Description: California Environmental Quality Act lawsuit challenge City of Oakland approvals of major indoor cannabis cultivation projects.
-
Environmental Democracy Project v. City of Oakland
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 10/21/2022 Petition for Writ of Mandate Download Verified petition for writ of mandate and complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief filed. CEQA Lawsuit Challenged Oakland Approvals of Indoor Cannabis Cultivation Projects. A lawsuit filed in California Superior Court alleged that the City of Oakland and related respondents unlawfully approved major indoor cannabis cultivation projects in East Oakland without analyzing their environmental impacts under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Among the environmental concerns raised in the petition was the amount of energy required for indoor cannabis cultivation and the associated greenhouse gas emissions. The petition alleged that indoor cannabis production consumes three percent of total electricity in the state and that one kilogram of final cannabis product is associated with 4,600 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions. The petition also alleged that the City “[i]nexplicably” did not apply its Equitable Climate Action plan to indoor cannabis cultivation facilities.