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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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October 1, 2020

Logging Plan Not Categorically Excluded From Environmental Review Under NEPA

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a U.S. Forest Service plan for commercial logging of some 4,700 acres of fire-damaged Mendocino National Forest could not reasonably be interpreted as falling within a NEPA categorical exclusion for "road repair and maintenance." EPIC v Carlson, 968 F.3d 985 (9th Cir.

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September 30, 2020

BLM’s Lease of Lands in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve Using Programmatic-Level EIS Did Not Violate NEPA

The Ninth Circuit held that a 2012 Environmental Impact Statement that provided a programmatic-level analysis for management of lands in the Alaska National Petroleum Reserve could also be used as the site-specific analysis for oil and gas lease sales.

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September 23, 2020

Violation of Zoning Ordinance Limiting Medical Marijuana Cultivation Did Not Justify Seizure of Dispensary’s Medical Marijuana

The Sixth District Court of Appeal held that a medical marijuana dispensary could recover its marijuana plants seized by law enforcement, finding that violation of the ordinance did not render medical marijuana plants "contraband" per se and subject to seizure. Granny Purps, Inc.

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September 17, 2020

County’s Blanket Classification of All Well Permits As Ministerial Under CEQA Was Improper

Where a county ordinance allowed for exercise of discretion in some circumstances regarding issuance of well construction permits, such permits could not categorically be classified as ministerial and hence exempt from CEQA review.

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September 14, 2020

County May Abandon Public Easement Rights to Prevent Unauthorized Use of Road

The Third Appellate District determined that Placer County met relevant statutory requirements when it partially abandoned public easement rights in a road originally intended to be used only for emergency access and public transit vehicles that residents of the area had been using as an unauthorized short cut between two neighboring residential subdivisions.

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September 2, 2020 Takings

Condemned Property Not Used Within Ten Years Must Be Offered for Sale to Original Owner

The City of Los Angeles was required to offer to sell condemned property back to its original owner because the property had not been used and the City Council did not adopt a resolution reauthorizing the public use until 19 days past the 10-year statutory deadline. Rutgard v. City of Los Angeles, No. B297655 (2nd Dist., July 30, 2020).

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August 14, 2020

Municipal Water Rates are Protected from Referendum Challenges

The California Supreme Court ruled that water rates and other local utility charges are considered "taxes" for the purpose of California Constitution Article II, Section 9 and therefore exempt from the referendum process.

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August 6, 2020

Agencies Must Preserve Emails For CEQA Record of Proceedings

An agency's duty to preserve documents for inclusion in the record of proceedings under CEQA prevails over a local agency's document retention and destruction policies. Golden Door Properties v.

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July 30, 2020

EPA Failed to Evaluate Potential Adverse Impact of Pesticide on Monarch Butterfly

The Ninth Circuit held that the EPA violated the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) by failing to assess adverse effects of a pesticide — Enlist Duo —on monarch butterfly habitat.

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July 23, 2020

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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July 23, 2020

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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July 22, 2020

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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July 9, 2020

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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July 7, 2020

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. Alford v. County of Los Angeles, No. B293393 (2nd Dist., July 1, 2020).

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July 1, 2020

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.