Publications
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01.30.2020CEQA Year in Review—2019UpdatesThe past year saw several trailblazing opinions, indicating that courts continue to grapple with some of CEQA’s core policies. Click here to read the full report.
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09.28.2016Courts Must Defer to Agency Determination on Whether a Changed Project is a New ProjectUpdates
In Friends of the College of San Mateo Gardens v. San Mateo County Community College District (Supreme Court No. S214061, filed Sept. 19, 2016), the California Supreme Court resolved the vexing question of whether a change to a project that previously has been studied under CEQA constitutes a new project necessitating a new environmental review, or a modification that can be evaluated under CEQA’s subsequent review provisions allowing reliance on earlier CEQA documents.
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11.12.2015Historical Use May Serve As A Current CEQA BaselineArticles
Law360
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04.02.2013New Significance Standard for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Is Not New Information Triggering Supplemental CEQA ReviewUpdatesIn an opinion published on March 28, 2013, a California court of appeal answered three questions under the California Environmental Quality Act that the published decisions have not yet addressed.
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11.02.2012Court Rules City Council Can't Skip CEQA By Adopting Voter-Proposed LegislationUpdatesHow often do we hear project proponents ask whether there is a way to shortcut the CEQA timeline or head off litigation? It's not an unusual question given that some proposals draw fire no matter how much energy goes into the environmental disclosure and mitigation process.
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05.04.2012Court Upholds Validity of Agreements Tolling the California Environmental Quality Act’s Statute of LimitationsUpdatesParties commonly enter into agreements tolling the statute of limitations for claims arising under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). However, the validity of such agreements, which some argue have thwarted the public’s interest in prompt resolution of CEQA disputes, has not been certain. In Salmon Protection & Watershed Network v. County of Marin, the California Court of Appeal made clear that such agreements are valid and enforceable, at least in certain circumstances.
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04.27.2012Court Upholds Use of Future Baseline Under CEQAUpdatesIn Neighbors for Smart Rail v. Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority, the California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District ruled that, when supported by substantial evidence, projected future conditions may serve as an appropriate baseline for measuring a project's impacts under the California Environmental Quality Act.
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01.12.2012Dissolution of Redevelopment Agencies Under AB1X 26: Wind-Down Requirements and Imminent DeadlinesCalifornia Redevelopment Association (CRA) v. Matosantos (No. S194861)UpdatesThe California Supreme Court’s decision in California Redevelopment Association (CRA) v. Matosantos Commercial Corporation (No. S194861) requires redevelopment agencies (RDAs) to wind down immediately.
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12.30.2011California Supreme Court Upholds Legislation Dissolving Redevelopment Agencies and Invalidates the Voluntary "Opt In" Payments That Would Have Allowed Such Agencies to ContinueCalifornia Redevelopment Association v. Matosantos Commercial Corporation (No. S194861)UpdatesThe California Supreme Court has announced that recently enacted legislation disbanding redevelopment agencies is constitutional, while the companion legislation that would have allowed redevelopment agencies to continue to exist if they made "voluntary" payments is unconstitutional.
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12.19.2011Federal Appeals Court Upholds Army Corps’ Economic Analysis for Issuance of Wetlands Permit Sierra Club v. Van Antwerp, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (No. 10-5284)UpdatesIn Sierra Club v. Van Antwerp, decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the Army Corps of Engineers approved a permit under the Clean Water Act (the Act) authorizing the fill of approximately 54 acres of wetlands for the construction of a large town center outside of Tampa, Florida.
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12.14.2011California Court Rules That an EIR Need Not Evaluate the Impact of Sea Level Rise on a ProjectBallona Wetlands Land Trust v. City of Los Angeles (Case No. B231965)UpdatesCalifornia's Second District Court of Appeal has addressed provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) checklist questionnaire that appear to require analysis of the effects of environmental hazards on the proposed project.
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12.01.2011California Court Reverts to Commonly Used Traffic Baseline for Analysis Under the California Environmental Quality ActPfeiffer v. City of Sunnyvale (H036310)UpdatesThe Sixth District Court of Appeal, in Pfeiffer v. Sunnyvale, recently upheld the use of a traffic baseline that included future projects despite an earlier Sixth District case that had raised serious questions about that practice.
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11.18.2011County Violates California’s Anti-NIMBY Law by Rejecting Housing Project With No Affordable UnitsUpdatesIn Honchariw v. County of Stanislaus, the California Court of Appeal ruled that the county’s decision to deny a subdivision map for a housing project violated California’s Housing Accountability Act (the Act), also known as the “Anti-NIMBY” law, even though the project did not include any affordable units.
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10.18.2011San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission Approves Policies to Address Sea Level RiseUpdatesAfter two-and-a-half years of public review, the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) unanimously approved a comprehensive set of amendments to its Bay Plan to address climate change and the resulting sea level rise anticipated to occur in San Francisco Bay.
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10.07.2011California Environmental Quality Act Revised to Encourage Solar and Infill ProjectsUpdatesIn recent years, California has enacted numerous laws to encourage solar and infill development. Governor Jerry Brown has now signed Senate Bill 226, which amends the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to further encourage projects designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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09.27.2011Governor Signs Bill Streamlining CEQA Litigation for "Environmental Leadership Development Projects"UpdatesCalifornia Governor Jerry Brown just signed AB 900, the Jobs and Economic Improvement Through Environmental Leadership Act of 2011. This bill creates a streamlined litigation process for challenges to environmental impact reports for certain projects that are expected to create jobs and cause relatively few environmental impacts. The bill allows these cases to be heard directly by the court of appeal, on an expedited basis, bypassing the trial court.
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08.17.2011California Supreme Court Gives Redevelopment Agencies a Temporary ReprieveUpdatesIn June of this year, the California legislature passed two bills designed to address the state’s budget crisis. The bills addressed redevelopment agencies, which are local agencies created to use property tax funds to redevelop blighted areas. ABX1 26 suspended most redevelopment agencies and provided for their gradual dissolution. It barred redevelopment agencies from taking action other than paying existing debts, performing existing contractual obligations and setting aside reserves required for bonds.
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07.18.2011California Supreme Court Applies "Common Sense" to Plastic Bag Ban and Clarifies CEQA Standing RulesUpdatesSave the Plastic Bag Coalition v. City of Manhattan Beach