The Court of Appeal held that the addition of cannabis retailers to existing commercial neighborhoods through an overlay zoning district was exempt from CEQA as consistent with the existing General Plan and related EIR. Lucas v. City of Pomona, 92 Cal.App.5th 508 (2023).

The court of appeal upheld the project description in the EIR for the University of California, Berkeley's fire hazard vegetation reduction plan, holding that it contained sufficient information to understand the plan's environmental impacts, including objective criteria for vegetation removal, even though it did not include a detailed tree inventory or disclose the exact number of trees that w

Concluding that it was a "near certainty" that the Stratford Public Utility District (SPUD) failed to comply with CEQA when it granted an easement for a water pipeline, the appellate court vacated an order denying a preliminary injunction that would have halted construction and operation of the pipeline, and ordered the trial court to reconsider. Tulare Lake Canal Co. v.

The Ninth Circuit upheld the Federal Aviation Administration's decision to study only the project and the no action alternative in an EIS for a new passenger terminal. However, the court found the FAA violated NEPA by failing to account for the combined noise that could result from the simultaneous operation of different types of construction equipment. City of Los Angeles v.

The Court of Appeal held that CEQA challenges to proposed student enrollment increases and development projects were moot due to an updated EIR that addressed the flaws in an earlier EIR, and in light of Senate Bill 118, which clarified that "enrollment or changes in enrollment, by themselves, do not constitute a project" for purposes of CEQA. Save Berkeley's Neighborhoods v.

The Court of Appeal rejected a challenge to the City of Buenaventura's removal of a statue, finding there was substantial evidence for the City's conclusion that the statue was not historically significant. Coalition for Historical Integrity v. City of San Buenaventura, 92 Cal.App.5th 430 (2023).

Plaintiff did not exhaust administrative remedies when challenging the City's approval of a homeowner's development project on the ground that a Class 1 categorical exemption was inapplicable. Arcadians for Environmental Preservation v. City of Arcadia, 88 Cal. App. 5th 418 (2023).

A local organization appealed the denial of its challenge to the approval of an affordable housing project and disputed the trial court's order requiring it to post a bond. The Court of Appeal rejected plaintiff's contentions on the merits and held that the plaintiff was properly required to post a bond because it was delaying an affordable housing project. Save Livermore Downtown v.

The First District Court of Appeal largely upheld the City of Oakland's EIR and CEQA findings for the Oakland A's proposed new baseball stadium and surrounding mixed-use development, with the exception of one mitigation measure that was improperly deferred. East Oakland Stadium Alliance v. City of Oakland, 89 Cal.App.5th 1226 (2023).

The First Appellate District held that the Regents of the University of California failed to comply with CEQA in certifying the project EIR for its student housing project at People's Park. Make UC a Good Neighbor v. Regents of University of Cal. (2023 WL 2205638, Feb. 24, 2023).

The Court of Appeal upheld the approval of an eldercare facility, rejecting claims that the project was inconsistent with the zoning code based on architectural incompatibility and interference with views and ineligible for the Class 32 categorical exemption. Pacific Palisades Residents Association, Inc. v. City of Los Angeles, 88 Cal. App. 5th 1338 (2023).

The City of Palm Springs' three-year closure of a public street for installation of a statue was unlawful because the Vehicle Code permits only temporary closure of streets for parades or other short-term events, not multi-year closure for installation of semi-permanent structures. Committee to Relocate Marilyn v. City of Palm Springs, 88 Cal.App.5th 607 (2023).

Southern California Edison Company (SCE), a privately-owned public utility, sought to condemn an easement across existing roads on private property in order to service its existing overhead transmission lines.  It obtained an order of prejudgment possession, which the landowner challenged.  The court held that SCE had the power to condemn, that it was not required to adopt a resolutio

The firm's annual publication, CEQA Year in Review, a summary of 2022 published decisions involving the California Environmental Quality Act, is now available.