# Friends of Mammoth v. Board of Supervisors

> California Supreme Court · September 21, 1972 · 8 Cal. 3d 247

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9577260

## Case

- **Full name:** FRIENDS OF MAMMOTH Et Al., Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF MONO COUNTY Et Al., Defendants and Respondents; INTERNATIONAL RECREATION, LTD., Real Party in Interest and Respondent
- **Court:** California Supreme Court
- **Decided:** September 21, 1972
- **Citations:** 8 Cal. 3d 247; 104 Cal. Rptr. 761; 502 P.2d 1049; 2 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 20673; 4 ERC (BNA) 1593; 1972 Cal. LEXIS 253
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Dissent by Sullivan
- **Judges:** Mosk, Sullivan
- **Cited by:** 339 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- **Red flag:** Disapproved on other grounds by Kowis v. Howard, 3 Cal. 4th 888 (1992).
- Negative treatments: 1
- Distinguished by: 0
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9577260

## How later opinions describe it (automated extraction)

- holding that the agency “is entitled to learn the contentions of interested parties before litigation is instituted ...,” but it is sufficient if other members of the public raised the issues to be litigated because then the agency would have had “its opportunity to act and to…

## Opinion text

SULLIVAN, J.
I dissent. The opinion of the majority, discarding settled principles of statutory construction and distorting the plain meaning of common English words, adopts an interpretation of the pertinent section of the Environmental Quality Act of 1970 (EQA) (Pub. Resources Code, §§ 21000-21151) 1 which in my opinion is not legally supportable. The desired end arrived at by the majority cannot justify such a means. “This court has no power to rewrite the statute so as to make it conform to a presumed intention which is not expressed.” (Seaboard Acceptance Corp. v. Shay (1931) 214 Cal. 361, 365 [ 5 P.2d 882 ]; italics added.)
The crucial question before us is, of course, whether Mono County must prepare an environmental impact report, pursuant to section 21151, before it grants a conditional use or building permit for International’s proposed development at Mammoth Lakes. The answer to this question depends in turn on the resolution of a problem of statutory construction—whether the phrase “any project they intend to carry out” (§21151) includes within its scope a private development for which a governmental permit is required. As will appear, I conclude that the applicable rules of interpretation compel a negative answer.
Section 21151 provides: “The legislative bodies of all cities and counties which have an officially adopted conservation element of a general plan shall make a finding that any project they intend to carry out, which may *274 have a significant effect on the environment, is in accord with the conservation element of the general plan. All other local governmental agencies shall make an environmental impact report on any project they intend to' carry out which may have a significant effect on the environment and shall submit it to the appropriate local planning agency as part of the report required by Section 65402 of the Government Code.”
In order to construe the statutory phrase “any project they intend to carry out,” it is fundamental that the court “should ascertain the intent of the Legislature so as to effectuate the purpose of the law.” (Select Base Materials v. Board of Equal. (1959) 51 Cal.2d 640, 645 [ 335 P.2d 672 ] and cases there cited.) Our endeavor must be to produce a “reasonable result consistent with legislative purpose . . . .” (E.g., Kusior v. Silver (1960) 54 Cal.2d 603, 620 [ 7 Cal.Rptr. 129 , 354 P.2d 657 ].)
We pointed out many years ago that in ascertaining the will of the Legislature, “[t]he court turns first to the words themselves for the answer. It may also properly rely on extrinsic aids .... Primarily, however, the words, in arrangement that superimposes the purpose of the Legislature upon their dictionary meaning, stand in immobilized sentry, reminders that whether their arrangement was wisdom or lolly, it was wittingly undertaken and not to be disregarded. [11] . . . If the words of the statute are clear, the court should not add to or alter them to accomplish a purpose that does not appear on the face of the statute or from its legislative history. [Citations.] Certainly the court is not at liberty to seek hidden meanings not suggested by the statute or by the available extrinsic aids. [Citation.]” (People v. Knowles (1950) 35 Cal.2d 175, 182-183 [ 217 P.2d 1 ]; see also In re Miller (1947) 31 Cal.2d 191, 198-199 [ 187 P.2d 722 ]; Code Civ. Proc., § 1858.)
In giving effect to this canon of literal construction we must interpret statutes “according to the usual, ordinary import of the language employed in framing them.” (In re Alpine (1928) 203 Cal. 731, 737 [ 265 P. 947 , 58 A.L.R. 1500 ]; see also Merrill v. Department of Motor Vehicles (1969) 71 Cal.2d 907, 918 [ 80 Cal.Rptr. 89 , 458 P.2d 33 ]; Chavez v. Sargent (1959) 52 Cal.2d 162, 203 [ 339 P.2d 801 ].) The sweep of the statute should not be enlarged by introduction of language which the Legislature has overtly left out. (E.g., Keeler v. Superior Court (1970) 2 Cal.3d 619, 632 [ 87 Cal.Rptr. 481 , 470 P.2d 617 , 40 A.L.R.3d 420 ].)
