Andy's BP v. City of San Jose CA6

I. Factual and Procedural Background

Respondent Amir Shirazi owns the gas station, Moe’s Stop, which is located at the corner of North 33rd Street and McKee Road in San Jose. The project underlying the present litigation involves the expansion of Moe’s Stop and consists of demolition of a

1 All further statutory references are to the Code of Civil Procedure.

house on the property, replacement of the house with three gasoline tanks, and construction of a canopy over the tanks. Respondent City of San Jose (City) approved a negative declaration for the project and upheld the planning commission’s approval of the conditional use permit for the project. Appellants own a gas station, Gas and Shop, on another corner of the same intersection. In July 2010, appellants filed a petition for writ of mandate against respondent City in which they sought invalidation of the City’s approval of the project and the preparation of an environmental impact report (EIR). Appellants argued that the City’s approval of the project failed to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because the City ignored evidence that underground gasoline tanks on the project site had leaked and…