Description: Challenge to 12,000-acre development in northwestern Los Angeles County.
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Center for Biological Diversity v. California Department of Fish & Wildlife
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 12/04/2017 Opinion Download Opinion issued affirming trial court's December 2016 judgment on remand. -
Center for Biological Diversity v. Department of Fish and Wildlife
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 10/20/2017 Order Order issued dismissing all but two appellants from appeal after other appellants reached settlement with respondents. 09/22/2017 Settlement Agreement Download Settlement agreement reached. Newhall Ranch Developers Agreed to “Net Zero Plan” in Settlement with Project’s Opponents. The developers of the Newhall Ranch multi-use development project in northwestern Los Angeles County reached a settlement agreement on September 22, 2017 with groups that had opposed the project to end ongoing litigation and avoid future litigation over the projects. The California Supreme Court ruled in November 2015 that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife lacked substantial evidence to support its conclusion that greenhouse gas emissions associated with the project would not result in a cumulatively significant impact under the California Environmental Quality Act. The settlement agreement indicated that in response to the court’s decision, the developers committed to a “Net Zero Plan” that would, among other things, “result in more than approximately 10,000 solar installations producing approximately 250 million kWh of renewable electricity every year” and “installation of approximately 25,000 electric vehicle chargers within the development and across Los Angeles County, as well as approximately $14 million in subsidies toward the purchase of electric vehicles.” 07/11/2016 Opinion Download Opinion issued. California Court of Appeal Set Course for New Review of Newhall Ranch. On remand from the California Supreme Court’s decision finding that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife had not supported its conclusion that the 12,000-acre Newhall Ranch development’s greenhouse gas emissions would not have significant impacts, the California Court of Appeal issued an opinion directing the trial court to take certain actions to direct the course of future environmental review of the project. The appellate court directed the trial court to find that the Department could use State greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals as a significance criterion and could use a hypothetical business-as-usual scenario to evaluate greenhouse gas impacts. The appellate court affirmed the trial court’s original finding that there was no substantial evidence that the development’s greenhouse gas emissions would not result in a cumulatively significant environmental impact. The appellate rejected the developer’s argument that it should retain jurisdiction and supervise completion of the environmental review. 03/20/2014 Opinion Download Opinion issued. The California Court of Appeal reversed a trial court judgment that had overturned California Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) actions in connection with a 12,000-acre commercial-residential development known as Newhall Ranch in northwestern Los Angeles County. The trial court had held that the environmental impact report (EIR) prepared pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) used a baseline for assessing cumulative impacts of the project’s GHG emissions that was inappropriate as a matter of law. In an unpublished portion of the appellate court’s decision, the court ruled that a substantial evidence standard applied to judicial review of the selection of a baseline, and that substantial evidence supported DFW’s baseline determination as well as its determination regarding the significance of the impacts of the project’s GHG emissions. -
Center for Biological Diversity v. California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 02/17/2016 Order Download Petition for rehearing denied. California Supreme Court Denied Rehearing in CEQA Case Concerning Significance of Major Development’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions. The California Supreme Court denied a petition for rehearing in Center for Biological Diversity v. Department of Fish and Wildlife, in which the court ruled that the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review for a 12,000-acre development had not supported the conclusion that the development’s greenhouse gas emissions would not have significant impacts. The court also made a non-material alteration to its November 2015 opinion. 11/30/2015 Opinion Download Reversed decision upholding agency action and remanded to Court of Appeal for determination of scope of writ of mandate. California Supreme Court Said Agency Had Not Provided Adequate Rationale for Determination That Development’s Greenhouse Gas Impacts Would Be Insignificant. The California Supreme Court ruled that consistency with statewide emission reduction goals was a permissible criterion for determining the significance of a project’s greenhouse gas emissions in a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review, but found that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife had not supported its conclusion that a 12,000-acre development’s greenhouse gas emissions would not have significant impacts. The court, reversing a decision by the Court of Appeal upholding the agency’s review, also ruled against the agency on other aspects of its CEQA review. The court remanded to the Court of Appeal for a determination of the parameters of a writ of mandate to be issued. One justice dissented as to the conclusion that the agency had not supported its determination that there would not be significant greenhouse gas emissions impacts, while another justice dissented from the entire opinion. 07/11/2014 Order Download Petition for review granted. California Supreme Court Will Hear Appeal of CEQA Case Raising Question of Appropriate Baseline for Greenhouse Gas Analysis. The California Supreme Court granted a petition to review a decision upholding the environmental review for a 12,000-acre commercial-residential development known as Newhall Ranch in northwestern Los Angeles County. One of the three issues the court will consider is whether an agency may “deviate from [the California Environmental Quality Act’s] existing conditions baseline and instead determine the significance of a project’s greenhouse gas emissions by reference to a hypothetical higher ‘business as usual’ baseline.”