California Land Use & Development Law Report
tree in grassy meadow

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.
Los Angeles
April 16, 2024 Environmental and Land Use Litigation

Belatedly Filed Amendment to Petition Challenging a Specific Plan Did Not Relate Back to Premature Challenge Filed Before Specific Plan Was Enacted

 Petitioner's challenge to a Specific Plan, which was filed before that plan was adopted, was barred as premature, and its belated attempt to amend its petition after the Specific Plan had been adopted was barred by the statute of limitations. View blog post
Land Development, birds eye view of open land
April 12, 2024 CEQA

Agricultural Conservation Easements Partially Mitigate the Loss of Agricultural Land

 After deciding in a prior appeal in the same case that offsite agricultural conservation easements (ACEs) were not effective at reducing a project's conversion of agricultural land, the Fifth Appellate District held that ACEs can mitigate such impacts. View blog post
Buildings Stores
April 10, 2024 CEQA

Completion of Project Did Not Moot CEQA Claims, and County’s Failure to Exercise Jurisdiction Could Provide a Basis for a CEQA Claim

 The completion of a shooting range redevelopment project did not moot CEQA claims regarding the project even though the plaintiff had not sought an injunction against development or operation of the project. View blog post
Los Angeles
March 19, 2024 Environmental and Land Use Litigation

Belatedly Filed Amendment to Petition Challenging a Specific Plan Did Not Relate Back to Premature Challenge Filed Before Specific Plan Was Enacted

Petitioner’s challenge to a Specific Plan, which was filed before that plan was adopted, was barred as premature, and its belated attempt to amend its petition after the Specific Plan had been adopted was barred by the statute of limitations. Fix the City, Inc. v. City of Los Angeles, 100 Cal. App. 5th 363 (2024).

 View blog post
Land Construction
February 29, 2024 CEQA

Court Overturns County’s Decision to Require an EIR For Lack of Substantial Evidence

 The County of San Diego planning staff found a project qualified for a CEQA exemption under Guideline 15183, which applies to projects consistent with a general plan for which an EIR had been prepared.  View blog post
Placeholder image
February 20, 2024 Real Estate

Implied Easement May Effectively Preclude Any Practical Use by the Owner of the Burdened Property

The Supreme Court of California held that implied easements may preclude most practical uses by the owner of the property subject to the easement if there is clear evidence of intent to create such an easement at the time of the property division. Romero v. Shih, 15 Cal. 5th 680 (2024).

 View blog post
Water Coastal
February 16, 2024 California Coastal Act

City’s Interpretation of its Ordinance Regarding Coastal Development Permit Requirement for Attached ADU Was Not Entitled to Deference

 The City of Malibu determined that an attached accessory dwelling unit (ADU) did not fall within the coastal development permit exemptions set forth in its local coastal program (LCP). View blog post
Real Estate and Housing Construction
January 28, 2024 CEQA

The First Project Approval Establishes the Appropriate Statute Of Limitations for CEQA Challenges, Even When the CEQA Document Is Later Re-Adopted

 A court of appeal held a CEQA challenge time-barred because it was not commenced within 30 days after a Notice of Determination (NOD) was filed for approval of a subdivision map based upon a Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND). View blog post
Gavel banging
November 28, 2023 Housing

Court Invalidates Ordinance Reducing Floor Area Ratio on Residential Lots

 The Housing Crisis Act of 2019, which enacted Government Code section 66300, generally precludes a city from reducing the intensity of land use on a parcel where housing is allowed below what was allowed on January 1, 2018. View blog post
Housing Real Estate
November 28, 2023 Housing

Housing Accountability Act Provision That Prohibits an Agency From Requiring a Rezoning When Zoning Is Inconsistent with the General Plan Inapplicable Where City Found Zoning Consistent

 A court rejected a developer's attempt to take advantage of provisions in the Housing Accountability Act that prohibit a City from requiring a rezoning when zoning is inconsistent with the General Plan.  View blog post
image of the road cutting through the forest
November 14, 2023 CEQA

Class 7 CEQA Exemption Requires Only a Showing of Protection of a Natural Resource, Not the Entire Environment, and a Potential For Environmental Impacts Does Not Prevent Use of a CEQA Exemption

 A court upheld an ordinance that restricted development standards in designated overlay zones to protect wildlife corridors, finding that it did not establish a "use" that would be subject to certain requirements of the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act (SMARA). View blog post
Housing Buildings
October 20, 2023 CEQA

Court Upholds EIR for UCSF Parnassus Expansion Against Wide-Ranging CEQA Claims

 The First District Court of Appeal has approved an EIR analyzing a proposed fifty percent increase in density at the Parnassus campus of the University of California, San Francisco. View blog post
Water Coastal
October 9, 2023 CEQA

Fair Argument Standard Did Not Apply to Claim Regarding Exception to CEQA's Historical Resources Categorical Exemption

 This case addressed both application of CEQA's categorical exemption for renovation of historical resources and application of an exception to the exemption that turned on the question whether the project complied with Secretary of Interior standards regarding renovation of historic structures. View blog post
Water Hydro Power
September 22, 2023 CEQA

Monterey Water Saga Continues: County’s Approval of Desalination Plant Upheld Against CEQA Challenges

 A court of appeal has upheld Monterey County's approvals for a desalination plant, rejecting challengers' claims that uncertainty regarding the availability of source water for the plant necessitated additional CEQA review. View blog post
Real Estate Sector image, view of commercial area with new construction
September 8, 2023 CEQA

Court Approves EIR’s Climate Change Analysis for Community Master Plan

 The Third District Court of Appeal has held that Sacramento County's environmental impact report for a master planned community complied with CEQA's requirements for analysis of greenhouse gas emissions. View blog post
© 2025 Perkins Coie LLP