Just because an agency has time to think doesn’t mean it does. In Juana Briones House v. City of Palo Alto (October 27, 2010, H033275) ___ Cal.App.___ the Sixth District Court of Appeal found the provision of the Palo Alto municipal code requiring a 60 day delay prior to the issuance of a demolition permit did not render the act discretionary. The City properly treated the demolition permit as ministerial and exempt from environmental review under CEQA.
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Alternative Baseline Considered a Good Egg
Posted in CEQA, Water Supply
Adjudicated groundwater rights can be the appropriate baseline for CEQA documents. The Court of Appeals, Fourth Appellate District, provides guidance on agricultural land mitigation, upholding a local agency determination that mitigation measures were infeasible.
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Save the Date!
Save the Date!
Abbott & Kindermann’s Annual Land Use, Real Estate, and Environmental Law Update
Reserve your seat for one of three seminars taking place in 2011.
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Court Upholds Agency’s Reasonable Assumptions in its Urban Water Management Plan
Posted in CEQA, Water Supply
In preparing an urban water management plan, the agency may rely upon reasonable assumptions, supported by substantial evidence. A reviewing court should apply deference to the agency’s decision.
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Grazing Cattle and the BLM’s Violation of NEPA and ESA
By Emilio Camacho and Cori Badgley
The Ninth Circuit concludes that major agencies violate NEPA and ESA when they fail to consider and adequately respond to relevant expert analysis.
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Are 1021.5 Attorneys Fees All or Nothing?
Posted in CEQA
Attorneys’ fees under the private attorney general doctrine codified in Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5 have become almost a “given” when a petitioner wins a CEQA suit. Two decisions that came down in 2010 explore the limits of attorneys’ fees in CEQA cases, and the rulings illustrate both what it means to be a successful party for purposes of Section 1021.5 and the vast discretion given to the trial court in determining the amount awarded.
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CARB Adopts SB 375 Targets for GHG Reductions Despite Economic Concerns
By Leslie Z. Walker
The alliances between homebuilders and conservation groups forged during the drafting of Senate Bill 375 unraveled around the Regional Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Targets for Automobiles and Light Trucks (“Targets”) adopted today by the California Air Resources Board (“CARB”). Despite the suffering building industry’s claims that the Targets are too ambitious, CARB unanimously voted to adopt the Targets. The Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act of 2008, Senate Bill 375, requires CARB to set targets for GHG reduction for 2020 and 2035 and further requires the 18 Metropolitan Planning Organizations (“MPOs”) include Sustainable Communities Strategies (“SCS”) to achieve these Targets in their Regional Transportation Plans.
Continue Reading CARB Adopts SB 375 Targets for GHG Reductions Despite Economic Concerns
Go Bears! Court Approves Cal Bears Athletic Facility Expansion
Posted in CEQA
Cal Bear offense and defense claim victory in CEQA win.
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Sacramento County Climate Action Plan – Part Two
By Emilio Camacho & Leslie Walker
The County of Sacramento kicked off Phase 2 of the Climate Action Plan development at a workshop on Wednesday, August 25, 2010. Phase 2 will develop strategies to implement the Climate Action Plan (CAP), a comprehensive plan for becoming more resource efficient and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, originally released in May 2009.
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Land Use Litigation Traps
Posted in CEQA, Subdivision Map Act
An unknowing petitioner faces a potential dismissal in a land use case for failure to obtain and serve a summons (Subdivision Map Act) or failure to request and serve a request for a hearing (CEQA).
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