New jurisdictional trap: subdivision act litigation service of process applies to CEQA litigation

It's been called a trap for the unwary. Now the trap is even bigger... In Friends of Riverside's Hills v. City of Riverside ,(Cal.App. 4 Dist.) , a case of first impression, an objector's petition for a writ of mandate challenging a city's approval of subdivision tract maps under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) was properly dismissed for noncompliance with the Subdivision Map Act (SMA) requirement of service of the summons within 90 days, even though the objector had met CEQA's requirements by providing notice of its intent to sue, and personally serving the city with a copy of its petition and a request to prepare the administrative record. Because the CEQA cause of action was a challenge to a decision concerning a subdivision, it was subject to the SMA service scheme as well as to CEQA.