In Newtown Preservation Society v. County of El Dorado (2021) 65 Cal.App.5th 771, the Third District Court of Appeal considered whether impacts to wildfire safety and emergency evacuation routes required preparation of an EIR. The partially published opinion, authored by...
In California Coastkeeper Alliance v. State Lands Com. (2021) 64 Cal.App.5th 36, the Third District Court of Appeal upheld the trial court’s ruling that a supplemental EIR was adequate, concluding that the certifying responsible agency was not required to prepare...
In Ruegg & Ellsworth v. City of Berkeley (2021) 63 Cal.App.5th 277 the First District Court of Appeal decided the first published case addressing Senate Bill 35 (SB 35). The 2017 law allows qualifying projects with an affordable housing component...
In King and Gardiner Farms, LLC v. County of Kern (2020) 45 Cal.App.5th 814, the Fifth District Court of Appeal found that a Kern County’s approval of a zoning amendment and streamlined process for developing new oil and gas facilities...
In 2009, the City of Sacramento (City) adopted its 2030 General Plan. In October 2012, the City initiated its five-year technical update to the 2030 General Plan (hereafter referred to as “2035 General Plan” or “Plan”). The City released the...
Berkeley Hills Watershed Coalition v. City of Berkeley (2019) 31 Cal.App.5th 880, 885 The City of Berkeley approved development of three single-family homes on adjacent parcels. The landowner submitted applications for use permits, including two geotechnical and geological hazard reports. These...
In Sierra Club v. County of Fresno (2018) 2018 Cal.LEXIS 9831, the California Supreme Court held that, where the description of an environmental impact “lacks analysis or omits the magnitude of the [significant] impact,” the reviewing court applies the de...
In The Committee for Re-Evaluation of the T-Line Loop v. San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency 2016 Cal. App. LEXIS ___ (originally filed as an unpublished decision and later certified for publication), the First Appellate District upheld the trial court and...
In 2013, the City of San Jose proposed a project to demolish the Willow Glen Railroad Trestle (Trestle) and replace it with a new steel truss pedestrian bridge that would present less of a fire hazard and have a lower...
On July 13, 2016, the Fourth Appellate District ordered the partial publication of its recent decision in Joshua Tree Downtown Business Alliance v. County of San Bernardino. Thomas Law Group requested publication on behalf of the California Infill Builders Federation....
On October 29, 2015, in Save the American River Association v. City of Folsom, 2015 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 7827, the Third District Court of Appeals affirmed the City of Folsom’s use of a mitigated negative declaration for a project...
In Berkeley Hillside Preservation v. City of Berkeley, (March 2, 2015, S201116) __ Cal.4th __ (Berkeley Hillside), in a Majority Opinion joined by five Justices the California Supreme Court provided long awaited guidance on the standards applicable to both lead...