Description: Challenge to environmental review for project to convert overhead utility wires to an underground system.
-
McCann v. City of San Diego
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 10/08/2021 Opinion Download Judgment reversed with directions to the trial court to enter a new judgment granting the petition as to the second cause of action. California Appellate Court Said San Diego Failed to Determine Significance of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Utility Line Project. The California Court of Appeal remanded a CEQA review for a project to convert overhead utility wires to an underground system in certain San Diego neighborhoods. The appellate court found that the City of San Diego had not completed the review process required to determine whether the project’s greenhouse gas emissions were consistent with the City’s Climate Action Plan. The court said a checklist used by the City to evaluate the project’s consistency was not sufficient for infrastructure projects such as the utility wire conversion project, and that the City’s determination that the project would not have a significant impact therefore was not supported by substantial evidence. The appellate court indicated, however, that this conclusion did not necessarily mean that the City would have to complete an environmental impact report since the additional analysis the court was requiring could show that the project was consistent with the Climate Action Plan.