Native Sun/Lyon Communities v. City of Escondido

Plaintiff, Native Sun/Lyon Communities, a California general partnership (Native Sun), appeals “from the ‘Statement of Decision,’ filed on March 12, 1992, rendering judgment in favor of respondents on the first, second and third causes of action of plaintiffs First Amended Petition for Writ of Mandate and Complaint, as modified and confirmed in the ‘Order On Application For Reconsideration,’ filed on April 24, 1992.” The statement of decision to which the notice of appeal is addressed grants a partial judgment, rendering judgment on the first three causes of action and directing the respondents, the City of Escondido (the City), its city council (the Council) and planning commission (the Commission), “to file their answer to the remaining causes of action within fifteen days” and ordering a case management conference “for the purpose of setting a date for trial on the remaining causes of action.”

Generally, the causes of action in question involve the City’s approval of a new environmental impact report (EIR) under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA; Pub. Resources Code, § 21000 et seq.) and the state CEQA Guidelines (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 14, § 15000 et seq.…