Source: https://www.thomaslaw.com/blog/category/environmental-resources/aesthetics/
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 16:26:06+00:00

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In Georgetown Preservation Society v. County of El Dorado (2018) 2018 Cal.App.LEXIS 1167, the Third District Court of Appeal held that conformity with the general plan does not insulate a project from CEQA review. Where a“large number” of public comments objected to the project for “nontechnical” aesthetic issues, there was a fair argument that the project could have a significant effect on the environment and the County improperly relied on a mitigated negative declaration (MND).
The project plans proposed to build a chain discount store in the historically registered Gold Rush-era town of Georgetown in El Dorado County (County) described by the court as a “quaint. . . hamlet.” The project consisted of a 9,100 square-foot Dollar General store and 12,400 square foot parking lot across three parcels on the unincorporated town’s main street (Project).
Comments from various community members, including a licensed architect, a city planner, a registered architect, and a landscape architect and restoration ecologist objected to the Project’s lack of conformity with the town’s aesthetic. Nonetheless, the County found that the Project would not impact the surrounding aesthetics “in ways not anticipated for lands designated by the General Plan” and was “substantially”consistent with the Historic Design Guide. The County further found that “[a]s designed and conditioned, project impacts would be less than significant” and approved the Project based on an MND. The Georgetown Preservation Society (Society) filed suit challenging this action.
The Society alleged that the County’s reliance on a MND was improper where public comments in the record supported a fair argument that the Project may have a significant aesthetic effect on the environment. The trial court, relying on Pocket Protectors v. City of Sacramento (2004) 124 Cal.App.4th 903(Pocket Protectors), found that the Society’s evidence supported this claim but rejected the Society’s claims about traffic impacts, pedestrian safety, and “planning and zoning norms.”Accordingly, the trial court issued a writ of mandate compelling the County to require an EIR be prepared for the Project. The County timely appealed the decision.
Specifically, the County alleged that (1) the County’s finding that the Project complied with the planning and zoning rules via historic design review is entitled to deference and should be reviewed under a substantial evidence standard; (2) layperson public commentary does not establish a fair argument that the Project may cause substantial environmental impacts; and (3) the County’s failure to explicitly find the public comments unreliable should not preclude challenging the comments.
The Court dismissed the County’s argument analogizing this case to Bowman v. City of Berkeley (2004) 122 Cal.App.4th 572. Opponents of the Bowman project, a four-story, low-income housing project with retail on the ground floor and located on a busy street, requested that the project be reduced to three stories to better match the surrounding building heights. The court held that, because the construction of the project was subject to design review and approval prior to the issuance of building permits, the project would not result in aesthetic impacts.
Here, the Court dismissed the County’s claim that Bowman supported their position. Instead, the Court clarified, echoing Pocket Protectors, that the Bowman court “did not hold a zoning determination about aesthetics obviates CEQA review nor that design review necessarily or always adequately addresses aesthetic impacts . . . it depends on the facts.” Further contrary to the County’s position, the facts of Bowman–changing a four-story building to three-stories in a busy area –were not analogous to the case here –placing a large chain store in a small, historic,and unincorporated town with a distinct character.
trying to thwart the [P]roject for personal reasons.” Specifically, the comments were from “interested people” and consistently said that the Project is “too big,” “too boxy,” or “monolithic” to blend in and its presence will damage the look and feel of the historic center.
Indeed, even where expert opinion is presented to the contrary of the lay person opinions, “public comments contradicted by undisputed experts does not eliminate the need for an EIR.”“Whether it likely will or will not have such an impact is a question that an EIR is designed to answer.” Thus, as was the case in Pocket Protectors, the Court’s consideration of layperson opinions only pertains to the question of if the“low-threshold fair argument test” is met.
Notably, in a footnote the Court distinguished as inapplicable the recent holding of Jensenv. City of Santa Rosa (2018) 23 Cal.App.5th 877 for being factually distinguishable. That case involved non-expert opinion on technical noise studies. See our blog post on the holding here.
Layperson comments on an aesthetic impact may support a fair argument where the impact involves nontechnical issues.
Conformity with the general plan and application of design guidelines does not insulate a project from CEQA review.
Layperson comments on a nontechnical impact may not be categorically disregarded without a specific finding as to their credibility.
In Protect Niles v. City of Fremont (2018) 25 Cal.App.5th 1129, the First District Court of Appeal held that the Niles Historical Architectural Review Board’s (HARB) factual findings and members’ collective opinions about the compatibility of a project with the Niles Historic Overlay District rose to the level of substantial evidence. Further, fact-based comments in the record by residents, city officials and staff, and professional consultants, notwithstanding a traffic impact study to the contrary, amounted to substantial evidence supporting a fair argument of a significant traffic impact.
Niles Historic Overlay District (HOD) is an officially-designated historic district within the City of Fremont (City) subject to guidelines and regulations to maintain the distinctive look and character of the area. Projects in the HOD area are initially proposed to HARB for review in light of HOD guidelines. HARB then recommends approval or denial of the project to the City Council.
In 2014, Real Parties in Interest Doug Rich and Valley Oak Partners (Valley Oak) submitted an application to build 80-90 residential townhouses on a vacant six-acre lot (Project). HARB recommended that the Project be denied because it “would be incompatible in terms of siting, massing, materials, textures, and colors with existing development in the Niles [HOD].” Amidst critical comments, the City approved the Project with a mitigated negative declaration (MND). Protect Niles, a community action group, filed suit alleging the City improperly relied on the MND.
The trial court found substantial evidence in the record supported a fair argument of significant impacts on community aesthetics and traffic and set aside the Project approval until an EIR was completed. Valley Oak timely appealed.
The Appellate Court first established that, despite Protect Niles’ claims to the contrary, the appeal was not moot. Valley Oak had already submitted a revised Project application and the City had published a draft EIR therefore “voluntarily complied” with CEQA. However, this was not tantamount to Valley Oak withdrawing the original Project or abandoning its claims.
The Court reiterated extensive precedent that CEQA must be interpreted to afford the fullest possible protection to the environment. Further, the Court held that an EIR is required where there is substantial evidence in the record, contradicted or not, supporting a fair argument that a project may have a significant effect.
There were numerous comments within the record that the Project did not fit the aesthetic of the neighborhood. Per the CEQA Guidelines, an aesthetic impact exists where a project has the potential to substantially degrade the existing visual character or quality of the site and its surroundings. Aesthetic impacts are context-specific. Here the record contained opinions of the HARB commissioners and Niles residents that the Project’s height, density, and architectural style were inconsistent with the Niles HOD. These comments “differed sharply as to the Project’s aesthetic compatibility with the historic district.” The comments were not conjecture or speculative but grounded in observations of inconsistencies with the prevailing building heights and architectural styles of the HOD. Thus, the Court found there was substantial evidence of a potential adverse aesthetic impact on the Niles HOD. The City’s reliance on a MND was improper.
The Court also criticized the traffic impact analysis and determined that substantial evidence of a fair argument required preparation of an EIR. The City had conducted a professional traffic study concluding the impacts would fall below the City’s threshold of significance. Despite this, the Court found the study was shortsighted for presuming that drivers follow the speed limit and criticized the City for failing to implement the study’s mitigation measure recommending a left-turn pocket lane. The record contained critical comments by residents, City officials and staff, and professional consultants based on their personal experiences driving in the area. The Court found, notwithstanding the traffic study, these fact-based comments constituted substantial evidence supporting a fair argument that the Project will have significant adverse traffic impacts.
The Court affirmed, directing the City to prepare an EIR if it were to go through with the original Project design.
Personal observations on nontechnical issues can constitute substantial evidence of a fair argument of a significant environmental impact. Specifically, residents’ observations of environmental conditions where they live and commute may constitute substantial evidence even if they contradict the conclusions of a professional study.
In Visalia Retail, LP v. City of Visalia (2018) 20 Cal.App.5th 1, the Fifth District Court of Appeal affirmed a trial court judgment maintaining a general plan amendment and accompanying EIR limiting commercial tenants to 40,000 square feet of space. A letter from a local commercial real estate agent predicting that the size cap would cause grocers to refuse to locate in the neighborhood commercial centers leading to a “downward spiral of physical deterioration” was insufficient to support a fair argument of an environmental impact.
On October 14, 2014, Visalia City Council approved a final EIR for the City’s general plan update establishing a 40,000 square foot cap on tenants in neighborhood commercial zones. Visalia Retail, LP brought suit claiming that the potential for urban decay was not adequately addressed in the EIR. The trial court denied the petition. Visalia Retail timely appealed.
Appellant claimed that the EIR was insufficient for failing to consider the potential for urban decay as large stores would be discouraged from establishing themselves in the neighborhood under the new restriction on square footage. The Court, unconvinced, found that CEQA is focused on significant environmental effects, not purely economic impacts. Relying on Joshua Tree Downtown Business Alliance v. County of San Bernardino (2016) 1 Cal.App.5th 677, the Court found CEQA environmental review of potential for urban decay is only appropriate where there is a potential for physical deterioration. Absent such a showing, CEQA is satisfied.
