaining…
California Land Use & Development Law Report
Public/Private Partnerships: New Guidance on Designating the CEQA Lead Agency
With public/private partnerships becoming more common, a California appellate court has outlined – with a new test – how to determine the CEQA lead agency for a project in which…
Land Use Developments
Unsubstantiated Challenges to an Agency’s Conditional Use Permit Findings Will Not Fly
Developing real property in California is notoriously difficult. Given minimal standing requirements, project opponents can and do tie up and delay new development for the mere cost of a filing…
CEQA Developments
Fourth District Holds Non-Expert Opinion Fails To Support “Fair Argument” Under CEQA That Approval of Non-Regional Retail Store In Joshua Tree Would Cause Urban Decay
In an opinion filed June 15, and ordered partially published on July 13, 2016, the Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed the trial court’s judgment requiring the County of San Bernardino to…
Land Use Developments
Court Rejects General Plan Consistency Challenge Regarding City’s Approval of Franchise Retail Store Where Applicable Economic Development Goals and Policies are Alleged to Favor Small, Independent Businesses
Numerous California communities regulate broad economic development objectives through general plan goals and policies intended to encourage and support small businesses or to ensure the compatibility of new commercial development…
CEQA Developments
CEQA Remedies Statute Does Not Authorize Appellate Court To Issue Writ And Supervise Compliance On Direct Appeal, Holds Second District In Partially Published Decision On Remand In Newhall Ranch Case
In the published part of a partially published opinion filed July 11, 2016, the Second Appellate District Court of Appeal held that Public Resources Code § 21168.9 does not authorize an appellate…