Description: Challenges to Bay Area’s regional land use and transportation plan.
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Bay Area Citizens v. Association of Bay Area Governments
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 07/30/2016 Opinion Download Opinion issued. California Court of Appeal Upheld Bay Area Sustainable Communities Strategy’s Reliance on Emission Reductions Beyond Statewide Mandates. The California Court of Appeal upheld “Plan Bay Area,” a regional transportation plan update and “sustainable communities strategy” adopted by Bay Area regional planning agencies to meet greenhouse gas emission reduction targets set by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) pursuant to the Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act of 2008 (SB 375). Plan Bay Area was challenged by petitioners who contended that Plan Bay Area should have relied on emission reductions from statewide mandates to achieve the SB 375 targets to avoid “draconian” land use and transportation measures. The Court of Appeal found that the “only legally tenable interpretation” of SB 375 was that it required its targets to be met using regional land use and transportation strategies that achieved emission reductions independent of reductions achieved by statewide mandates. The Court of Appeal further concluded that CARB had discretion to require that the SB 375 emission reductions be in addition to those stemming from statewide standards. The Court of Appeal also found that the agencies had complied with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) regardless of SB 375 and CARB requirements. 08/06/2013 Petition for Writ of Mandate Download Petition for writ of mandate filed. Bay Area Citizens (BAC), a non-profit organization represented by the Pacific Legal Foundation, challenged the adoption by the Association of Bay Area Governments and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission of Plan Bay Area. BAC allegee that the adoption of the plan violated CEQA because the agencies’ analysis gave “the false impression” that the high-density development strategy set forth in the Plan was necessary to achieve the required greenhouse gas emissions reductions—BAC’s petition asserts that projected improvements in fuel efficiency and fuel composition would independently allow the Bay Area to “handily exceed” the required emissions reductions. -
Building Industry Association Bay Area v. Association of Bay Area Governments
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 02/27/2014 Settlement Agreement Download Settlement reached. Building Industry Association Bay Area reached a settlement with the respondents in its challenge to Plan Bay Area, a regional transportation plan and sustainable communities strategy adopted in 2013 by the Association for Bay Area Governments and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. The respondents agreed to use methodologies specified in the settlement agreement for projecting future development in future major updates to the plan, and to implement "robust monitoring" of regional development patterns. The respondents also agreed to measures to facilitate disclosure and public participation in development of future updates. 08/16/2013 Petition for Writ of Mandate Petition for writ of mandate filed. A building industry group challenged Play Bay Area’s compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act and with SB 375, the state law mandating that regional land use and transportation plans meet greenhouse gas reduction requirements. The group alleged that the plan failed to provide adequate housing to support projected future populations and that its environmental review was inadequate. -
Communities for a Better Environment v. Metropolitan Transportation Commission
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 06/18/2014 Settlement Agreement Download Settlement reached. Communities for a Better Environment and Sierra Club reached an agreement with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Association of Bay Area Governments to resolve their CEQA challenge to Plan Bay Area. Respondents agreed to undertake certain analyses in the next update to the plan, including disclosing total greenhouse gas emissions both with and without the implementation of state-wide emissions reduction programs, studying the effects of the creation of express lanes on greenhouse gas emissions and vehicle miles traveled, and preparing a Freight Emissions Reduction Action Plan that will study options for zero-emissions rail and truck technologies. 08/19/2013 Petition for Writ of Mandate Download Petition for writ of mandate filed. Communities for a Better Environment and the Sierra Club commenced a challenge to the adoption of Plan Bay Area by the Bay Area’s regional transportation and land use planning agencies (the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC)). Plan Bay Area is a regional land use and transportation plan intended to meet state-mandated goals for greenhouse gas emissions reductions. A primary allegation of the lawsuit was that Plan Bay Area did not do enough to reduce reliance on cars and trucks and therefore failed to make the required greenhouse gas reductions. The verified petition alleged, among other things, that the EIR for the Plan misleadingly indicated that reductions in greenhouse gas emissions resulted from the Plan when the reductions were in fact attributable to state-level programs. The verified petition also alleged that the EIR for the Plan failed to provide adequate information about the feasibility and implementation of mitigation measures to combat the effects of development in areas vulnerable to rising sea levels.