Friends of Sierra Madre v. City of Sierra Madre (2001)

[Modification of Opinion (25 Cal. 4th 165; 105 Cal. Rptr. 2d 214, 19 P.3d 567).]

FRIENDS OF SIERRA MADRE et al., Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. CITY OF SIERRA MADRE et al., Defendants and Appellants.

THE COURT.-

The opinion herein, filed on March 29, 2001, appearing at 25 Cal. 4th 165, is modified as follows:

The second sentence of the first full paragraph of the opinion on page 185 is revised to read:

"If the EIR identifies significant effects on the environment the lead agency may not approve the project unless it finds that changes have been made in the project to avoid these effects, or, if the mitigation measures or alternatives identified in the EIR are not feasible, there are overriding benefits that outweigh the impact on the environment."

From the penultimate sentence on page 190 through the first full sentence on page 191, the opinion is revised to read:

"Before the stalemate occurred, an EIR had been prepared and considered by the city council. Thus, there may have been compliance with CEQA, a question the Court of Appeal did not decide because, relying on what was then Guidelines section 15378, subdivision (b)(4), now section 15378(b)(3), the court held that submitting the matter to the voters was not a project and therefore it was irrelevant whether a matter reached the voters by a ciy-council-generated initiative or a voter-sponsored petition. While we disagree with the latter conclusion, under the circumstances in which the Lee matter reached the ballot, the result may have been correct."

This modification does not affect the judgment.