Golden Door Properties, LLC v. County of San Diego

The California Court of Appeal rejected key aspects of San Diego County’s appeal of a trial court decision that set aside the County’s approvals of a 2018 Climate Action Plan, Guidelines for Determining Significance of Climate Change, and a supplemental environmental impact report (SEIR). The appellate court held that a mitigation measure in the SEIR that permitted the purchase of carbon offsets from projects outside the County, including international projects, violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because the mitigation measure did not require that offsets meet AB 32 requirements, that greenhouse gas emission reductions be additional, and that the offsets originating outside California have greenhouse emissions programs equivalent to or stricter than California’s program. In addition, the appellate court found that the mitigation measure violated CEQA because 100% of greenhouse gas emissions could be offset by projects originating outside California and there were no objective criteria for County officials to use to determine whether a particular offset program was appropriate. The court also found other shortcomings in the SEIR: inadequate cumulative impacts analysis due to the exclusion of greenhouse gas impacts from certain in-process projects; failure to support a finding that the offset mitigation measure was consistent with the Regional Transportation Plan required by SB 375; failure to analyze a smart-growth alternative; and inconsistency between the Climate Action Plan and the SEIR.