Protect Our Homes And Hills vs. County of Orange

Response

Cal. Super. - 4th Dist.July 2, 2015

A N n n W N 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 LEON J. PAGE, COUNTY COUNSEL and NICOLE M. WALSH, SENIOR DEPUTY (SBN 248222) and JULIA WOO, DEPUTY (SBN 243325) nicole.walsh@coco.ocgov.com julia.woo@coco.ocgov.com 333 W. Santa Ana Blvd., Suite 407 Santa Ana, California 92701 Telephone: (714) 834-6257 Facsimile: (714) 834-2359 Attorneys for Respondents COUNTY OF ORANGE; BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF COUNTY OF ORANGE LATHAM & WATKINS LLP Christopher W. Garrett (Bar No. 100764) Taiga Takahashi (Bar No. 281335) 12670 High Bluff Drive San Diego, California 92130 Telephone: 858.523.5400 Facsimile: 858.523.5450 E-mail: christopher.garrett@Iw.com E-mail: taiga.takahashi@lw.com Attorneys for Real Party-in-Interest YORBA LINDA ESTATES, LLC SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF ORANGE, CIVIL COMPLEX CENTER PROTECT OUR HOMES AND HILLS; HILLS FOR EVERYONE; ENDANGERED HABITATS LEAGUE, INC.; CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY; FRIENDS OF HARBORS, BEACHES AND PARKS, INC,, Petitioners and Plaintiffs, Vv. COUNTY OF ORANGE; BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF COUNTY OF ORANGE; CITY OF YORBA LINDA; CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF YORBA LINDA; and DOES 1 through 20, inclusive, Respondents and Defendants, and YORBA LINDA ESTATES, LLC, an Arizona Limited Liability Company and a California Limited Liability Corporation, and DOES 21 through 50, Real Parties-in-Interest. Case No. 30-2015-00797300-CU-CT-CXC ASSIGNED FOR ALL PURPOSES TO HON. WILLIAM D. CLASTER DEPARTMENT CX-102 RESPONDENTS’ AND REAL PARTY’S RESPONSE TO PETITIONERS’ SUPPLEMENTAL AUTHORITY RE ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD UPON RETURN TO WRIT Hearing Date: Sept. 8, 2017 Time: 1:30 p.m. Action Filed: July 2, 2015 Judgment Entered: Aug. 24, 2016 US-DOCS\93875875.4 30-2015-00797300-CU-CT-CXC RESPONDENTS’ AND REAL PARTY'S RESPONSE TO PET’RS’ SUPPLEMENTAL AUTHORITY RE ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD A N n n W N 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 bal Respondents County of Orange and Board of Supervisors of County of Orange (“County or “County Respondents”) and Real Party-in-Interest Yorba Linda Estates, LLC (“Real Party” or “Yorba Linda Estates”) hereby submit the following response to Petitioners’ supplemental authority regarding administrative record upon return of writ (at Register of Actions or ROA No. 559), which were served September 13, 2017. The Court stated at the September 8 hearing that “If they [County and Real Party] think that it's not the correct citation orit's taken out of context, I'm sure they'll let [the Court] know.” Accordingly, this response is being filed because the cases cited in Petitioners’ supplemental authority do not contain any statement or citation of any statutory or regulatory rule that the filing of a supplemental administrative record is required to discharge a writ. I. Poet LLC, v. State Air Resources Board (2017) 12 Cal.App.5th 52, 58, states that “the purpose of the writ was to provide the public and decision makers with information omitted from the original environmental disclosure documents in 2009. Thus, one way to evaluate ARB’s attempt at compliance is to ask whether the revised environmental disclosure documents provided all of the information that would have been provided if the original documents had complied with CEQA.” The court stated that the defendantfiled its return to writ “together with the final Environmental Analysis, ARB’s responses to comments, and other supporting documents.” Id. at 71. 