Citizens for Responsible Equitable Environmental Development v. City of Chula Vista

A citizens group commenced a lawsuit in California state court challenging a project to replace an existing Target store with a larger Target store. In particular, the group alleged that the City of Chula Vista violated the California Environmental Quality Act by adopting a negative declaration with respect to the project by not taking into account its greenhouse gas emissions and its effect on climate change. The trial court denied the petition. On appeal, the state appellate court partially reversed, holding that the plaintiffs had made a “fair argument” that the project might have a significant impact due to contaminated soil and thus the trial court was required to determine whether the corrective action plan addressed this issue. However, with respect to greenhouse gas emissions, the court held that there was no fair argument that the project would have a significant greenhouse gas emissions or climate change impact.