ELR Citation: ELR 20077
No(s). B170027 (Cal. Ct. App. Aug 17, 2004)

A California appellate court upheld the dismissal of an association's petition challenging the adequacy of a county's environmental impact report (EIR) prepared in connection with a proposed amendment to the local coastal plan (LCP) concerning greenhouse development. After the petition was filed, the county realized that the EIR had been prepared unnecessarily because the approval of LCP amendments by the California Coastal Commission is exempt from the EIR requirements of CEQA. The association argued that the county waived the exemption and obligated itself to comply with EIR requirements merely by preparing an EIR. Contrary to the association's argument, however, the county's preparation of the EIR did not waive the exemption. The California Coastal Act and CEQA empower the California Coastal Commission to approve LCP amendments pursuant to a regulatory program that is exempt from the EIR requirements of CEQA. Nothing in CEQA or the Coastal Act gives local government the power to opt out of the Commission's regulatory program and choose to be governed by CEQA's regulatory scheme.