STOP

The subject of this appeal is application of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (Pub. Resources Code, § 21000 et seq.) to a project which received approval in 1988 without preparation of an environmental impact report (EIR) but which then lay dormant for nine years. The primary issue is whether the negative declaration given the project in 1988 should be deemed superseded by subsequent events, thereby requiring an EIR. The trial court denied a petition for a writ of administrative mandamus upon concluding that municipal authorities did not abuse their discretion in determining that proposed modifications to the project did not entail new or more significant environmental impacts from those considered in 1988. The trial court further concluded that the negative declaration therefore remained valid. We conclude these conclusions have the support of substantial evidence and therefore affirm.

Background

The project at issue involves the demolition of an existing two-story parking structure located in downtown San Francisco, and its replacement with a larger structure up to seven stories high (sixty-five feet). The existing structure, and an adjacent lot, could…