The City of Malibu determined that an attached accessory dwelling unit (ADU) did not fall within the coastal development permit exemptions set forth in its local coastal program (LCP). The court overturned the City’s interpretation of its own LCP, finding the ADU exempt from the coastal permit requirement. Riddick v. City of Malibu, No.
California Land Use & Development Law Report
Latest from California Land Use & Development Law Report - Page 2
Housing Accountability Act Provision That Prohibits an Agency From Requiring a Rezoning When Zoning Is Inconsistent with the General Plan Inapplicable Where City Found Zoning Consistent.
By Marie Cooper
A court rejected a developer’s attempt to take advantage of provisions in the Housing Accountability Act that prohibit a City from requiring a rezoning when zoning is inconsistent with the General Plan. It upheld Los Angeles’ determination that the existing zoning was consistent with the General Plan, even though the zoning was not expressly listed…
Court Invalidates Ordinance Reducing Floor Area Ratio on Residential Lots
By Marie Cooper
Class 7 CEQA Exemption Requires Only a Showing of Protection of a Natural Resource, Not the Entire Environment, and a Potential For Environmental Impacts Does Not Prevent Use of a CEQA Exemption
By Marie Cooper
A court upheld an ordinance that restricted development standards in designated overlay zones to protect wildlife corridors, finding that it did not establish a “use” that would be subject to certain requirements of the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act (SMARA). The court also upheld the County’s reliance on CEQA exemptions for the protection of a…
Court Upholds EIR for UCSF Parnassus Expansion Against Wide-Ranging CEQA Claims
By Julie Jones
The First District Court of Appeal has approved an EIR analyzing a proposed fifty percent increase in density at the Parnassus campus of the University of California, San Francisco. Yerba Buena Neighborhood Consortium, LLC v. Regents of the University of California, 95 Cal.App.5th 779 (2023, petitions for review filed 10/30/2023).
In the five published sections…
Fair Argument Standard Did Not Apply to Claim Regarding Exception to CEQA’s Historical Resources Categorical Exemption
By Marie Cooper
This case addressed both application of CEQA’s categorical exemption for renovation of historical resources and application of an exception to the exemption that turned on the question whether the project complied with Secretary of Interior standards regarding renovation of historic structures. The court ruled that this issue is to be reviewed under the substantial evidence…
Monterey Water Saga Continues: County’s Approval of Desalination Plant Upheld Against CEQA Challenges
By Julie Jones
A court of appeal has upheld Monterey County’s approvals for a desalination plant, rejecting challengers’ claims that uncertainty regarding the availability of source water for the plant necessitated additional CEQA review. Marina Coast Water District v. County of Monterey, 96 Cal.App.5th 46 (2023).
In 2018, the California Public Utilities Commission, acting as the CEQA lead…
Court Approves EIR’s Climate Change Analysis for Community Master Plan
By Julie Jones
The Third District Court of Appeal has held that Sacramento County’s environmental impact report for a master planned community complied with CEQA’s requirements for analysis of greenhouse gas emissions. Tsakopoulos Investments, LLC v. County of Sacramento, 95 Cal.App.5th 280 (2023). Describing in detail the County’s analysis, the court held that substantial evidence – encompassing both…
Trial Court Cannot Retain Jurisdiction if Terms of Peremptory Writ of Mandate are Fully Satisfied
By Taylor Jones
The trial court improperly retained jurisdiction of a CEQA challenge after the City of San Diego filed a return to the peremptory writ of mandate confirming that it had rescinded the project approvals and thereby satisfied the terms of the writ. McCann v. City of San Diego, 94 Cal. App. 5th 284 (2023).
This case…
School Districts’ Challenge to EIR Based on Inadequate School-Facilities Funding was Speculative
The Court of Appeal rejected a challenge by two school districts to a specific plan EIR, finding the districts’ claim that the EIR should have analyzed off-site impacts resulting from inadequate school facilities to be speculative. Santa Rita Union School Dist. v. City of Salinas, 94 Cal.App.5th 298 (2023).
The City approved a specific plan…