RECENT CALIFORNIA DECISIONS

March 2005

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First District Court Overturns County Project Approval Based on Improper Reliance on Mitigation Measures to Grant a Categorical Exemption under CEQA
Salmon Protection and Watershed Network v. County of Marin, ___Cal.App.4th___

Recently the Court of Appeal for the First Appellate District upheld a judgment commanding the County of Marin (county) to set aside its approval of the construction of a single house because the county relied upon mitigation measures to grant a categorical exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) despite the existence of significant impacts. The Court concluded that the county made a premature and unauthorized environmental evaluation by considering mitigation measures at the time of determining whether the project was eligible for a categorical exemption.