On June 17, 2013, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California dismissed one federal claim and all state claims in Sierra Club and Friends of the West Shore v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and ordered Plaintiffs to pay for the production of the administrative record. The case involves a challenge to the Regional Plan Update approved by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (“TRPA”) on December 12, 2012.  TRPA had moved to dismiss the complaint for failure to prosecute, moved to dismiss all state law claims, and moved to dismiss two of the federal causes of action included in the Complaint.  TRPA moved to dismiss for failure to prosecute because Plaintiffs refused to pay for the costs associated with the production of the administrative record as required under the TRPA Rules of Procedure.  The court rejected Plaintiffs’ challenges to the validity of the administrative record provisions in the TRPA Rules of Procedure.  Rather than dismissing the entire case, the court held that the Plaintiffs were required to pay the costs to produce the record within 15 days of the court’s ruling.  The court also held that the Plaintiffs could not bring state law claims against TRPA or seek attorney’s fees under California law because the Congressional consent transformed the Tahoe Regional Planning Compact (“Compact”) into federal law. Finally, the court held that the Plaintiffs did not have standing to bring one of their federal claims, which challenged the provision of the Regional Plan Update that allowed the TRPA to delegate permitting of certain projects to local governments through Area Plans. The court held Plaintiffs lacked standing to pursue this claim because no delegation had occurred and thus there was no injury to the Plaintiffs. Although the remainder of the federal claims will proceed, the court’s ruling represents a substantial step forward for TRPA and the Regional Plan Update. Remy Moose Manley, LLP partners Whitman F. Manley and Howard F. Wilkins represent the TRPA along with TRPA attorneys John L. Marshall and Scott Lichtig. See TRPA’s press release for more information.

In a decision ordered published on April 2, 2013, the Third District Court of Appeal upheld a dismissal by the Placer County Superior Court of an untimely filed challenge brought by petitioner Alliance for the Protection of the Auburn Community Environment against Placer County’s approval of a 155,000 square-foot commercial project near Auburn. The petitioner filed its CEQA petition three days after the 30-day deadline, due to a claimed miscommunication with an attorney filing service and too-late attempt to file on the last day the petition was due. The real party in interest filed a demurrer challenging the petition as untimely, which the trial court sustained, denying the petitioner’s motion for relief under Code of Civil Procedure section 473, for relief based on attorney “mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.” The Third District determined that CCP §473 was inapplicable to CEQA’s strict statutes of limitation, finding that Pub. Resources Code § 211167 “makes no provision for extending the limitations period on a showing of good cause.” RMM partners Jim Moose and Chip Wilkins represented Real Party in Interest Bohemia Properties in the litigation. (Alliance for the Protection of the Auburn Community Environment v. County of Placer (2013) 215 Cal.App.4th 25.)

RMM’s partners are pleased to welcome new associate Deb Kollars to our team. Deb is a 2012 graduate of McGeorge School of Law. Prior to attending law school, Deb had a successful career as a journalist, earning several state and national awards for her reporting as a senior writer for the Sacramento Bee.

In a decision published on May 21, 2013, the First District Court of Appeal reversed a Marin County Superior Court ruling and upheld an EIR prepared by Marin Municipal Water District for a new desalination facility to be located in San Rafael on San Pablo Bay.  North Coast Rivers Alliance challenged the EIR on a wide range of issues.  The trial court upheld the EIR on some grounds, and rejected it on others.  MMWD appealed the trial court’s ruling.  The Court of Appeal reversed on appeal, and rejected all of NCRA’s claims.  In particular, the Court of Appeal upheld the EIR’s analysis of aesthetics, land use and planning consistency, seismic safety, hydrology and water quality, biological resources, and greenhouse gas emissions.  The Court also ruled that MMWD was not required to recirculate the Draft EIR.  RMM partner Whit Manley, together with former RMM associate Chris Butcher (now with the Thomas Law Group in Sacramento), represented MMWD during the administrative process and throughout the litigation. (North Coast Rivers Alliance v. Marin Municipal Water District, Case No. A133821.)

On December 14, 2012, San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Teri Jackson issued her ruling on pending litigation challenging the Environmental Impact Report prepared for a plan to redevelop Treasure Island.  Judge Jackson ruled the City of San Francisco had complied with CEQA in certifying the EIR and approving the plan.  The plan, approved by the Board of Supervisors in June 2011, calls for 8,000 residential units, commercial and office uses, and roughly 300 acres of open space.  The lawsuit raised a wide range of claims regarding the EIR.  Judge Jackson rejected these claims and denied the petition.  RMM partners Whit Manley and Chip Wilkins and Senior Associate Jennifer Holman represented Treasure Island Community Development, the developer who worked with the City to formulate the plan.

On December 14, 2011, the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission approved a conditional use permit for the Lancaster Landfill and Recycling Center Project. The project allows for an increase in the acceptance of municipal solid waste for disposal at the LLRC, and for an increase in green and wood waste recycling operations. The project approval also allows for the continued operation of a Reclaimable Anaerobic Composter research and development project approved by the Local Enforcement Agency and CalRecycle as a composting facility in November 2009. The applicant, Waste Management of California, Inc. and the LLRC, were represented before the County by Andrea Leisy and Amanda Berlin.

RMM congratulates Jim Moose, Whit Manley, and Sabrina Teller on being listed in the 2013 Northern California Super Lawyers magazine.  Amanda Berlin and Laura Harris were also included in the Rising Stars section.  The selection process is based on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement and includes the top five percent of attorneys in their practice areas.

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