This case Is useful from a EIR consultant’s perspective because it is an important “piecemealing” or “project splitting” case. In this case the Plaintiff, Banning Ranch Conservancy contended the EIR wrongly defined the project to exclude the pending residential and commercial development on an adjacent property, Banning Ranch. It claimed the park and development were […]
New CEQA Case: Habitat and Watershed Caretakers v. City of Santa Cruz (2012) , Cal.App.4th [No. H037545. Sixth Dist. Nov. 27, 2012.]
This case Is useful from a EIR consultant’s perspective because it rearticulates standards associated with the adequacy of water supply analysis and because it addresses the relationship between project objectives and alternatives. In this case the City “certified an environmental impact report (EIR) for a project to amend the City’s sphere of influence (SOI) to […]
New CEQA Case: Tuolumne Jobs & Small Business Alliance v. Superior Court (Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) (2012) , Cal.App.4th
This case addresses the question of whether CEQA review can be avoided if project approval is accomplished via an initiative petition in combination with City Council approval, in the absence of an actual election. According the court: “It is settled that when a development project is approved by means of a ballot initiative placed on […]
CEQA, CEQA CaseNew CEQA Case: Chung v. City of Monterey Park (2012) , Cal.App.4th
In this case the court held that the City of Monterey Park’s “Measure BB merely established a competitive bidding process for future waste services contracts; the new manner of awarding such contracts is a “fiscal activity” which does not involve a commitment to a specific project and therefore does not constitute a project subject to […]
CEQA, CEQA CaseNew CEQA Case: Tomlinson v. County of Alameda (2012),Cal.4th
In this case the court ruled that the exhaustion-of-administrative-remedies requirement set forth in subdivision (a) of section 21177 applies to a public agency’s decision that a proposed project is categorically exempt from CEQA compliance as long as: (1) the public agency gives notice of the ground for its exemption determination, and (2) that determination is […]
CEQA, CEQA CaseNew CEQA Case: Consolidated Irrigation Dist. v. Superior Court (City of Selma)
(2012) , Cal.App.4th [No. F063534. Fifth Dist. Apr. 26, 2012, Opinion Certified For Partial Publication] This case addresses what documents are properly parts of the administrative record in a CEQA case, and is useful for individuals preparing comments on environmental documents, CEQA consultants, Lead Agencies and litigators seeking to augment the administrative record in a […]
CEQA, CEQA CaseNew CEQA Case: Jamulians Against the Casino v. Iwasaki
(2012) , Cal.App.4th, [No. C067138. Third Dist. Mar. 29, 2012 as modified Apr. 26, 2012] In this case, Plaintiff Jamulians Against the Casino (JAC) contested the execution of an April 2009 settlement agreement between Caltrans (signed by Iwasaki) and the Jamul Indian Village. The purpose of the settlement agreement was to resolve federal litigation between […]
CEQA, CEQA Case