(

a) In any action brought under this section, 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. (

b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the local agency shall 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 of Title of the California Code of Regulations. (

c) If as a result of the initial study described in subdivision (b), 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 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. (

d) The environmental assessment described in subdivision (

c) shall be deemed to be a part of the general plan and shall only be reviewable as provided in this article. (

e) 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.