In any action brought under this section:
(a) The California Environmental Quality Act, Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code, does not apply to any action necessary to bring its general plan or relevant mandatory elements of the plan into compliance with any court order or judgment under this article.
(1) The local agency shall, however, prepare an initial study, within the time limitations specified in Section 65754, to determine the environmental effects of the proposed action necessary to comply with the court order. The initial study shall contain substantially the same information as is required for an initial study pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 15080 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations.
(2) If as a result of the initial study, the local agency determines that the action may have a significant effect on the environment, the local agency shall prepare, within the time limitations specified in Section 65754, an environmental assessment, the content of which substantially conforms to the required content for a draft environmental impact report set forth in Article 9 (commencing with Section 15140) of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations. The local agency shall include notice of the preparation of the environmental assessment in all notices provided for the amendments to the general plan proposed to comply with the court order.
(3) The environmental assessment shall be deemed to be a part of the general plan and shall only be reviewable as provided in this article.
(4) The local agency may comply with the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act, Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code, in any action necessary to bring its general plan or the plan’s relevant mandatory elements into compliance with any court order or judgment under this section so long as it does so within the time limitations specified in Section 65754.
(b) The court for good cause shown may grant not more than two extensions of time, not to exceed a total of 240 days, in order to meet the requirements imposed by Section 65754.
(Amended by Stats. 1991, Ch. 1183, Sec. 3.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018