Sierra Club v. County of San Diego

In the fourth appeal in litigation related to San Diego County’s approval of a climate action plan under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the California Court of Appeal upheld the trial court’s discharge of a writ of mandate directing the County to remedy CEQA violations. Previously, in 2020, the court had directed the County to update a supplemental environmental impact report (SEIR) to sufficiently analyze a “smart growth alternative” to reduce vehicle miles traveled. In September 2024, the County prepared a new SEIR and approved a new climate action plan. The trial court then discharged the writ. On appeal, the Sierra Club contended that the writ had been improperly discharged because the County’s SEIR had not remedied the deficiencies previously identified by the court. Sierra Club further claimed that the County still had not complied with CEQA because it provided contradictory feasibility findings for its smart growth alternative and failed to adopt all feasible mitigation measures and alternatives. The Court of Appeals determined that Sierra Club forfeited its claim that the County had not remedied the deficiencies in its SEIR by failing to raise it in the trial court. Additionally, it found that other CEQA issues Sierra Club raised were not properly before the trial court because they were distinct from the issues addressed by the original writ and therefore could not be addressed on appeal.