The primary evidence of urban decay submitted by Appellant was a letter prepared by a local commercial real estate agent who claimed the 40,000 square foot cap would discourage grocers from locating in neighborhood commercial centers, “which will cause vacancies, which in turn will result in urban decay.” The real estate agency offered the following support for these claims: (1) the real estate agent was personally unaware of any grocers willing to build new stores under 40,000 square feet; (2) a “typical” large grocer requires at least 50,000 square feet to profit at any one site; (3) a recent line of 10,000 – 20,000 square foot stores was unsuccessful; and (4) three Visalia stores under 40,000 square feet went out of business.
The Court found the letter to be speculative and not rising to the level of substantial evidence on which a fair argument of urban decay could be predicated. First, the limit of the real estate agent’s personal knowledge did not preclude the existence of stores that may be willing to come into the area or have an atypical store size. Further, the fact that other stores were unsuccessful, some a quarter the size of the cap, was not evidence that stores will fail in the City in the future, especially absent discussion or explanation of why they failed. The letter demonstrated speculative causation and failed to show that urban decay would likely result from the cap.
Appellants also claimed the cap made the City’s general plan internally inconsistent by discouraging development in neighborhood commercial sites where the general plan encourages such infill. The Court, presuming the general plan amendment was correct under established precedent, clarified that “just because the general plan prioritizes infill development, avoiding urban sprawl, does not mean all of its policies must encourage all types of infill development. General plans must balance various interests and the fact that one stated goal must yield to another does not mean the general plan is fatally inconsistent.” Essentially, the general plan may give preference to infill that has a 40,000 square foot cap and still be internally consistent.
Evidence of economic impacts alone is insufficient to support a claim that a project will result in urban decay; urban decay need only be addressed by an EIR where there is potential for physical deterioration.
A single comment letter, unsupported by facts, explanation, or critical analysis, does not raise to the level of “substantial evidence of a fair argument” required by CEQA.
In an unpublished opinion in Redlands Good Neighbor Coalition v. City of Redlands, 2015 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 2210, the Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s decision and denied petitioner’s challenges under the Subdivision Map Act and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to the City of Redlands’ (City) approval of a tentative parcel map (TPM 19060) and environmental impact report (EIR) for a Walmart Supercenter and 275,500-square-foot shopping center.
The project site, located on approximately 33 acres of fallowed agriculture land, is designated as commercial in the City’s General Plan, but is also within the East Valley Corridor Specific Plan (EVCSP) area. The EVCSP modifies the General Plan policies to facilitate a “high-quality business park environment” that would be a catalyst for development and jobs in the area. Following a unanimous recommendation by the planning commission, the City adopted resolutions certifying the EIR and approving TPM 19060.
After rejecting the City’s procedural argument that petitioner failed to exhaust its administrative remedies, the court moved to the merits of the Subdivision Map Act claim and held TPM 19060 was sufficiently consistent with the City’s General Plan. The court emphasized that judicial review is highly deferential to the local agency and the project did not have to be in perfect conformity with the general plan. Although the City could have incorporated more “Redlands-themed or historical design elements into the project,” the project was not incompatible with the design and historical preservation policies of the general plan.
Similarly, the court rejected petitioner’s contention that the City’s finding of unavoidable impacts on air quality in the EIR required the City to deny the application for TPM 19060. Under section 66474(e) of the Subdivision Map Act, a finding that a subdivision is likely to cause substantial environmental damage requires a lead agency to deny the tentative map application; however, an exception exists when the lead agency adopts a statement of overriding considerations. The court reasoned that even though the resolution approving TPM 19060 improperly stated TPM 19060 was not likely to cause substantial environmental damage, the City adopted a statement of overriding consideration so the error was not prejudicial.
As to the CEQA claims, petitioner first argued the EIR was deficient because it inadequately analyzed the project’s impacts on aesthetics––specifically, the impact of the contemporary design on the “community character” of Redlands and views of the San Bernardino Mountains. However, the court rejected the arguments because petitioner improperly applied a fair argument standard to the City’s findings. Although the court acknowledged there was evidence to support petitioner’s arguments, this did not mean the EIR inadequately addressed the potential impacts. Because the City’s determination of a significant impact is a factual determination, the substantial evidence standard applies and the court held substantial evidence supported the City’s findings on aesthetic impacts. Petitioner also claimed the EIR inadequately addressed the inconsistencies between the project and the City’s General Plan. The court disagreed with this argument as well, finding the EIR adequately discussed the applicable regulatory framework, and that the City’s consistency conclusions were supported by substantial evidence.