2. Citizens for Open Government v. City ofLodi (2012) 205 Cal.App.4th 296, 305- 12, involves the court’s discussion of the deliberative process privilege, specifically whether 22 documents were properly excluded from the administrative record on the basis ofthis privilege. ld. 3. Ballona Wetlands Land Trust v. City ofLos Angeles (2011) 201 Cal.App.4th 455, 475 fn. 10, states that “[w]e deny Ballona Wetland’s request for judicial notice of a flood hazard map purportedly prepared by the City in 2008. The map was not part of the administrative record and was not before the City at the time of the EIR certification and project approval in 2010. Ballona Wetlands has shown no extraordinary circumstances to justify the consideration of such extra-record evidence.” US-DOCS\93875875.4 30-2015-00797300-CU-CT-CXC RESPONDENTS’ AND REAL PARTY'S RESPONSE TO PET'RS’ SUPPLEMENTAL AUTHORITY RE ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD A N n n W N 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 4. Silverado Modjeska Recreation & Park District v. County of Orange (2011) 197 Cal.App.4th 282, 295, 298, states that the “parties submitted a substantial administrative record concerning whether the water quality study complied with the writ and CEQA, and extensively briefed those issues on the motion to discharge the writ.” Id. at 295, 298. Though the parties submitted “a substantial administrative record,” there is no statementin this opinion or citation of any statutory or regulatory rule that the filing of a supplemental administrative record is required to discharge a writ. 5. County of Orange v. Superior Court (2003) 113 Cal.App.4th 1: No pin citation was provided. This case does not involve a return to writ proceeding, but a petition for an extraordinary writ from the Court of Appeal to review the trial court’s decision regarding an initial record in a new challenge to an EIR. Id. at 6-7. The court stated that “But when it comes to the administrative record in a CEQA case, any reduction in its contents is presumptively prejudicial to project proponents.... Given the time value which the Legislature has put on CEQA cases, there is no reason to delay proceedings further.” Id. at 13. The County and Real Party respectfully submit that there is no statutory or regulatory rule requiring that a supplemental administrative record be filed to discharge the peremptory writ. Respectfully submitted, Dated: September 15, 2017 OFFICE OF COUNTY COUNSEL COUNTY OF ORANGE By: ___/s/Nicole M. Walsh Nicole M. Walsh Attorneys for Respondents COUNTY OF ORANGE; BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF COUNTY OF ORANGE Dated: September 15, 2017 LATHAM & WATKINS LLP By: /s/Taiga Takahashi Taiga Takahashi Attorneys for Real Party-in-Interest YORBA LINDA ESTATES, LLC 2 US-DOCS\93875875.4 30-2015-00797300-CU-CT-CXC RESPONDENTS’ AND REAL PARTY'S RESPONSE TO PET’RS’ SUPPLEMENTAL AUTHORITY RE ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 OF I am employed in the County of Orange, State of California. Iam over the age of 18 years. My business address is Latham & Watkins LLP, 650 Town Center Drive, 20th Floor, Costa Mesa, California 92626-1925. On September 15, 2017, I served the following document described as: e RESPONDENTS’ AND REAL PARTY’S RESPONSE TO PETITIONERS’ SUPPLEMENTAL AUTHORITY RE ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD UPON RETURN TO WRIT by serving a true copy of the above-described documentin the following manner: BY ONE LEGAL Pursuant to consent of the parties in this action and California Rule of Court 2.251, Thereby certify that a true and correct copy of the document described above was electronically served on the below listed recipients by transmission to One Legal. The transmission was reported as complete and without error to the electronic addresses below. Kevin K. Johnson, Esq. Attorneys for Petitioners & Plaintiffs Jeanne L. MacKinnon, Esq. KEVIN K. JOHNSON APLC Jeanne @johnsonlawaplc.com Kevin@johnsonlawaplc.com Nicole M. Walsh, Esq. Attorneys for Defendants County of Julia Woo, Esq. Orange and Board of Supervisors of Office of County Counsel County of Orange Nicole.walsh@coco.ocgov.com julia.woo@coco.ocgov.com I declare that I am employed in the office of a member of the Bar of, or permitted to practice before, this Court at whose direction the service was made and declare under penalty of perjury under the laws ofthe State of California that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on September 15, 2017, at Cost Mesa, California. JY Hhadijah Fields Khadijah.Fields@lw.com US-DOCS\93875875.4 30-2015-00797300-CU-CT-CXC RESPONDENTS’ AND REAL PARTY'S RESPONSE TO PET'RS’ SUPPLEMENTAL AUTHORITY RE ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD