Sample Public Records

A single development project in California — a reservoir, a rail segment, a stadium, an offshore wind lease — produces records across federal, state, regional, and local agencies. Researchers, journalists, and residents rarely see them in one place.

Below are 20 real public records from five California and federal land-use matters, each touching multiple agencies. Every PDF is mirrored here for stability; the original source URL is also linked.

Sites Reservoir

Colusa & Glenn Counties, California

Proposed 1.5-million-acre-foot off-stream reservoir in the Sacramento Valley, jointly developed by the Sites Project Authority (a California JPA) with federal and state cooperators. NEPA/CEQA review was a joint federal/state process, with separate water-rights and streambed-alteration approvals.

DWR USBR (federal) State Water Resources Control Board CDFW
Agency Document Type Year
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (federal) Record of Decision ROD (NEPA) 2024
DWR + USBR (joint) Final EIR/EIS — Executive Summary EIR/EIS Vol 1 2023
California State Water Resources Control Board (Administrative Hearings Office) Notice of Public Hearing & Pre-Hearing Conference (Sites) Water-rights hearing notice 2024
California Department of Fish and Wildlife Master Lake & Streambed Alteration Agreement (COL-46998-R2) Section 1602 Master Agreement 2025

California High-Speed Rail — Bakersfield to Palmdale

Kern & Los Angeles Counties, California

80-mile alignment crossing the Tehachapi Mountains. The CA High-Speed Rail Authority is the CEQA lead and, under an FRA NEPA Assignment MOU, also acts as the federal NEPA lead. Cooperating/permitting agencies include FRA, STB, Caltrans, Kern County, and the City of Bakersfield.

CHSRA Federal Railroad Administration (federal) Caltrans Kern County
Agency Document Type Year
California High-Speed Rail Authority Final EIR/EIS — Vol 1, Chapter 10 (Distribution) EIR/EIS distribution list 2021
California High-Speed Rail Authority Draft EIR/EIS — Executive Summary EIR/EIS executive summary 2020
California High-Speed Rail Authority Final EIR/EIS — Vol 1, Section 3.12 (Socioeconomics & Communities) EIR/EIS technical chapter 2021
California High-Speed Rail Authority Draft EIR/EIS — Vol 1 Table of Contents EIR/EIS table of contents 2020

Newhall Ranch / FivePoint Valencia

Los Angeles County, California

21,000-acre master-planned community north of Santa Clarita, planned since the late 1990s. LA County Department of Regional Planning is the CEQA lead; subsequent approvals from CDFW (1602 streambed agreement), RWQCB-Los Angeles (waste discharge), and CA Coastal Commission consultation (downstream Santa Clara River effects) are documented in the EIR record. Subject of a 2015 California Supreme Court ruling on greenhouse-gas mitigation.

LA County Department of Regional Planning CA Coastal Commission RWQCB-Los Angeles CDFW
Agency Document Type Year
LA County Department of Regional Planning Newhall Ranch Specific Plan Specific plan 2003
LA County Department of Regional Planning Revised Draft EIR (March 1999) Revised Draft EIR 1999
LA County Department of Regional Planning Addendum to Final EIR EIR addendum 2005
LA County Department of Regional Planning Notice of Completion / Notice of Availability NOC/NOA 2024

Oakland Athletics — Howard Terminal Ballpark District

Port of Oakland, California

Proposed (and ultimately withdrawn) waterfront ballpark and mixed-use district at Howard Terminal. City of Oakland was CEQA lead under AB 734's expedited review. BCDC, DTSC, and the Port of Oakland submitted consultations and would have issued separate permits had the project advanced. The team relocated to Las Vegas in 2024.

City of Oakland Port of Oakland BCDC DTSC
Agency Document Type Year
Oakland City Planning Commission Planning Commission Staff Report (ER18-016) Staff report 2022
SF Bay Conservation & Development Commission BCDC Bay Plan Amendment 2-19 (Howard Terminal) — Item 9 Presentation Commission presentation 2024
City of Oakland (Planning & Building) Howard Terminal Information Report to Mayor & City Council Council information report 2021
City of Oakland & Oakland Athletics (filed with BCDC) Howard Terminal Exclusive Negotiation Term Sheet Term sheet 2021

Morro Bay Wind Energy Area

Outer Continental Shelf off San Luis Obispo County, California

First federal offshore wind lease auction on the U.S. west coast. BOEM is the federal lead; concurrence and consultation came from NOAA (essential fish habitat), the CA Coastal Commission (consistency determination), and the State Lands Commission. Three of the five 2022 lease blocks fall within the Morro Bay Call Area.

BOEM (federal) NOAA Fisheries (federal) CA Coastal Commission CA State Lands Commission
Agency Document Type Year
U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Final Environmental Assessment & FONSI Final EA & FONSI (NEPA) 2022
U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Finding of No Significant Impact FONSI (NEPA) 2022
U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Draft Environmental Assessment & Appendices Draft EA (NEPA) 2022
NOAA Fisheries NOAA Letter of Concurrence — Essential Fish Habitat EFH consultation concurrence 2022