Citizens for Responsible Equitable Environmental Development v. City of Chula Vista

Following preparation of an initial study under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA; Pub. Resources Code, §§ 21000-21178.1; undesignated statutory references are to this code), the City of Chula Vista (City) adopted a mitigated negative declaration (MND) with respect to a project to replace a store operated by Target Corporation (Target), a smog check facility, and a small market (the existing facilities) with a new larger Target store (the Project). Citizens for Responsible Equitable Environmental Development (Citizens) filed a petition for writ of mandate in the trial court against the City. Citizens appeals from the denial of the petition.

Citizens contends the trial court erred because there is substantial evidence of a fair argument that the Project may have a significant environmental impact on hazards or hazardous materials; air quality for sensitive receptors; particulate matter and ozone; and greenhouse gas emissions and global climate change.

*330 We conclude that the judgment denying Citizens’s petition for a writ of mandate must be reversed to the extent it concluded that Citizens had not presented a fair argument that hazards and hazardous…