(1996) 50 Cal.App.4th 1134

The Court of Appeal held that the City of Chula Vista and the County of San Diego complied with CEQA when they certified a first-tier EIR for the Otay Ranch project in southwestern San Diego County. The court rejected arguments by a local environmental group that the EIR had failed to take into account the project’s alleged impact on the ongoing, multi-jurisdictional efforts to preserve vestiges of coastal sage scrub habitat. The court likewise rejected the petitioner’s argument that the City and County violated CEQA by failing to revise or recirculate the Program EIR based on information that became available after the final Program EIR was issued, but prior to its certification. The court held that neither the issuance of draft conservation guidelines nor the release of multi-species mapping and evaluation information revealed new project-related impacts on biological resources requiring recirculation of the EIR. Finally, the court upheld an award of costs to the City. [RMM Counsel of record: Tina A. Thomas, James G. Moose and Whitman F. Manley]