Landvalue 77, LLC v. Board of Trustees of the California State University (filed Feb. 23, 2011; cert. for publ. Mar. 16, 2011) No. F058451, available at CourtWebsite
A recent Court of Appeals decision highlights the potentially harsh consequences of producing an incomplete EIR. In the case, an EIR for a mixed-use development project had not adequately analyzed potential impacts related to air quality, traffic and parking, and water supply. To remedy this error, the court required the approving agency to decertify the entire EIR and withdraw its approval of the project.
The court held that CEQA provides for EIR certification when the EIR is complete, and that partial certification is not compatible with this concept because an EIR is either complete or it is not. Thus, even though an EIR may only be inadequate in some areas of its analysis, courts must set aside the entirety of the EIR certification and project approval. Although some prior court decisions have not required entire decertification of partially inadequate EIRs, this decision highlights the possibility that agency review of the full EIR and approval may be required by a court – even where only portions of the EIR are found inadequate.