I recognize, of course, that an enactment must be interpreted so as to harmonize its various parts, by considering the particular clause or section in the light of the statutory framework as a whole (Select Base Materials *275 v. Board of Equal., supra, 51 Cal.2d 640, 645 ; Stafford v. L.A. etc. Retirement Board (1954) 42 Cal.2d 795, 799 [ 270 P.2d 12 ]); but a special or particular provision qualifies the general, especially where the provisions are inconsistent and cannot be reconciled (People v. Western Air Lines, Inc. (1954) 42 Cal.2d 621, 637 [ 268 P.2d 723 ]; Rose v. State of California (1942) 19 Cal.2d 713, 723-724 [ 123 P.2d 505 ]; In re Marquez (1935) 3 Cal.2d 625 , 629 [ 45 P.2d 342 ]; Code Civ. Proc., § 1859) and where the particular provision is later in point of position (Hartford Acc. etc. Co. v. City of Tulare (1947) 30 Cal.2d 832, 835 [ 186 P.2d 121 ]).
Applying these general principles in construing the phrase “any project they intend to carry out,” I begin with the words themselves. Since no definitions are provided in the EQA, our first guide is the dictionary. Webster’s Third International Dictionary, Unabridged (1963) defines the noun “project” in pertinent part as “(1): a specific plan or design ... a scheme ... (3): a planned undertaking: [as] (a): a definitely formulated piece of research . . . (b) (1): an undertaking devised to effect the reclamation or improvement of a particular area of land” (at p. 1813). The verb “intend” is defined in relevant part thus: “(2) (a)(1): to have in mind as a design or purpose: ... (2) ... as an object to be gained or achieved” (id. at p. 1175). The verb “carry out” is defined thus: “(1): to put into execution (2): to bring to a successful issue (3): to continue to an end or stopping point.” (Id. at p. 344.)
Putting together these definitions, the statutory phrasing at issue takes on meaning: any undertaking, designed to be put into execution and successfully completed. Moreover, the pronoun “they” in the phrase “any project they intend to carry out” sharpens the significance of the words in the context of the case at bench. “They,” of course, refers back to “legislative bodies of all cities and counties” in the first sentence of section 21151, and to “[a]ll other local governmental agencies” in the second sentence. 2
In other words, under the first sentence of the section, legislative bodies of cities and counties which have an officially adopted conservation element of a general plan must make a finding that any undertaking they propose to put into execution which may have a significant effect on the environment “is in accord” with such conservation element. Under the second *276 sentence, all other local governmental agencies (i.e., cities and counties which do not have an officially adopted conservation element) 3 must make an environmental impact report on any undertaking they propose to put into execution which may have a significant effect on the environment.
The meaning of this language is plain and clear. Local agencies (i.e., cities and counties) must make an environmental finding (to use a shorthand expression) or an environmental impact report, as the case may be, in connection with any proposed project which the local "agency itself directly plans to put into effect or execute. To put it another way, such a finding or report is required only with respect to public works projects of local agencies (as described in Gov. Code, § 65401). Nowhere in section 21151 do we find any language to the effect that local agencies shall make such findings or reports with respect to private projects for which they may issue permits, licenses or other regulations. Certainly, if this had been the intention of the Legislature, it could have very easily expressed such intention in a few simple words, coordinated with the plain meaning of the words it had already employed.
This conclusion is buttressed by additional language in the second sentence of section 21151, to the effect that an impact report on “any project . . . which may have a significant effect on the environment” shall be submitted “as part of the report required by section 65402 of the Government Code.” Section 65402 is found in chapter 3 (“Local Planning") of title 7 (“Planning") of the Government Code. It provides in brief that neither a county nor a city shall acquire real property for public purposes nor construct a public building or structure without making a report to the local planning agency so that the latter may ascertain whether the scheme conforms to its general plan. Since section 21151 environmental impact reports , are to be incorporated in reports prepared pursuant to Government Code section 65402, it would make no sense for a section 21151 report to apply to a “project" beyond the scope of the Government Code section. Inasmuch as section 65402 applies only to public acquisition, development, or construction, so too must section 21151 apply only to public works projects, and not as well to private activity, carried out by a developer like International. A contrary result would lead to the admin *277 istrative illogic of a local planning agency processing reports on activities beyond its statutory purview.
