Banning Ranch Conservancy v. City of Newport Beach

In Banning Ranch Conservancy v. City of Newport Beach (2012) 211 Cal.App.4th 1209, the Conservancy argued that "the EIR failed to disclose the park project's inconsistency with the Coastal Act." (Id. at p. 1233.) The supposed inconsistency was that the EIR "stated no area of the project had been designated an ESHA, according to the City's coastal land use plan. It acknowledged two areas had 'the potential to be considered ... ESHAs by the California Coastal Commission.'" (Id. at pp. 1233-1234.) The Conservancy claimed that "the Coastal Commission is 'highly likely' to designate the two areas as ESHAs, and will reject the attempted mitigation." (Id. at p. 1234.) This court's response was that it "remained to be seen" whether the Coastal Commission would designate the contested habitats as ESHAs. (Ibid.) "There are no inconsistencies at the moment; the EIR adequately flagged potential inconsistencies and addressed them in advance through proposed mitigation." (Ibid.)