City of Santee v. County of San Diego

The California Environmental Quality Act, Public Resources Code section 21000 et seq. (CEQA), requires that public agencies conduct environmental review before they commit themselves to a definite course of action with respect to any project which might have a significant impact on the environment. Such a commitment may occur when an agency makes an agreement with respect to a proposal that, as a practical matter, commits the agency “to the project as a whole or to any particular features, so as to effectively preclude any alternatives or mitigation measures that CEQA would otherwise require to be considered, including the alternative of not going forward with the project.” (Save Tara v. City of West Hollywood (2008) 45 Cal.4th 116, 139 [ 84 Cal.Rptr.3d 614 , 194 P.3d 344 ] (Save Tara).) On the other hand, when an agency proposes to adopt “a mechanism for funding proposed projects that may be modified or not implemented depending upon a number of factors, including CEQA environmental review,” no commitment to the projects has been made and no environmental review is required. (Sustainable Transportation Advocates of Santa Barbara v. Santa Barbara County Assn. of…