Del Mar Terrace Conservancy, Inc. v. City Council

Del Mar Terrace Conservancy, Inc. (DMTC), a nonprofit environmental and conservation organization, appeals the judgment of the superior court denying its petition for writ of mandate. DMTC based its petition on the theory that the City of San Diego (the City), through its city council, abused its discretion when it certified as complete the final environmental impact report (EIR) prepared on a 1.8-mile highway project, State Route (SR) 56 West. The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is a cosponsor of the SR 56 West project and is an additional respondent in these proceedings.

Relying both upon the administrative record that was before the city council at the time of the decision, and upon evidence extraneous to the record which the trial court declined to consider, DMTC argues on appeal that the certification of the EIR was made without the support of substantial evidence. (Pub. Resources Code, §§ 21168,21168.5.) As a threshold matter, DMTC contends the trial court erroneously treated the matter as an administrative mandamus proceeding, whereas ordinary mandamus would have been more appropriate and would have permitted the extraneous evidence to be…