California Courts of Appeal
Jun. 19, 2015
Appellate court orders environmental review of Riverside County land swap
An appellate court ruled Wednesday that a deal to swap one piece of land for another as part of an effort to protect endangered species must be reviewed under the California Environmental Quality Act.
Daily Journal Staff Writer
An appellate court ruled Wednesday that a deal to swap one piece of land for another
as part of an effort to protect endangered species must be reviewed under the California
Environmental Quality Act.
The 4th District Court of Appeal unanimously reversed a lower court decision regarding
the Western Riverside County Regional Conservation Authority's decision to lift strict
development restrictions on land that beer maker Anheuser-Busch LLC owns in western
Riverside County. Paulek v. Western Riverside County Regional Conservation Authority,
E059133 (Cal. App. 4th Dist., June 17, 2015).
The deal involved the agency stepping back from its plan to purchase a 200-acre Anheuser-Busch
property it had selected to use as habitat conservation land. The move is part of
a larger effort by the authority to set aside 500,000 acres of land for wildlife to
comply with state and federal environmental laws while allowing for development in
the fast-growing region.
The authority planned to make up for the loss of the Anheuser-Busch land by purchasing
two separate parcels totaling more than 1,000 acres. Albert Paulek, a member of a
local environmental group that had raised concerns over the land swap, sued the agency
after it decided the swap was exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act
or CEQA.
The agency incorrectly conflated its decision to remove restrictions from the Anheuser-Busch
property and its decision to seek out alternative property to purchase, wrote Justice
Douglas P. Miller in the opinion. Its decision to remove protections from the Anheuser-Busch
property is its own act, Miller wrote. He was joined by Justices Art W. McKinster
and Jeffrey King.
"The removal of the conservation overlay from the ... property is a 'project' under
CEQA as the change embodied a fundamental land use decision that has the potential
for causing ultimate physical changes in the environment, because land that was protected
for conservation purposes will no longer be subject to such protections," Miller wrote.
<p/>
<a style="color:#123f72;"
href="mailto:fionasmith@dailyjournal.com">fionasmith@dailyjournal.com
<!-- Appellate court orders environmental review of Riverside County land swap -->
Fiona Smith
For reprint rights or to order a copy of your photo:
Email
jeremy@reprintpros.com
for prices.
Direct dial: 949-702-5390
Send a letter to the editor:
Email: letters@dailyjournal.com