City of Berkeley v. 1080 Delaware, LLC (2015) 184 Cal.Rptr.3d 177 Recently, in City of Berkeley v. 1080 Delaware, LLC (2015) 184 Cal.Rptr.3d 177, despite holding that the city’s affordable housing ordinance was not enforceable, the court still uphe… Read More

Berkeley Hillside Preservation v. City of Berkeley 2015 WL 855725 In a widely anticipated decision, the California Supreme Court has overturned the First District Court of Appeals decision in Berkeley Hillside Preservation v. City of Berkeley (2012)… Read More

The 2015-2016 legislative session is settling in now that the February 27 deadline to introduce new legislation has passed. Three bills propose amendments to the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act (“SMARA”). 1. SB 209. The first, SB 209, is autho… Read More

California’s Third District Court of Appeal confirmed – perhaps to no-one’s great surprise – that California’s Governor is not a “public agency” whose decisions are subject to CEQA review. Read More

The Second District Court of Appeal held recently that the County of Ventura abused its discretion when it failed to prepare a supplemental EIR for a project that was built materially different than described in the EIR. This case highlights the pitf… Read More

Cleveland National Forest Foundation v. San Diego Association of Governments (2014) ___ Cal.App.4th ___ In a case of first impression, the Fourth Appellate District has determined that CEQA requires greenhouse gas reduction of eighty percent below 19… Read More

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… Read More

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… Read More