Arcadians for Envtl. Pres. v. City of Arcadia
| Decision Date | 16 February 2023 |
| Docket Number | B320586 |
| Parties | ARCADIANS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. CITY OF ARCADIA et al., Defendants and Respondents; JULIE WU et al., Real Parties in Interest. |
| Court | California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County No. 20STCP02902 Mitchell L. Beckloff, Judge. Affirmed.
Leibold McClendon & Mann and John G. McClendon for Plaintiff and Appellant.
Best Best & Krieger, Alisha M. Winterswyk and Amanda Daams for Defendants and Respondents City of Arcadia and City Council of the City of Arcadia.
No appearance for Real Parties in Interest Julie Wu and Wallace Y. Fu Architect, Corp.
After the Arcadia City Council approved Julie Wu's application to expand the first story of her single-family home and add a second story ("the project"), Arcadians for Environmental Preservation (AEP), a grassroots organization led by Wu's next-door neighbor, filed a petition for writ of administrative mandamus challenging the City's decision. AEP's petition primarily alleged the city council had erred in finding the project categorically exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (Pub. Resources Code, §§ 21000 et seq.)[1] (CEQA) and CEQA's implementing guidelines.[2]The superior court denied the petition ruling as a threshold matter that AEP had failed to exhaust its administrative remedies. We affirm.
In June 2018 Wu submitted an application to the Arcadia Highlands Homeowners' Association for approval to expand the first story of her 1,960-square-foot single-family ranch-style home and add a second story. After holding several public hearings on the project, the architectural review board assigned to Wu's homeowners' association[3] denied approval for the project, citing the project's mass and height as well as concerns over compatibility with the design of existing homes.
In 2019 Wu submitted a second application to the architectural review board to address the concerns the board had raised with her initial application. As revised, Wu's project proposal added 260 square feet to the first story, a 1,140 squarefoot second story, a new 50-square-foot covered front porch and 170 square feet to the existing rear porch. Wu also changed the design from the prior iteration of the project proposal-a French Country style-to a ranch home to better fit with the design of the existing neighborhood.
In response to Wu's revised application, the architectural review board requested Wu install story poles to visually represent the addition so that it could better visualize the scope of the project. Wu provided a computer-generated simulated view of the proposed project instead, insisting that story poles would not provide an accurate representation of the mass of the building and was an unnecessary and costly undertaking. After holding a hearing at which community members spoke in favor and against the proposed project, the architectural review board denied approval for the project as inconsistent with the City's single-family design guidelines relating to massing, height and scale.
On April 13, 2020 Wu timely appealed the decision of the architectural review board to the City's planning commission pursuant to Arcadia Municipal Code section 9108.07. After conducting a detailed review, the planning commission's staff recommended the City conditionally approve the project, provided Wu make four changes that it determined would make the project compatible with the surrounding area.[4] Under the heading "Environmental Analysis," the staff report stated the project qualified as a "Class 1 Exemption for Existing Facilities from the requirements of [CEQA] under Section 15301 of the CEQA Guidelines." In a preliminary exemption assessment attached to its report, planning commission staff described the project as categorically exempt from CEQA as an "[a]ddition to an existing facility" under CEQA Guideline "section 15301(a)."
On May 26, 2020 the planning commission held a noticed hearing (using live-stream and telephonic access due to the COVID-19 emergency) to address Wu's appeal and its staff recommendations. Community members spoke in favor and against approval of the project. Those against, including Dr. Henry Huey, Wu's next-door neighbor, asserted the design infringed on neighbors' privacy, explaining occupants of Wu's property would have a direct view into neighboring homes. Opponents of the project also argued the size and scale of the project was incompatible with the design and character of existing homes.
Following the hearing, the planning commission voted to adopt staff's recommendation and conditionally approve the project, provided Wu revise it to include the four changes staff recommended. The planning commission's ruling stated the project was exempt from CEQA under the class 1 categorical exemption for additions to existing facilities.
On June 8, 2020 Dr. Huey appealed the planning commission's approval of the project to the city council in accordance with the administrative appeal process authorized in the City's municipal code. Dr. Huey argued the project's design, if implemented, would infringe on the privacy of neighbors. In addition, he argued the project's size, scale and certain design features were incompatible with the existing character of the neighborhood.
On July 22, 2020 the City issued notice of a public hearing on Dr. Huey's appeal to be held using remote access (live-stream and telephonic due to the COVID-19 emergency) on August 4, 2020. The notice stated the city council would consider at the hearing an appeal from the planning commission's conditional approval of the project. As to CEQA, the notice stated the hearing would consider "Categorical Exemption per Section 15301 from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for an addition to an existing structure." The notice stated, "Persons wishing to comment on the project and/or environmental documents may do so at the public hearing or by submitting written statements to the City Clerk prior to the August 4, 2020 hearing."
The August 4, 2020 meeting agenda stated the city council would consider "Resolution No. 7329 upholding the Planning Commission's approval" of Wu's project with "a categorical exemption under the California Environmental Quality Act ('CEQA') to construct a first and second story addition to an existing one story residence" on Wu's property. Section 6 of Resolution No. 7329, which the city council adopted on a vote of four to one at the end of public comment portion of the hearing, stated, "[T]he City Council determines that the Project is Categorically Exempt per Class 1, Section 15301(a) of [CEQA] Guidelines, and upholds the Planning Commission's approval" of the project "subject to" attached conditions.
Following the city council's decision, Dr. Huey formed AEP, described in the complaint in the case at bar as "a grassroots unincorporated association composed of and supported by community members and others devoted to the preservation of the environment."
On September 9, 2020 AEP petitioned for a writ of administrative mandamus, primarily alleging the City's approval of the project did not comply with CEQA and the city council had erred in concluding the project was categorically exempt from CEQA's requirements. AEP asserted it had exhausted its administrative remedies. AEP's petition also alleged the City's approval of the project violated specific requirements of the California Planning and Zoning Law (Gov. Code, § 65000 et seq.) by ignoring the City's general plan policies and residential design guidelines.
On September 25, 2020, while this petition was pending, the City posted in accordance with CEQA requirements a notice of CEQA exemption, filed with the Los Angeles County Clerk and duly recorded, stating, "The proposed project qualifies as a Class 1 Exemption for existing facilities under Section 15301 of the CEQA Guidelines as it involves an addition that will not result in an increase of more than 10,000 square feet and the project is in an area where all public services and facilities are available to allow for maximum development permissible in the General Plan and the project site is not located in an environmentally sensitive area." As worded, the notice of exemption refers to subdivision (e) of section 15301 of the CEQA Guidelines.
On February 2, 2022, following a hearing, the superior court denied the petition, ruling AEP had failed to raise at the administrative level the issue of the City's categorical-exemption finding pursuant to section 15301 of the CEQA administrative guidelines and thus had not exhausted its administrative remedies. The court also rejected AEP's argument that the City had "failed to proceed in a manner required by law" because it had made its exemption determination without considering whether an exception to the exemption existed. Finally, the court ruled the City's decision did not violate the specific requirements of the California Planning and Zoning law.[5] AEP filed a timely notice of appeal from the court's judgment.
On appeal from denial of a petition for writ of administrative mandamus, we review the agency's decision, not the superior court's, to determine whether the agency has prejudicially abused its discretion. (Center for...
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