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'Expert' Opinions Do Not Support Need for EIR

By ALM Staff | Law Journal Newsletters |
March 28, 2007

Can a layman's opinion on the environmental impacts of a development project serve as a basis for a court to find that a mitigated negative declaration (MND) (CEQA ' 21064.5) is inadequate? That was the question posed in Landwatch Monterey County v. County of Monterey, 55 Cal.Rptr.3d 34 (Cal.App 76 Dist., 1/23/2007) (Rushing, P.J.), when plaintiff offered opinions from two people who, at first glance, appeared to have some expertise on the subject of water resources. Their opinions were offered as evidence that an environmental impact report (EIR) should have been produced for the project. The appellate court agreed with the trial court that the witnesses were not fully qualified to evaluate the technical aspects of the issues involved so their opinions could not serve as the 'substantial evidence' of significant environmental impacts plaintiffs had the burden of demonstrating.

The Case

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