California Clean Energy Committee v. City of San Jose

In an unpublished opinion, the California Court of Appeal reversed the decision of the trial court dismissing plaintiff’s challenge to the City of San Jose’s compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act in conjunction with its approval of an update to the City’s general plan entitled “Envision San Jose 2040 General Plan.”  The appellate court disagreed with the trial court’s conclusion that plaintiff had failed to exhaust its administrative remedies, noting that plaintiff had submitted comments critical of the draft EIR (including comments critical of the draft EIR’s analysis of greenhouse gas emissions). The appellate court held that because the City Council had improperly delegated the duty to certify the EIR as complete to the planning commission, no administrative appeal was available to plaintiff, and plaintiff’s comment letter on the draft EIR sufficed to exhaust its administrative remedies.