ELR Citation: ELR 20673
No(s). Sac. 7924 (Cal. Sep 21, 1972)

California's legislation patterned on NEPA (Public Resources Code §§21000 et seq.) requires that a municipal body submit an environmental impact statement before a conditional use or building permit is granted to a private party. The language of §21151, calling on local governmental agencies to "make an environmental impact report on any project they intend to carry out that may have a significant effect on the environment," includes projects in which the governmental activity is confined to granting a permit. Therefore, a private developer who proposes to build a recreational village with living units and shopping facilities may not receive a conditional use permit until the environmental report is completed. To the extent that the California law is unclear, one may draw upon the language, guidelines, and court cases concerning the federal National Environmental Policy Act.

Counsel for Appellants
John C. McCarthy
Young, Henrie & McCarthy
100 Pomona Mall West
Pomona, CA 91766

Counsel for Respondents
N. Edward Denton District Attorney for Mono County
Adolph Moskovitz
Robert E. Murphy
Clifford W. Schulz
520 Capitol Mall, Suite 700
Sacramento, CA 95814

Counsel for Real Party in Interest
R. Reaves Elledge, Jr.
Browning E. Marean, III
Gray, Cary, Ames & Frye

Counsel for State of California, Amicus Curiae
Evelle J. Younger
Louise H. Renne
Nicholas C. Yost
600 State Building
217 West First Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Counsel for Sierra Club, Amicus Curiae
Carlyle W. Hall, Jr.
John R. Phillips
Frederic P. Sutherland
Center for Law in the Public Interest
10203 Santa Monica Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90067

Beatrice Challiss Laws
Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund
311 California Street
San Francisco, CA 94104

J. Edd Steppe
Sandy English
515 South Flower Street
Los Angeles, CA 90071