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ARTICLE · 10 MARCH 2022

Petitioners Failed To Show Subdivision Consistent With A Specific Plan EIR Was Outside The Scope Of A Statutory Exemption

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In Citizens' Committee to Complete the Refuge et al. v. City of Newark et al., the First District Court of Appeal (Div. 4) found the California Environmental Quality Act did not require subsequent or...

United StatesEnvironment
Whitney Hodges
Whitney Hodges
Brooke Miller
Brooke Miller
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In Citizens' Committee to Complete the Refuge et al. v. City of Newark et al., the First District Court of Appeal (Div. 4) found the California Environmental Quality Act did not require subsequent or supplemental environmental review for the City of Newark's approval of a 469-lot residential subdivision project. Instead, the court affirmed the City's use of Government Code section 65457's CEQA exemption for projects consistent with a "specific plan" for which a environmental impact report (EIR) was previously certified.

The Specific Plan applicable to the area that includes subdivision project site - Areas 3 and 4 on land adjacent to the San Francisco Bay - allowed development of up to 1,260 residential units, a golf course and trails, and the filling of all wetlands (86 acres), which provides habitat for the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse. The related EIR provided a programmatic level environmental analysis of development, but acknowledged the ultimate

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