ELR Citation: ELR 20110
No(s). C044364 (Cal. App. 3d Dist. Oct 4, 2004)

A California appellate court affirmed a lower court decision setting aside the adoption of a mitigated negative declaration for the construction of an apartment complex because the county and developers failed to meet the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). An advocacy group properly and timely requested a hearing on its petition for writ of mandate to challenge the declaration. And although the project's description was adequate and fulfilled the CEQA's purpose of presenting the major components of the project to the public for review and input, substantial evidence in the record supports a fair argument that the project may have significant environmental impacts in the areas of land use, growth, water and drainage, traffic, and cumulative impacts that, as reasonably foreseeable, require an environmental impact report under the CEQA.