County of Sacramento v. Superior Court

Opinion

ROBIE, J.

In this mandamus proceeding, we are called on to determine whether a request for a hearing in an action alleging noncompliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA; Pub. Resources Code, 1 § 21000 et seq.) must be made in a writing filed with the court to avoid dismissal under section 21167.4, subdivision (a) for failure to “request a hearing” within 90 days of the filing of the petition. Construing section 21167.4 as a whole, as we must, we conclude the answer to that question is “yes.”

Because petitioner here failed to file a written hearing request within the…