Friends of Riverside's Hills v. City of Riverside

SLOUGH J.

Real parties in interest Carlton and Raye Lofgren, as Trustees of the Lofgren Family Trust and the Lofgren 1998 Trust (the Lofgrens), sought a residential development permit to build six single-family homes on a parcel of just over 11 acres in Riverside. After respondent City of Riverside (the City) approved the permit and issued a negative declaration stating the development did not require environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA, Pub. Resources Code, § 21000 et seq. ), Friends of Riverside's Hills (FRH) filed a petition for a writ of mandate challenging that decision. FRH's petition alleges the City was required to conduct a CEQA Environmental Impact Review (EIR) of the development because it violates certain land use provisions in the City's municipal code. FRH's petition also alleges the City abused its discretion by approving a project that violates its own land use provisions. The trial court denied FRH's petition, and FRH now argues that ruling was error. Because we find no evidence of the alleged land use violations, we will affirm the judgment.

I

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

A. The Relevant Land Use Provisions

The project site is a…