Newhall Ranch, one of largest residential projects ever proposed in Los Angeles County, would have increased greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 260,000 carbon dioxide-equivalent metric tons annually. Critically, however, the EIR for the project did not find this increase “significant” under CEQA and thus recommended no mitigation.
When the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) approved the project in 2010, environmental groups filed a CEQA challenge to the EIR’s unlawful approach. The case eventually reached the California Supreme Court, which ruled for the petitioners in 2015.
After the Supreme Court’s decision, the parties reached a settlement. The agreement provided substantial additional mitigation, including on-site measures like “zero net energy” homes and solar generation, that cut the project’s total emissions nearly in half. The developer also committed to supporting local efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and purchasing carbon offsets to cover the rest. CDFW and Los Angeles County reapproved the project in 2017 and it is currently under construction.