Citizens against Airport Pollution v. City of San Jose (2014) 27 Cal.App.4th 788 Where an EIR has already been prepared, California Public Resources Code section 21166 provides for deferential review and only requires preparation of a subsequent or s…
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On September 25, 2014, Governor Brown signed AB 52 into law. For the first time under CEQA, AB 52 establishes a new consultation process with California Native American tribes for proposed projects in geographic areas that are traditionally and cultu…
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TENANTS HAVE NO RIGHTS TO INDIVIDUAL NOTICE OF A DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT FOR THEIR LANDORD San Francisco Tomorrow v. City and County of San Francisco (Parkmerced Investors, LLC) (2014) 176 Cal.Rptr.3d 430 The fact that a Development Agreement contains…
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CEQA: PROGRAM VS. PROJECT EIR Citizens for a Sustainable Treasure Island v. City and County of San Francisco (2014) 227 Cal.App.4th 1036 Recently, a California Appellate Court took the opportunity to explore the difference between a “project” and…
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This paper was written for the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration’s Critical Minerals 2014: Rare Earths and Beyond conference, held in Denver, Colorado, August 3-5, 2014. Abstract. Native American cultural resources (i.e., burial sites…
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COURT SANCTIONS FAA REVIEW AS MITIGATION FOR WIND ENERGY PROJECT In a partially published decision, the Court of Appeal for California’s Fifth District upheld Kern County’s approval of a major wind energy generation project against a challenge by…
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CEQA INAPPLICABLE TO VOTER INITIATIVES In a decision published on August 7, the California Supreme Court decided that CEQA review does not apply to a voter initiative presented to a local government and approved by that body without an election. The…
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CEQA INDUSTRY UPDATE: SB 743 On August 6, 2014, the Office of Planning and Research (hereinafter “OPR”) published the Preliminary Discussion Draft of Updates to the CEQA Guidelines Implementing Senate Bill 743 (hereinafter “Discussion Draft”)…
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San Francisco Beautiful v. City and County of San Francisco (2014) 226 Cal.App.4th 1012 In yet another case involving CEQA’s categorical exemptions, and the “unusual circumstances” exceptions to them, the California Court of Appeal held that th…
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California Clean Energy Committee v. City of Woodland (2014) 225 Cal.App.4th The California Court of Appeal, Third District, recently invalidated an Environmental Impact Report (“EIR”) because a City’s mitigation measures for urban decay failed…
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