By William W. Abbott

Citizens for a Green San Mateo v. San Mateo County Community College District (2014) 226 Cal.App.4th 1572.

Details do matter in CEQA litigation as reflected in the recent decision involving the application of the statute of limitations to bar a CEQA claim. Citizens for a Green San Mateo v. San Mateo County Community College District (2014) 226 Cal.App.4th 1572. The facts involve a facilities master plan adopted by the San Mateo County Community College District. The chronology begins in 2001 when the District adopted a master plan. The District updated the master plan in 2006. The 2006 plan called for building demolition and reconstruction, and extensive site redevelopment including modification to existing landscaping. A mitigated negative declaration was approved in conjunction with the updated master plan. From 2008 through 2010, the District developed, approved and awarded site specific construction contracts. To differing degrees, these plans and construction contracts referenced tree removal. In late 2010, the District awarded a contract for tree removal which began on December 29, 2010, continuing on into January. Citizens raised concerns in early January, and filed a petition for writ of mandamus against the District on July 1, 2011. 

Continue Reading An NOD Filed On A Facilities Master Plan In 2006 Applied To A 2010 Tree-Cutting Contract Awarded In Furtherance Of The Master Plan

By William W. Abbott

First, a micro history lesson. Hiram Johnson served as California’s governor from 1911 to 1917. For purposes of this blog, one of Hiram’s important contributions was his support for the constitutional amendment which added the right of initiative and referendum to the California Constitution. At the start of the 20th century, California joined the national populist movement embracing direct citizen involvement, thereby revolutionizing state politics. In California, the push for direct citizen involvement in the legislative process was designed in part to break the political control in Sacramento which was held by Southern Pacific Railroad, and by all counts the effort accomplished that goal. The initiative power was only one of several significant reforms championed by Johnson, but more on that later. For the curious, check out Hiram’s profile by the State Librarian: http://governors.library.ca.gov/23-hjohnson.html. For more on the history and significance of initiatives, check out the Initiative and Referendum Institute.

Continue Reading One Hundred Years Later Hiram Johnson Dances on His Grave: California Supreme Court Upholds Initiative Rights Against CEQA Based Challenge

Center for Biological Diversity v. California Department of Fish and Game, et al. (2014) 224 Cal.App.4th 1105, review granted and depublished (July 9, 2014), 2014 Cal.LEXIS 5032.

The California Supreme Court granted review and depublished the Court of Appeal opinion. (2014 Cal.LEXIS 5032.) The court agreed to hear the following questions: (1) Does the California Endangered Species Act (Fish & Game Code, § 2050 et seq.) supersede other California statutes that prohibit the taking of “fully protected” species, and allow such a taking if it is incidental to a mitigation plan under the California Environmental Quality Act (Pub. Resources Code, § 21000 et seq.)? (2) Does the California Environmental Quality Act restrict judicial review to the claims presented to an agency before the close of the public comment period on a draft environmental impact report? (3) May an agency deviate from the Act’s existing conditions baseline and instead determine the significance of a project’s greenhouse gas emissions by reference to a hypothetical higher “business as usual” baseline?

Citizens for Environmental Responsibility v. State ex rel. 14th Dist. Ag. Assn., S218240. (2014) 224 Cal.App.4th 1542, review granted and depublished (July 9, 2014), 2014 Cal.LEXIS 4992.

The California Supreme Court granted review and ordered briefing deferred pending decision in Berkeley Hillside Preservation v. City of Berkeley, S201116, which presents the following issue: Did the City of Berkeley properly conclude that a proposed project was exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (Pub. Resources Code, § 21000 et seq.) under the categorical exemptions set forth in California Code of Regulations, title 14, sections 15303, subdivision (a), and 15332, and that the “Significant Effects Exception” set forth in section 15300.2, subdivision (c), of the regulations did not operate to remove the project from the scope of those categorical exemptions?

The information presented in this article should not be construed to be formal legal advice by Abbott & Kindermann, LLP, nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship. Because of the changing nature of this area of the law and the importance of individual facts, readers are encouraged to seek independent counsel for advice regarding their individual legal issues.

This course will discuss public-private partnerships and the legal and practical considerations impacting how cities, counties and private developers can collaborate on matters involving economic development Class starts August 8, 2014 – Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sacramento: Sutter Square Galleria, 2901 K Street.

Instructors:

William Abbott, Steven Rudolph, & Harriet Steiner

For more info, or to enroll visit: http://bit.ly/1xiShNl

By William W. Abbott, Diane Kindermann, Katherine J. Hart, Glen Hansen and Brian Russell

Welcome to Abbott & Kindermann’s 2014 2nd Quarter CEQA update. Our thirst for guidance from the California Supreme Court remains unquenched as the court still has five CEQA cases under review. In terms of other interesting developments during the second quarter, two courts of appeal ground through three of highly detailed cases: California Clean Energy Committee v. City of Woodland, Center for Biological Diversity v. California Department of Fish and Game and Sierra Club v. County of Fresno. Read together, these cases cover much of CEQA’s fine parts. Thinking about impacts and mitigation is not the same as actual CEQA evaluation as the court observes in Lotus v. Department of Transportation. Finally, in terms of other developments the City of San Jose successfully defended its eighth addendum to the 1997 EIR for its airport master plan.

Continue Reading 2014 CEQA 2nd QUARTER REVIEW

William Abbott was selected in the practice areas of Land Use/Zoning and Real Estate and Kate Hart in the practice areas of Environmental, Environmental Litigation and Land Use/Zoning. More information is available at http://www.superlawyers.com/california-northern/. The firm is pleased to continue to serve private and public clients in Northern California on land use, environmental and real estate matters for more than 18 years.

Abbott & Kindermann, LLP is pleased to announce that Diane Kindermann will be presenting for the California Association of Winegrape Growers and the San Joaquin Valley Winegrape Growers Association Grower Education Program, Thursday, July 10, at The Fresno County Economic Opportunities Commission. Ms. Kindermann’s presentation will cover the following wine law topics: real property due diligence hot topics, including Phase I and II, land use considerations (borders, access and conservations easements); local land use update; and sustainability.

For more information click here.

By Glen Hansen

In Schmidt v. Bank of America (2014) 223 Cal.App.4th 1489, the Court of Appeal for the Fourth Appellate District held that a trial court erred in granting summary judgment against claims by a servient property owner that alleged that the dominant property owner went beyond the scope of the reserved private easement for ingress and egress when it graded the easement and installed subsurface infrastructure on the easement area for the benefit of the adjacent condominium project that was built on the dominant property.

Continue Reading Just Because The Easement Says “For Public Road Purposes” Does Not Mean It’s A Public Right-Of-Way

By William W. Abbott

Foothill Communities Coalition v. County of Orange (2014) 222 Cal.App.4th 1302. In the minds of most local planners, spot zoning is typically associated with downzoning of a smaller parcel in circumstances in which the surrounding property is similar in character, but which retains a more intensive zoning designation. From the perspective of the California’s Fourth Appellate District, a rezoning which creates the converse result (that is the donut hole being rezoned to a more intensive classification) can also trigger a claim of spot zoning. In the facts of Foothill Communities Coalition v. County of Orange, the trial court invalidated the rezoning. On appeal however, the appellate court found the rezoning to be a valid exercise of the police power and upheld the rezoning.

Continue Reading Up Zoning Creating Special Benefits Can Trigger Spot Zoning Claims