California Court of Appeals Reverses Injunction for Encroachments in Road, Finding CEQA Exemption Applied

By James I. Anderson, Esq.

In brief

The California Court of Appeals for the Second District in Anderson v. County of Santa Barbara (“Anderson”) recently overruled a trial court that had determined that the removal of road encroachments by a County Road Commissioner was a project for purposes of California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and required environmental review. The Court of Appeals ruled that the trial court erred in determining that CEQA was required, and that the Commissioner was within his statutory authority to remove the encroachments and bring the road into compliance with the law.

In detail

Anderson involved a two-lane road to a County-maintained hiking area known as Hot Springs Canyon where, despite some parking improvements, many users parked on the road in front of existing residences. To combat this street parking, some property owners built out encroachments into the road, including plants and rocks. This had the practical effect of transforming the road from two lanes into a one-lane road in some areas.

The County Road Commissioner sent notices to property owners requiring the removal of encroachments and filed a Notice of Exemption pursuant to CEQA because the removal of the encroachments “involved the restoration of the existing roadway.” The property owners filed a writ petition that would prohibit the removal of the encroachments until the County complied with CEQA and conducted environmental review. The trial court reasoned that the removal of encroachments could induce more parking and could cause significant environmental effects, which would require analysis under CEQA. The trial court granted the writ and issued an injunction, to which the County appealed.

The Court of Appeals held that the trial court erred in granting the writ and injunction. The Anderson Court stated that County and State law required the County Road Commissioner to address encroachments in the road, and because the road previously allowed parking, the order to remove the encroachments was not a project, but simply returning the road to its prior state. By removing the encroachments, the County Road Commissioner sought to bring the road into compliance with the law. The Anderson Court then went on to analyze the standard of review and law of the injunction to determine that the trial court had erred in granting an injunction.

Anderson serves as an important reminder that where a local government acts pursuant to a statutory authority, the action may be exempt from CEQA and environmental review.