CEQA Case Report: Understanding the Judicial Landscape for Development[i]
By Christopher W. Garrett, Daniel P. Brunton, Lauren Glaser, and Natalie C. Rogers
In an unpublished opinion issued June 19, 2018, Center for Biological Diversity v. County of Los Angeles, Case No. B284427, the California Court of Appeal rejected the Center for Biological Diversity’s (Petitioner) appeal and affirmed the trial court’s denial of a petition for writ of mandate to require the County of Los Angeles (County) to set aside its approval of the modified Antelope Valley Area Plan (Plan) and certification of a program environmental impact report (EIR).
In summary, the court determined:
- When modifications to an area plan do not constitute “significant new information” or “substantial changes” as compared to the original area plan, an agency need not revise the EIR before certification, recirculate the EIR, prepare a subsequent or supplemental EIR, or prepare an addendum to the EIR.
- When modifications to a plan do not require an agency to recirculate an EIR, or prepare a supplemental EIR or addendum, the agency is not required to make further CEQA findings or provide an updated statement of overriding considerations.
Petitioner sought a writ of mandate to compel the County to set aside its approval of the modified Plan and certification of the EIR. The trial court denied the petition, finding that the modifications at issue were not significant and that the EIR’s findings related to project impacts remained valid. The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s denial of the petition.
substitute targets previously enacted by CARB in 2017 in connection with the POET I case. The Guidance becomes effective January 1, 2019 at which point the applicable diesel standards will revert to the schedule specified in the current 
Senate Bill 100, signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown on September 10, 2018, aims to raise California’s already ambitious renewable energy standards by 2030, with an ultimate mandate of 100% clean energy by 2045. On the same day, Brown issued Executive Order B-55-18, which sets a target of
While California’s Cap-and-Trade Program attracts the lion’s share of attention in the trade press, CARB may view the LCFS as an equally important greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction measure. According to CARB, the Cap-and-Trade Program’s traditional role in the state’s overarching scheme has been to backstop GHG reductions, not drive them. Under this interpretation, the Cap-and-Trade Program has acted as an insurance policy guaranteeing the state’s GHG emissions reduction trajectory via operation of the program’s hard cap in the event that other, more direct emissions reduction measures fail to achieve expected reductions (e.g., the Renewables Portfolio Standard, Advanced Clean Car Standards, Title 24 Energy Efficiency Standards, the LCFS, etc.).
In an unpublished opinion issued September 14, 2018, Inland Oversight Comm. v. City of San Bernardino, Case No. E064836, the California Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s decision dismissing the Inland Oversight Committee (IOC), CREED-21, and Highland Hills Homeowners Association’s (HOA’s) (collectively, Petitioners’) appeal challenging the City of San Bernardino’s (City’s) approval of real party in interest First American Title Insurance Company’s (Developer’s) changes to a proposed development. In summary, the court determined:
New regulations governing the implementation of the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Prop 65) will go into effect on August 30, 2018 that apply to products manufactured after the operative date of August 30, 2018. The new regulations update the content of the Prop 65 warning label that appears on products, in addition to other substantive changes.
In a partially published opinion issued April 4, 2018, Small Property Owners of San Francisco Institute v. City and County of San Francisco, Case No. CPF14513453, the California Court of Appeal reversed the trial court’s judgment. The court held that state law preempted the City and County of San Francisco’s (City and County) ordinance provision prohibiting changes to nonconforming residential units for up to 10 years if the units’ tenants were evicted pursuant to the Ellis Act. In summary, the court determined: