CA Supreme Court Rejects Plaintiff's CEQA Threshold

Coon says the opinion was a bit mushy in parts with inconsistent statements.

SAN MATEO,CA—The California Supreme Court rendered its highly anticipated opinion this week in the case, Friends of the College of San Mateo Gardens v. San Mateo County Community College District. The crux of the case centered on the impacts of any modifications done to real estate projects after initial CEQA review. In this exclusive, Art Coon, co-chair of Miller Starr Regalia’s land use practice group and a CEQA litigator, says the unanimous opinion this week was significant for lead agencies and project proponents who consider approval of changes to a development project.

The key issue argued was when a lead agency performs a subsequent environmental review and prepares a subsequent environmental impact report, is this simply a modification of the project or a new project altogether. The significance of the issue is huge: beginning the CEQA process completely anew is an onerous, expensive and time consuming endeavor. While the Court rejected the plaintiff’s threshold of a “new project” test, Coon says there were murky aspects that may lead to further litigation.