Friends of the Santa Clara River v. County of Los Angeles

The California Court of Appeal upheld a trial court’s decision to leave land use approvals of components of the Newhall Ranch development in Los Angeles County in place even though the court partially decertified the final EIR. The court partially decertified the EIR because Los Angeles County’s analysis of greenhouse gas emissions was found to be insufficient based on the California Supreme Court’s decision in Center for Biological Diversity v. Department of Fish & Wildlife, which concerned the same project and which found that the EIR’s conclusion that impacts of greenhouse gas emissions would not be significant was not supported by sufficient evidence or a reasoned explanation. The appellate court found that the limited writ granted by the trial court was a valid exercise of the trial court’s equitable powers.