Coalition for Adequate Review v. City & County of San Francisco

I. Introduction

The City and County of San Francisco (City) prevailed in this California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA; Pub. Resources Code, § 21000 et seq.) writ proceeding brought by the Coalition for Adequate Review and Alliance for Comprehensive Planning (collectively, petitioners). After securing judgment, the City filed a memorandum of costs totaling $64,144, largely for costs incurred in preparing a supplemental record of the proceedings. Petitioners filed a motion to tax. The trial court granted the motion and denied all costs. The court’s reasoning was twofold: First, it relied on the fact petitioners had elected to prepare the record themselves, as allowed by CEQA’s record preparation statute (§ 21167.6, subd. (b)(2)). Second, it feared sizeable cost awards would have a chilling effect on lawsuits challenging important public projects. Neither rationale is a legally permissible basis for denying record preparation costs to the City. We therefore reverse in part and remand for further proceedings.

II. Factual and Procedural Background

In our prior opinion affirming the denial of petitioners’ writ petition on the merits (Coalition for Adequate Review v. City…