Spawn

The County of Marin (the County) approved appellant Joshua Hedlund’s construction of a house within a riparian area designated by the County as an environmental resource of critical concern. In approving the project, the County concluded that the project was categorically exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (Pub. Resources Code, § 21050 et seq.) because it entailed construction of a single-family residence. (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 14, § 15303, subd. (a).) The County did not make express findings on the specific regulatory exception prohibiting categorical exemption for projects that “may impact on an environmental resource of . . . critical concern,” but found generally that any adverse environmental impacts were eliminated by mitigation measures adopted as conditions for project approval. (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 14, § 15300.2, subd. (a).)

The trial court issued a writ of mandate commanding the County to set aside its approval of the project. The trial court found that the County erred in relying upon mitigation measures to grant a categorical exemption from CEQA. We affirm the lower court’s order. Only those projects having no…