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California Land Use & Development Law Report

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California Land Use & Development Law Report

California Land Use & Development Law Report offers insights into legal issues relating to development and use of land and federal, state and local permitting and approval processes.

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July 12, 2013

Tentative Map Life Extended Again for Two Years

Governor Jerry Brown has signed into law AB 116, which again extends the life of tentative maps by two years.  The move recognizes that, despite the rebounding housing market in many cities, many approved maps in California that are set to expire still cannot be processed because of persistent adverse economic conditions.  Unlike the three other statutory extensions enacted since 2008, View blog post
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July 8, 2013

Large Solar Energy Project Survives Williamson Act And CEQA Challenge

The Sixth District Court of Appeal has given a boost to utility-scale solar projects by rejecting the types of Williamson Act and CEQA challenges that are often brought against those projects.  Save Panoche Valley v.

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July 2, 2013

Judicial Review of Environmental Impact Reports: Is There Really A Need for CEQA Reform?

Every few years, with El Nino-like regularity, a wave of interest in CEQA reform sweeps through the business community, accompanied by pleas to the legislature to overhaul the statute.  In the end, few substantive changes are made.  This year is no exception. (See June 14th post).

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June 26, 2013

U.S. Supreme Court Holds That Monetary Exactions are Subject to Nexus and Rough Proportionality Requirements

In a 5-4 decision, the United States Supreme Court expanded the reach of the requirement that there be a "nexus" and "rough proportionality" between the impacts of a proposed development and governmental conditions imposed on the development.  Koontz v. St. View blog post
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June 14, 2013

CEQA and Land Use Bills -- An Update

SB 731 (Steinberg)  CEQA Modernization Act of 2013.  (Last amended May 24, 2013.  Passed to Assembly May 30, 2013
  • Aesthetic Impacts in Transit Priority Areas Not Significant.
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June 12, 2013

Under the Brown Act, a Planning Commission’s Adoption of a CEQA Document is a Distinct Item of Business that Must be Expressly Disclosed on the Agenda

The Ralph M.

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June 2, 2013

Legislature Winnows CEQA Bills

Out of 26 CEQA bills introduced early this year, eight have met the Legislature's May 31 deadline to move from the state Senate to the Assembly or vice versa, and therefore are still considered viable.  (For more details, and an update on these bills, see our June 14 post).  For the most part, these bills w

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May 6, 2013

California Cities and Counties Can “Just Say No” to Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

The California Supreme Court has unanimously upheld a local ban on medical marijuana dispensaries, holding the ban was not preempted by state statutes governing medical marijuana. The decision does not come as a surprise, given that state court of appeal decisions consistently have upheld local land use regulation of dispensaries. In City of Riverside v. View blog post
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April 30, 2013

D.C. Circuit Upholds Broad EPA Veto Power Over Wetlands Permits

Section 404 of the Clean Water Act grants the EPA "veto" power over fill permits issued by the Army Corps of Engineers.  On April 23, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. View blog post
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April 29, 2013

Federal Agencies Cannot Use Consent Decrees To Adopt Stricter Regulatory Requirements, According to Ninth Circuit

Can a district court "approve resolution of litigation involving a federal agency though a consent decree, which substantially and permanently amends regulations that the agency could only otherwise amend by complying with statutory required rulemaking procedures"? View blog post
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April 26, 2013

CEQA Modernization? Not really.

Steve Kostka, Julie Jones and Barbara Schussman The eagerly-awaited amendments to SB 731, the "CEQA Modernization Bill" have surfaced. The initial iteration of this bill was a placeholder which outlined topics that would be included in later amendments.   As amended on April 23, the bill addresses many of the issues presaged by the initial version, as well as various non-CEQA issues.&n View blog post
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April 25, 2013

Stadium Expansion Project Required EIR Based on Traffic and Parking Impacts

Perhaps reflecting a north-south division over the importance of a parking space, the Fourth District has held that impacts of a stadium project on parking, together with traffic, necessitated preparation of an EIR.  Taxpayers for Accountable School Bond Spending v. View blog post
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April 18, 2013

Fracking in California? Not so fast, says federal court

Friends and foes of fracking in California have, for the most part, fought their battles in the policy and legislative arenas.  But the federal district court in San Jose recently chimed in, striking down four oil and gas leases issued by the Bureau of Land Management for 2,700 acres of federal lands overlying the Monterey Shale Formation.  The court found that the Bureau violated the Na View blog post
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April 10, 2013

If J.R. Wants Your Property, He Can Take It, Even if You’re a Public Benefit Corporation.

In California, title to property owned by a public entity cannot be acquired through adverse possession.  The same is not true, however, of land owned by a public benefit corporation according to the court in Hagman v. Meher Mount. Corp, No.B239014 (2nd Dist., April 3, 2013) Larry Hagman (J.R. View blog post
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April 8, 2013

Water Pollution From Utility Poles Doesn't Violate Federal Pollution Control Laws, According to Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

Is rain water washing over utility poles and carrying wood preservatives into waterways the kind of pollution that violates the Clean Water Act or the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act?

No, according to a recent decision by the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals:

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