In latest Fanita Ranch skirmish, appellate court says conservation easements and better land management are sufficient mitigation for lost gnatcatcher habitat.
One-for-one mitigation may work for agricultural land or biological resources. But a court has found that it won't work for "The Sphinx" -- a unique and now-demolished brutalist building in downtown San Jose designed by the famous architect Cesar Pelli.
Tuesday's California Supreme Court ruling in a CEQA case involving San Diego State lays down an important marker: State agencies can't claim that a mitigation measure is infeasible just because they didn't get a legislative appropriation to pay for it. It's the second time the Supreme Court has rejected an argument by Cal State that fiscal considerations under state law should trump CEQA. >>read more
