Golden Door Props., LLC v. Cnty. of San Diego

238 Cal. Rptr. 3d 559, 27 Cal. App. 5th 892
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal, 5th District
DecidedSeptember 28, 2018
DocketD072406; D072433
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 238 Cal. Rptr. 3d 559 (Golden Door Props., LLC v. Cnty. of San Diego) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal, 5th District primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Golden Door Props., LLC v. Cnty. of San Diego, 238 Cal. Rptr. 3d 559, 27 Cal. App. 5th 892 (Cal. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

HUFFMAN, J.

I

INTRODUCTION

The County of San Diego (the County) challenges a peremptory writ of mandate and injunction, along with a judgment directing it to set aside and vacate the "2016 Climate Change Analysis Guidance Recommended Content and Format for Climate Change Analysis Reports in Support of CEQA Document" (the 2016 Guidance Document or Guidance Document) and prohibiting it from using the Guidance Document or the "Efficiency Metric" defined in it as part of its California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review of greenhouse gas (GHG) impacts for development proposals in unincorporated areas of San Diego County. The County contends the matter is not justiciable because it is not ripe and the Guidance Document does not establish a threshold of significance for use in environmental review, nor does its use violate CEQA. The County further contends its separate development of a Climate Action Plan (CAP) and threshold of significance is evidence the Guidance Document does not violate a previous *562writ or use piecemeal environmental review. We disagree with the County and affirm the trial court writ and judgment in their entirety.

II

BACKGROUND

A. Legal Principles

In June 2005, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Executive Order S-3-05, establishing GHG reduction targets to 2000 levels by 2010, to 1990 levels by 2020, and to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. (Sen. Rules Com., Off. of Sen. Floor Analyses, Sen. Bill No. 32 (2015-2016 Reg. Sess.) as amended Aug. 19, 2016, p. 4, no. 3.) The following year, California Assembly Bill No. 32 (A.B. 32), California's Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, established a statewide goal of achieving substantial reduction in the emission of gases contributing to global warming, including the reduction of GHG emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. ( Health & Saf. Code, §§ 38500 et seq., 38550 ; Center for Biological Diversity v. California Department of Fish and Wildlife (2015) 62 Cal.4th 204, 215, 195 Cal.Rptr.3d 247, 361 P.3d 342 ( Biological Diversity ).) It also ordered the preparation and approval of a scoping plan for achieving the "maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective reductions in greenhouse gas emissions" by 2020. ( Health & Saf. Code, § 38561, subd. (a).) The 2008 scoping plan identified cuts of approximately 30 percent from the business as usual emission levels predicted for 2020, which was about a 15 percent reduction from the 2008 levels.1 ( Biological Diversity, at p. 216, 195 Cal.Rptr.3d 247, 361 P.3d 342.)

In 2010, a new CEQA Guideline on Determining the Significance of Impacts from Greenhouse Gas Emissions gave lead agencies discretion for estimating the amount of GHG a project will emit and offered three factors for consideration: (1) the extent to which the project may increase or reduce GHG emissions as compared to the existing environmental setting; (2) whether project emissions exceed a threshold of significance the lead agency deems applicable; and (3) the extent to which the project complies with regulations or requirements implementing a statewide, regional, or local plan to reduce or mitigate GHG emissions. ( Cal. Code Regs., tit. 14, § 15064.4, subd. (b) ;2 Biological Diversity , supra, 62 Cal.4th at p. 217, 195 Cal.Rptr.3d 247, 361 P.3d 342.) These requirements "must be adopted by the relevant public agency through a public review process and must reduce or mitigate the project's incremental contribution of greenhouse gas emissions. If there is substantial evidence that the possible effects of a particular project are still cumulatively considerable notwithstanding compliance with the adopted regulations or requirements, an EIR [environmental impact report] must be prepared for the project." ( § 15064.4, subd. (b)(3).)

In April 2015, Governor Edmond G. Brown, Jr. signed executive order B-30-15, which added a reduction target of 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. (Sen. Rules Com., Off. of Sen. Floor Analyses, Sen. Bill No. 32 (2015-2016 Reg. Sess.) as amended Aug. 19, 2016, p. 4, no. 3.) Executive Order B-30-15 was codified by Senate Bill No. 32, which was signed into law September 8, 2016.

*563B. Factual and Procedural Background

In August 2011, the County updated its 1978 General Plan. The corresponding environmental impact report (EIR) incorporated mitigation measures to address GHG emissions. The mitigation measures were intended to reduce the impact County operations would have on the environment. Mitigation Measure CC-1.2 required the County to prepare a CAP, including an update on the baseline inventory of GHG from all sources.3 It also required GHG emission targets and deadlines for achieving the reductions in County operations and the community. Mitigation Measure CC-1.8 required the County to "[r]evise County Guidelines for Determining Significance based on the Climate Change Action Plan." Thus, to comply with the General Plan Update, the County needed to adopt a CAP and develop thresholds for determining significance based on the CAP.

The County subsequently developed and adopted a CAP in 2012, which the Sierra Club challenged via a petition for a writ of mandate, arguing it violated CEQA. The trial court issued the writ in April 2013 and, while the appeal in that matter was pending, the County adopted the 2013 Guidelines for Determining Significance for Climate Change (2013 Guidelines). Sierra Club filed a supplemental petition for writ of mandate in February 2014, seeking to set aside the 2013 Guidelines. The parties entered a stipulation staying the supplemental petition pending the outcome of the appeal.

In 2014, we issued our decision affirming the original writ of mandate in Sierra Club, supra, 231 Cal.App.4th 1152, 180 Cal.Rptr.3d 154. The trial court subsequently entered a supplemental writ of mandate (Supplemental Writ) directing the County to set aside the 2012 CAP and environmental findings, as well as the 2013 Guidelines.

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Bluebook (online)
238 Cal. Rptr. 3d 559, 27 Cal. App. 5th 892, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/golden-door-props-llc-v-cnty-of-san-diego-calctapp5d-2018.