In sum, I conclude that the environmental finding or impact report requirement of section 21151 is not applicable to private activity for which a governmental permit is necessary, as opposed to “projects” carried out by public entities. I reach this result merely by analysis of the plain meaning of the statutory words “any project they intend to carry out” in the context of the section in which they are found. (See People v. Knowles, supra, 35 Cal.2d 175, 182-183 ; In re Alpine, supra, 203 Cal. 731, 737 .)
The above analysis of the plain meaning of the words of section 21151 is supported by the Legislature’s placement of that section in the statutory scheme of the EQA as a whole. Section 21151 is located in chapter 4 of the EQA, which the Legislature has entitled “Local agencies.” Section 21151 is the only operative provision of the chapter—and of the entire act—setting forth the circumstances under which local agencies are required to adopt environmental findings or impact reports. Nowhere within chapter 4 is there mention of private activity or intent to regulate it. Similarly, chapter 3 of the act, labeled “State Agencies, Boards and Commissions," sets forth with almost identical wording requirements of environmental impact reports for projects that state agencies, boards, and commissions “propose to carry out which could have a significant effect on the environment of the state.” (§ 21100.) Section 21100, the operative provision affecting state agencies, again does not indicate any intent to regulate private activity, nor can such indication be found anywhere else within chapter 3. Chapter 2 merely states the short title of the act.
Only in chapter 1, which the Legislature has merely labeled “Policy,” is there any reference to “private interests,” “individuals,” or “corporations” (§ 21000, subds. (f) and (g)) or the general need to “regulate" their activities (§ 21000, subd. (g)). However, those lofty and imprecise references to private activity in chapter 1 pale in importance when compared with the fact of their omission in chapters 3 and 4. Since the latter chapters contain the only operative provisions of the act, their omission of any reference to private “projects” (e.g., for which a governmental permit is necessary) is significant.
Thus it is abundantly clear that the Legislature simply did not intend either section 21100 (environmental impact report on projects to be carried out by state agencies) or section 21151 (environmental impact report on projects to be carried out by local agencies) to apply to projects to be carried out by private persons or corporations. That clarity is apparent in the structure and framework of the EQA, the plain meaning of its opera *278 tive language, and a textual examination of the section at issue. The majority make no attempt to interpret those words by accepted rules of literal construction. Instead they draw lavishly from general findings and declarations of the Legislature (concerning maintenance of environmental quality (§ 21000) and the policy of the state in that respect (§ 21001)), refer to similar language in federal law, and trace the course of the EQA through the Legislature. In short, the majority, unable to discover in the words of section 21151 any intent to cover private projects, attempt to persuade us by the elaborate reasoning referred to above, that in some way private projects must be deemed to be included anyhow. I suggest that in this venture they were completely unsuccessful. Plainly private projects are not so included.
The majority initially stress other sections of the EQA to support enlargement of the obviously limited meaning of section 21151. Chief reliance is placed on sections 21000 and 21001, which are said to “expressly set forth" the intent of the Legislature. In particular the opinion quotes section 21000, subdivision (g). 4 This subdivision, together with subdivisions (e) and (f) of section 21000 and subdivisions (d) and (f) of section 21001, is employed to support the broad proposition that “the Legislature intended to include the permit-issuing process [for private projects] as a governmental activity for which an environmental impact report is required.” (Ante, at p. 257.)
Such an attempt to infuse these general expressions into section 21151 does not withstand scrutiny. Section 21151, setting forth requirements for environmental findings or impact reports, is the only section of the EQA with actual operative impact insofar as local agencies are concerned, as the parties herein recognize. It is found under a separate chapter 4, which has special reference to local agencies. It is the very last section of the act, separated by various intervening sections from the general “intent” provisions of sections 21000 and 21001. It constitutes a particular, special provision within the more general cast of the act as a whole.
