St. Vincent's School for Boys, Catholic Charities CYO v. City of San Rafael

On appeal from a judgment denying its petition for writ of mandate, plaintiff and appellant St. Vincent’s School for Boys, Catholic Charities CYO (St. Vincent’s), contends: (1) defendant and respondent City of San Rafael (the City) unlawfully amended the provisions of its general plan to delete plans for the future annexation of property owned by St. Vincent’s; (2) the City violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) by certifying an inadequate environmental impact report (EIR) for the revisions to the general plan; (3) the housing element outlined in the City’s amended general plan is legally deficient; and (4) the trial court erred by awarding the City costs for document retrieval. We affirm the judgment.

Factual & Procedural Background

St. Vincent’s owns 835 acres of unincorporated land in the County of Marin. The property lies to the north of the City of San Rafael, abutting the southern boundary of the City of Novato, and is set to the east of Highway 101, between it and the San Pablo Bay. The property is separated from the northern boundary of the City of San Rafael by the Silveira property, another tract of unincorporated lands which also…