Protect Our Homes and Hills v. County of Orange

The California Court of Appeal found that a revised final environmental impact report (FEIR) prepared to remedy previously identified deficiencies failed to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act because the FEIR did not include any evidence supporting its conclusion that it was infeasible to require use of solar panels to mitigate a residential development’s greenhouse gas impacts. The trial court had discharged a previously issued writ that was based both on Orange County’s improper deferral of consideration of greenhouse gas mitigation measures and also on arbitrary limits on the consideration of mitigation measures. The appellate court said that in considering whether to discharge its writ, the trial court should have addressed the argument that the County had failed to consider the impact reduction potential of solar roof panels, an additional mitigation measure that was brought to the County’s attention in conjunction with preparation of the revised FEIR. The appellate court concluded, however, that the petitioners were barred from raising an argument concerning the County’s reliance on greenhouse gas emission reductions from statewide measures because the trial court previously rejected a similar argument “spun in a slightly different way” when it first considered the case. The appellate court also rejected the petitioners’ argument that the County was required to analyze greenhouse gas reductions that would result from a reduced density alternative.

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The court rejected almost all arguments regarding shortcomings in the environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act for a residential development that would include up to 340 single-family homes on 470 acres in Orange County, but found that the environmental impact report had impermissibly deferred mitigation of greenhouse gas impacts and arbitrarily limited the extent to which such mitigation measures must be considered.