However commendable the general declarations of state policy contained in sections 21000 and 21001, they exert no broadening influence on the clearly limited language of section 21151. They are impotent to make the clear words of that section say more than they actually do. Indeed, the broad declarations of sections 21000 and 21001 are properly harmonized with the particular operative provisions of sections 21100 (state projects) and 21151 (local governmental projects) by treating those particular *279 provisions as paramount to the general statements of the preliminary sections. (Code Civ. Proc., § 1859.)
My conclusion that section 21151 does not apply to private projects is supported rather than refuted by the legislative history of the act itself, as it passed from, initial introduction in the Assembly to final enactment. While the “general intent” provisions of sections 21000 and 21001 were retained virtually intact in the course of the legislative process, the operative provision of section 21151 was significantly amended.
When Assembly Bill 2045 was first introduced on April 2, 1970, by members of the Assembly’s Select Committee on Environmental Quality, the proposed section 21151 provided as follows: “All local governmental agencies shall conduct needed environmental impact studies and shall consider alternative methods for any program carried out by them which may have a significant effect on the quality of the environment.” (Italics added.)
By May 26, 1970, the proposed section 21151 had been almost entirely rewritten, after referral to the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources and Conservation. The bill was reintroduced and passed by the Assembly on July 17, 1970. At that time proposed section 21151 read as follows: “The legislative body of all cities and counties which have an officially adopted conservation element of a general plan shall make a finding that any program they intend to carry out, which may have a significant effect on the environment, is in accord with the conservation element of the general plan. Local governmental units without an officially adopted conservation element shall make environmental impact reports on any program they intend to carry out, which may have a significant effect on the quality of the environment. All other local governmental agencies shall make an environmental impact report on any program they intend to carry out which may have a significant effect on the environment and shall submit it to the appropriate local planning agency as a part of the report required by Section 65402 of the Government Code.” (Italics added.)
The bill was then sent to the Senate, where the Senate Committee on Government Organization amended section 21151 again by striking the first above reference to “program” and replacing it with the words “project or change in zoning,” and by striking the second reference to “program” and replacing it merely with the word “project.” 5
*280 On August 14, 1970, section 21151 was amended again. 6
Finally, and most significantly, section 21151 was again amended, by deleting entirely the above second sentence referring to the environmental effect of any “change in zoningThus on August 20, 1971, the section read as it was finally adopted and reads now: “The legislative bodies of all cities and counties which have an officially adopted conservation element of a general plan shall make a finding that any project they intend to carry out, which may have a significant effect on the environment, is in accord with the conservation element of the general plan. Tfie-legAl-a-tive■bodies-ofiall counties-whieh have-an-uffk-jaljy- adopted -conservation-element-vc»>ment---the--quafity-of-The--env-i-r-omnent- The legislative bodies of all counties which have an officially adopted conservation element of a general plan shall-make a finding that any change in zoning they intend to carry out, which may have a significant effect on the environment, is in accord with the conservation element of the general plan. All other local governmental agencies shall make an environmental impact report on any-pregr-am project they intend to carry out which may have a significant effect on the environment and shall submit it to the appropriate local planning agency as part of the report required by Section 65402 of the Government Code."
The EQA omits the federal reference to “continuing activities” as well as “projects.” This is one difference which is not significant in the instant context, since the distinction between “projects” and “continuing activities” would appear to be one of time duration, having nothing to do with the distinction between public and private activity at issue herein. Of course, the omission of “continuing activities” in the EQA may indeed he important in other cases.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9577260. Public record. Not legal advice.