Residents Win CEQA Lawsuit

Orinda for Safe Emergency Evacuation (“OSEE”) won its lawsuit against the City of Orinda, Contra Costa County as related to certain significant adverse impacts from the proposed “Plan Orinda”development. In November, 2024, the City issued a Partially Revised EIR that addressed the identified deficiencies related to wildfire evacuation analysis.

OSEE successfully challenged the required Environmental Impact Report (“EIR”) for Orinda’s downtown development plan, projected to include as many as 1,618 new housing units. The original EIR stated the risk of congestion affecting an emergency evacuation during a wildfire is “significant and unavoidable.”

The Superior Court tentative ruling agreed with OSEE, and found that the EIR “does not comply with CEQA’s informational and disclosure requirements in its analysis of Wildfire Impact….” 

Go to the City of Orinda Website for all the 2024-2025 Court Pleadings: OSEE v. City of Orinda