ELR Citation: ELR 20338
No(s). 41948 (Cal. Ct. App. Mar 11, 1974)

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires that an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) be prepared in conjunction with the approval by a Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), of a proposal for the annexation by a city of 677 acres of agricultural land with residential and commercial development of the parcel intended to follow. The LAFCO, one of which was established in each county by a state statute in 1963, is a governmental agency to which CEQA is addressed, and the annexation approval is for a "project" which "may have a significant effect on the environment." Defendants' contention that an EIR at this point would be premature is mistaken in view of the statutory admonition that an EIR should be filed as early in the planning process as possible so as to facilitate changes in project design. Plaintiffs, who own land near the parcel to be annexed, have standing to maintain this action under the test set forth in United States v. SCRAP, 3 ELR 20536 (U.S. 1973), but the case is not a proper class action. The court reverses a lower court ruling sustaining defendants' demurrers and issues a writ of mandate ordering the LAFCO to vacate its annexation approval since no EIR was prepared to accompany the agency's action.

Counsel for Plaintiff-Appellants
Carlyle W. Hall, Jr.
A. Thomas Hunt
Mary D. Nichols
John R. Phillips
Brent N. Rushforth
Fredric P. Sutherland
Center for Law in the Public Interest
10203 Santa Monica Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90067

Counsel for Defendant-Respondents
Dorothy L. Schechter County Counsel
James L. McBride Asst. County Counsel
Ventura, CA 93001

Royal M. Sorenson
Burke Williams & Sorenson
Suite 1000
649 South Olive Street
Los Angeles, CA 90014

Counsel for Intervenor-Respondent City of Thousand Oaks
Raymond C. Clayton City Attorney
Thousand Oaks, CA 91360

Counsel for Amicus Curiae of California on Behalf of Appellants
Evelle J. Younger Attorney General
Robert O'Brien Asst. Attorney General
Nicholas C. Yost
Norman N. Flette Deputy Attorneys General
State Office Building
107 S. Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90012