Published Opinion: “Unusual Circumstances” Required for Subjecting Exempt Projects to CEQA

In a highly anticipated decision (Berkeley Hillside Preservation v. City of Berkeley, S201116, March 2, 2015), the California Supreme Court resolved years of uncertainty by holding that a project’s purported environmental effects must be “due to unusual circumstances” before an environmental impact report can be required under Guidelines section 15300.2(c). The Court also resolved another long-standing divide among Courts of Appeal, holding that an agency’s findings as to unusual circumstances are subject to the substantial evidence standard. Amrit Kulkarni and Julia Bond represented the real parties in interest in this case, Mitchell D. Kapor and Freada Kapor-Klein. Read More.