CHERRY VALLEY PASS ACRES AND NEIGHBORS et al., Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. CITY OF BEAUMONT, Defendant and Respondent; SUNNY-CAL EGG & POULTRY COMPANY, Real Party in Interest and Respondent.

Defendant City of Beaumont (the City) approved a specific plan, the Sunny-Cal Specific Plan (the SCSP or project), to build 560 residential units on a 200-acre site long used for agricultural purposes and located in an unincorporated area north of the City known as Cherry Valley. In August 2007, the City certified an environmental impact report (EIR) and adopted a statement of overriding considerations for the SCSP pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (Pub. Resources Code, §21000 et seq.), and took related actions approving he SCSP. Plaintiffs Cherry Valley Pass Acres and Neighbors and Cherry Valley Environmental Planning Group petitioned the trial court for a writ of mandate setting aside the City's certification of the EIR, adoption of the statement of overriding considerations, and related actions approving the project. The trial court denied the petition, and plaintiffs appeal. Plaintiffs claim the EIR is legally inadequate as an informational document and the City therefore abused its discretion in certifying it because it failed to properly address the project's significant impacts on area water supplies and agricultural land uses. They first claim the EIR relied upon an improper baseline or environmental setting in assessing the project's impacts on local and regional water supplies and also failed to demonstrate a reasonable likelihood the project would have sufficient water supplies over the long-term. Second, they claim the EIR failed to adequately consider mitigation measures and alternatives for reducing the project's impacts on agricultural land uses. Third, and finally, they claim the findings the City made in adopting the statement of overriding considerations are not supported by substantial evidence. The appellate court found each of these claims without merit and affirm the judgment denying the petition and concluded that the use of existing entitlements for baseline conditions was legitimate when it corresponds to an conditions “on the ground” at the time environmental review commenced. It also concluded that there was substantial evidence to support the City’s findings related to agricultural impacts.