In a decision that was ordered published on April 25, 2013, Taxpayers for Accountable School Bond Spending v. San Diego Unified School District (March 26, 2013) 2013 Cal.App.LEXIS 324, the Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, held that a high school could not use general obligation bond revenue to pay for new stadium lighting because the bond measure approved by voters did not specifically include new stadium lighting. The court further held that, under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the School District (District) improperly relied on a Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) and instead was required to prepare an Environmental Impact Report. The court found evidence in the record sufficient to constitute a fair argument that the project may have significant environmental impacts due to increased traffic and parking demand. In reaching its conclusion regarding parking, the court disagreed with the Second Appellate District’s holding in San Franciscans Upholding the Downtown Plan v. County of San Francisco (2002) 102 Cal.App.4th 656 that parking need only be considered a secondary impact under CEQA. In addition, the court upheld the MND’s project description and its analysis of aesthetics and historic resources. Lastly, the court upheld the District’s action exempting its 12 high schools from local zoning and land use laws, and held that such an action was not a “project” under CEQA.
On July 23, 2008, the District Board of Education (Board) approved Proposition S, authorizing the District to sell up to $2.1 billion in general obligation bonds for the construction, reconstruction, or replacement of school facilities, including a project to upgrade Hoover High School athletics facilities (project). The project would include football stadium bleacher replacement and new lighting for the football field. The District completed an initial study and the Board adopted a mitigated negative declaration (MND) finding there was no substantial evidence the project, as mitigated, would have a significant effect on the environment. Additionally, the Board adopted a resolution exempting projects at Hoover and 11 other high schools from city zoning and land use laws.
The court first looked at whether the District could use Proposition S funds to provide new stadium lighting at Hoover High School. The voters’ pamphlet description of Proposition S enumerated specific projects that would be funded by the bonds. The pamphlet included the words “field lighting,” however, the court held that the measure only provided lighting costs that were necessary for the completion of the enumerated projects, which did not include new stadium lights.
Regarding the CEQA claims, Taxpayers alleged the project description was misleading and caused the District to underestimate the project’s potential environmental impacts. Specifically, Taxpayers argued the description of the anticipated number of evening events to be held at the football stadium after project completion was misleading. The court disagreed, explaining that CEQA only required the District to make a “fair assessment or “estimate” of the number of evening events and that the District’s estimate was adequate. Additionally, the court held CEQA does not require the District to limit evening events to a finite number in the project description.
Taxpayers also argued the MND was flawed because it improperly calculated evening event attendance. The District used zero as a baseline for attendance at evening events because no evening events currently existed. The District then calculated the expected attendance after completion of the project based on the average attendance at football games at five of the District’s 16 high schools. The court found this methodology flawed because the baseline should have taken into consideration attendance of afternoon games at Hoover High School and the record lacked evidence to support the estimated attendance. The court held the District was therefore unable to adequately compare the baseline attendance to expected attendance in determining whether there was a fair argument that the project may have significant impact on traffic and/or parking.
The court also agreed with Taxpayers that an EIR was required for the project because a fair argument could be made that the project may result in significant parking and traffic impacts. The court disagreed with the District’s assertion that parking impacts do not constitute a significant impact on the environment under CEQA. In doing so, the court expressly disagreed with a Second Circuit opinion, San Franciscans Upholding the Downtown Plan v. County of San Francisco (2002) 102 Cal.App.4th 656, which held that parking was merely a social inconvenience that could only be addressed under CEQA as a secondary impact, if at all. The court pointed to CEQA Guidelines explaining that while the guidelines do not set forth an exclusive list of all potential impacts that must be addressed if “substantial evidence of potential impacts that are not listed . . . must also be considered.” (Guidelines, append. G.) The Court held that parked cars are physical objects and can therefore have a direct impact on the physical environment. The court explained personal observations and opinions of local residents constituted substantial evidence that the project may have a significant impact on parking and therefore parking impacts should have been treated as a direct physical impact.
The court also found there was substantial evidence to support a fair argument that the project may have significant traffic impacts. The court explained that, despite the District’s faulty attendance analysis (discussed above), consensus was the project would cause evening attendance to increase, and therefore a fair argument existed that the project may have significant impacts on traffic and circulation.
Lastly, the court held the Board’s adoption of a resolution exempting projects at Hoover and 11 other high schools from city zoning and land use laws was proper and was not a “project” within the meaning of CEQA. The court held the adoption of the resolution was neither an “approval” nor a “project.” It was not an “approval” because it did not commit the District to “a definite course of action in regard to a project.” (Guidelines, § 15352, subd. (a).) It was not a “project” because it was not itself “an activity which may cause either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.” (Pub. Resources Code, § 21065.) The term project does not mean each separate governmental approval. (CEQA Guidelines, § 15378, subd (c).) However, the actual approval of each of the 12 projects, which the resolution makes exempt from city zoning and land use laws, are considered projects under CEQA. Each will require CEQA review before approval.
The decision creates a split in authority concerning the requirement to analyze parking shortages pursuant to CEQA. Until the Supreme Court addresses this disagreement between First and Fourth District Courts of Appeal, the cautious approach would be to analyze potential impacts to parking as part of the environmental analysis for projects.

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