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Challenges to Environmental Impact Reports Under the California Environmental Quality Act: To Partially Decertify or Not, That Is the Question

University of San Diego School of Law

By: Andrew Kent

The city council chambers are abuzz with community members as they provide public comment on the benefits of a proposed housing project in their city, which would provide desperately needed housing, community improvements, and job creation. After listening to community feedback and publicly discussing the housing project, the city council votes unanimously to approve the project. The project developer breathes a sigh of relief as the journey to this point has been immense based on the time and money spent on the land, development plan, and experts to comply with California’s stringent regulations. Before ground can be broken, however, a disgruntled community member challenges the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) that the city council relied on in its determination to approve the project. Now the entire project’s future is in jeopardy because the construction schedule and related costs are once again uncertain due to the time, costs, and unpredictability associated with litigation.

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