Lexington Hills Assn. v. State of California

An association of business entities (collectively “Coast,” coincidentally the same landowner/logger involved in Laupheimer v. State of California, post, p. 440 [ 246 Cal.Rptr. 82 ], which we also decided today) owns property in the Moody Gulch area of Santa Clara County and proposes to cut and remove trees from the property. The proposal has given rise to three lawsuits, each of which has, in turn, led to an appeal to this court. We consider the three appeals together. We conclude there is no legal impediment to the proposed logging. We shall affirm in one instance, reverse in another, and declare the remaining appeal moot.

As in Laupheimer, post, opponents of the Moody Gulch logging plan raised a variety of environmental concerns. The Z’berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act of 1973 (“the Act,” Pub. Resources Code, § 4511 et seq.) and administrative regulations (“Rules,” Cal. Code Regs., tit. 14, § 911 et seq.) thereunder and the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA,” Pub. Resources Code, § 21000 et seq.) and its administrative “Guidelines” (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 14, § 15000 et seq.) are in issue. We discussed these statutes and regulations in Laupheimer, post, and…