Friends of Sierra Madre v. City of Sierra Madre

No. B129139 (90 Cal. Rptr. 2d 855) (Cal. Ct. App. December 8, 1999)

ELR Digest

The court holds that a city's failure to conduct an environmental review prior to placing a measure on a ballot, which proposed the removal of 29 properties from the city's Register of Historic Landmarks, violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The court first holds that any informational deficiencies in the ballot materials did not rise to the level necessary to invalidate the measure on due process grounds. The voters knew what they were voting for, why they were voting for it, and obviously intended to accomplish what the ballot materials stated the measure intended to accomplish. The court, however, holds that the decision to delist or dedesignate the 29 properties is a project within the meaning of the CEQA and may have a significant effect on the environment. Under the city's preservation ordinances, delisting or dedesignating a historical resource is a change in the legal status of the resource that may remove the property from CEQA requirements in connection with use or building permits for alterations, destruction, or relocation of the property. Moreover, the city's approval of the project is subject to CEQA review because, in addition to placing the measure on the ballot, the city took several discretionary actions to commit itself to the dedesignation of the properties. Specifically, by acting under its authority to make land use decisions, the city exceeded its function as an administrator of an election.

The court next holds that by failing to conduct an environmental review prior to placing the measure on the ballot, the city did not proceed in the manner required by the CEQA. Here, an environmental impact review is required because removing the properties from the city's list of historic landmarks may lead to a substantial adverse change in the significance of a historical resource. The court, therefore, holds that the resolution placing the measure on the ballot must be set aside and the election invalidated.

The full text of this opinion is available from ELR (33 pp., ELR Order No. L-128).

Counsel for Plaintiffs
Susan Brandt-Hawley
Brandt-Hawley & Zoia
13760 Arnold Dr., Glen Ellen CA 95442
(707) 576-0198

Counsel for Defendants
Michael H. Zischke
Landels, Ripley & Diamond
Hills Plaza
350 The Embarcadero, San Francisco CA 94105
(415) 512-8700

[30 ELR 20214]

[OPINION OMITTED BY PUBLISHER IN ORIGINAL SOURCE]