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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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May 6, 2021

SB 35 Streamlining Upheld Against “Home Rule” Challenge

Senate Bill 35 (Government Code section 65913.4) was enacted in 2017 as part of an effort by the State Legislature to increase housing production. The law compels local agencies, including charter cities, to issue streamlined approvals for qualifying multifamily residential projects, even, at times, where a project conflicts with a local ordinance.

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May 3, 2021 Takings California Coastal Act Environmental and Land Use Litigation

Plaintiff Not Required to Submit Multiple Development Applications Before Bringing Takings Claim

Multiple applications for a development project are not required where the first permit denial makes clear that no development of the property would be allowed under any circumstance. Felkay v. City of Santa Barbara, No.

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April 14, 2021 California Coastal Act

Appellate Courts to Malibu Homeowners: “Defy the Coastal Commission at Your Peril”

Three months ago, the Fourth District Court of Appeal upheld a Coastal Commission fine of $1 million on homeowners who performed major reconstruction on their Malibu home without obtaining coastal permits and refused to halt construction after notification of the violation by Commission staff.

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April 13, 2021

City Policy Favoring Purchasers of Expensive Taxi Medallions Passed Constitutional Muster

A City municipal transit agency did not violate equal protection, substantive due process or state anti-age discrimination laws when it disfavored some taxi cab medallion holders from accessing lucrative airport pickups because, among other things, the law was rationally related to legitimate government interests. San Francisco Taxi Coal. v. City & Cty.

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April 2, 2021

Court In CEQA Case Applies the Deferential Standard in the Planning and Zoning Law When Determining Whether the Project Is Inconsistent with the Applicable General Plan

Petitioner could not avoid the deferential standard of review under the Planning and Zoning Law regarding an agency's interpretation of its own general plan by framing the challenge as an "inconsistency" between the project and the general plan that required further analysis in the EIR pursuant to the CEQA Guidelines. Stop Syar Expansion v County of Napa, 63 Cal. App.

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March 31, 2021

Suit Challenging Water District’s Ad Valorem Property Tax Was Time-Barred Under the Validation Statutes

A challenge to a water district's increase in its ad valorem property tax was untimely under the 60-day statute of limitations in the validation statutes. Coachella Valley Water District v.

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March 27, 2021

Conviction for Violation of Clean Water Act Required Knowing Discharge "Into Water"

The Ninth Circuit reversed a conviction for three counts of violations under the Clean Water Act because the district court failed to instruct the jury that the defendant needed to knowingly discharge material "into water" to convict. United States v.

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March 17, 2021

Agreement to Indemnify LAFCO Against Claims Arising from Annexation Decision Was Unenforceable as Lacking Consideration

The Court of Appeal held that an agreement obligating a developer and city to indemnify LAFCO against claims arising from its annexation decision lacked consideration because the agreement simply required LAFCO to do what it was already obligated to do by statute.

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March 17, 2021

Local Governments Lacked Authority to Impose Fees on Property Owners for Trash Receptacles at Public Transit Stops Adjacent to Their Properties

The state was required to reimburse municipalities for the cost of state-mandated trash receptacles at transit stops because local governments lacked authority under Proposition 218 to impose fees either on transit agencies or on owners of adjacent property to recover such costs.

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March 16, 2021 Initiatives and Referenda

Another Court Rules That Special Taxes Proposed By A Citizen-Sponsored Initiative May Be Enacted With A Simple Majority Vote

Another court of appeal has held that local special taxes adopted by a citizen-sponsored initiative do not require two-thirds voter approval. Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association v.

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March 12, 2021

Case Properly Dismissed for Failure to Join Real Party in Interest Even Though Agency Did Not Provide Plaintiff with Corrected Notice of Determination

The court of appeal affirmed the trial court judgment dismissing the plaintiff's CEQA action on grounds that the plaintiff failed to join an indispensable real party in interest within thirty days after the city filed a revised notice of determination to correct an earlier notice of determination which misidentified the project applicant -- even though the plaintiff was not notified the noti

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March 12, 2021

Claim Regarding Validity of 1974 Subdivision Map Barred Under Laches Doctrine

The Court of Appeal held that a landowner's petition for "exclusion" under the Subdivision Map Act seeking orders declaring a parcel map void and restoring the historical lot lines was barred under the doctrine of laches. Decea v. City. of Ventura, 59 Cal. App. 5th 1097 (2021). Decea bought a house in the Lake Sherwood community of Ventura County in 2007.

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March 8, 2021

Court of Appeal Upholds Water Boards' Analysis of Economic Considerations Regarding Los Angeles County MS4 Permit

A regional water board is not required to estimate the compliance costs for individual permittees before issuing a permit. City of Duarte v. State Water Resources Control Board, 60 Cal. App.

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February 22, 2021

Lease of City Property Did Not Subject Nonprofit to Liability Under 42 U.S.C. section 1983

The Ninth Circuit held that a private nonprofit club that leased city property was not a state actor that could be held liable for constitutional claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

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February 17, 2021

Failure to Exhaust Administrative Remedies by Appealing a CEQA Determination as Provided by Agency Regulations Precludes Later CEQA Suit

Plaintiffs failed to exhaust administrative remedies because they did not appeal the challenged CEQA decision by the Historic Preservation Commission to the Board of Supervisors. Schmid v. City and County of San Francisco, 60 Cal. App.