Sacramentans for Fair Planning v. City of Sacramento

The California Court of Appeal upheld City of Sacramento approvals for a high-rise condominium building for which the City conducted a streamlined California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review based on determining that the project qualified as a “transit priority project” and was consistent with the regional transportation plan and sustainable communities strategy. California’s Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act authorizes use of the streamlined sustainable communities environmental assessment (SCEA) for projects that meet these criteria. The appellate court said there was no dispute that substantial evidence supported the City’s determination that the project was consistent with the strategy and that “[p]laintiff’s concern that some type of environmental review may not occur by using an SCEA in this instance is a complaint to take to the Legislature.”