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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. Subscribe 🡢

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Development Agreement, Not Vesting Tentative Map, Governed Whether New Fees Applied to Project

When a tract of land is governed by both a vesting tentative map and a subsequent development agreement and the terms of the two documents conflict, the development agreement controls.

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State Water Board Has Authority to Implement Temporary Emergency Regulations Curtailing Water Diversions Without Prior Evidentiary Hearing

The Third Appellate District held that the State Water Resources Control Board has the authority to issue temporary emergency regulations and curtailment orders which establish minimum flow requirements, regulate unreasonable use of water, and protect threatened fish species during drought conditions.

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Disparate-Impact Claims Under FHA and FEHA Must Demonstrate Causal Connection Between a City’s Approval of Development Projects and Racial Disparity in Housing

The court of appeal held that the City's approval of mixed-used development projects was not an "artificial, arbitrary, or unnecessary barrier[]" to fair housing necessary to support disparate-impact claims under the FHA and FEHA.

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Public Universities Must Comply With CEQA When Deciding to Increase Enrollment Beyond Levels Specified in Development Plan EIR

In Save Berkeley's Neighborhoods v.

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Agency Notice of Deadline for Filing Suit Was Defective

An administrative agency must provide the notice required under Code of Civil Procedure section 1094.6(f) specifying when its decision becomes final, and may not add potentially confusing information that undermines the statutory purpose of eliminating doubt as to when the statute of limitations to begins to run.

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Suit Challenging Interpretation of Tentative Map Conditions Was Not Time-Barred

Nicholas Honchariw's battles with the County of Stanislaus over his 9-lot subdivision have now resulted in a fourth published appellate decision.

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University Campus Was Not an Illusory Element of Project Under CEQA

The court of appeal found the EIR for a master planned community sufficient because it adequately described and analyzed impacts of the proposed project, which included a university, and was not required to consider the speculative possibility that the university would never be built.

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Judgment Against Prior Owners Fixed Tidelands Boundaries, Barring Plaintiffs’ Quiet Title and Inverse Condemnation Claims.

The court of appeal held that plaintiffs' inverse condemnation and damages claims based on dredging in the bay adjacent to their properties was barred under the doctrine of res judicata based on a 1931 judgment conclusively establishing that the property alleged to have been taken or damaged was not owned by plaintiffs.

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Brown Act Violation Did Not Require Nullification of Project Approval Where No Prejudice Was Shown

The City of Lafayette violated the Brown Act by not including a litigation threat discussed in closed session in the agenda packet made publicly available before the meeting, but plaintiffs failed to show any prejudice resulting from the violation. Fowler v. City of Lafayette, 46 Cal. App.

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EIR Improperly Deferred Formulation and Implementation of Mitigation Measures for New Oil and Gas Drilling

The Fifth District Court of Appeal found multiple defects in a Kern County EIR for a proposed ordinance streamlining the permitting process for new oil and gas wells. King and Gardiner Farms v.

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Suit for Breach of Development Agreement Should Be Treated as a Breach-of-Contract Action, Not an Administrative Law Proceeding

An action for breach of a statutory development agreement should be reviewed as a breach-of-contract case, not as an administrative law proceeding in which the court gives deference to the City's findings.

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Judicial Council Shortens Tolling Period for Statutes of Limitations

As we previously reported, on April 6, 2020, the California Judicial Council adopted an emergency rule suspending (or "tolling") the running of statutes of limitations on civil claims

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Reclassification of Land From Urban to Agricultural Did Not Result in Unconstitutional Regulatory Taking

The State of Hawaii Land Use Commission's reversion of 1,060 acres from a conditional urban land use classification to the prior agricultural use classification was not an unconstitutional taking because the landowner could still reap economic benefits from the property, the reclassification did not substantially affect the overall valuation or any potential sales, and the landowner should have an

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Agency Actions to Implement a Previously-Approved Project Are Not Subsequent Discretionary Approvals Requiring Supplemental Environmental Review

After a public agency approves a project, the agency's actions to implement the project—in this case, applying for and accepting a streambed alteration agreement from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife—are not subsequent discretionary approvals that require supplemental environmental review under CEQA.

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How Much Leeway Does a Lead Agency Have to Define an Appropriate Baseline for CEQA Review?

Several months ago, a court of appeal upheld a South Coast air district EIR for an oil refinery modernization project, concluding the district had discretion to use "near-peak" emissions, rather than average emissions, as the baseline for calculating the air pollution expected from the project. Communities for a Better Environment v.