California Oak Foundation v. City of Santa Clarita

SUMMARY

This appeal arises under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Public Resources Code section 21000 et seq. The California Oak Foundation and the Santa Clarita Organization for Planning the Environment (collectively, SCOPE) petitioned the trial court for a writ of mandate. The petition requested the trial court to order the City of Santa Clarita (City) to set aside its certification of the final environmental impact report (EIR) and related resolutions approving an industrial development project proposed by Gate King Properties.

The trial court denied SCOPE’S petition, and SCOPE appeals, arguing that:

—Insufficient evidence exists to support the EIR’s conclusion that sufficient water supplies exist for the project.

—The City violated its Ridgeline Preservation and Hillside Development Ordinance by granting the project an exemption from the ordinance as an “innovative development” alternative.

—The EIR was defective because it did not require adequate surveys of the site to determine the presence or absence of several rare plant species prior to certification of the project, and otherwise failed to require adequate mitigation measures with respect to…