TIBURON OPEN SPACE COMMITTEE et al., Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. COUNTY OF MARIN, Defendant and Respondent; THE MARTHA COMPANY, Real Party in Interest and Respondent; TOWN OF TIBURON, Intervener and Appellant., 78 Cal. App. 5th 700

Summary

HOLDINGS: [1]-Marin county did not abdicate its authority or otherwise undertake not to comply with CEQA when it complied with a stipulated judgment in which it had agreed to approve the development of no fewer than 43 units on a 110-acre parcel on top of a mountain. The history of proceedings decisively refuted the notion that the Board of Supervisors failed to exercise any discretion or completely refused to comply with CEQA in any and all ways. It was implicit in the 1976 judgment, and explicit in the 2007 judgment, that an environmental impact report (EIR) would be prepared. An EIR was prepared, went through three drafts and extensive revision before it was finally certified, and was almost 850 pages in length. It clearly represented a considerable expenditure of both time and money, not a pro forma exercise; [2]-The parties' subsidiary and corollary claims were also without merit.