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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June 13, 2016

Fish and Wildlife Service Reissues 30-Year Eagle Take Rule

 As we previously reported, in August 2015, a U.S. District Court in San Francisco nullified the U.S. View blog post
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June 1, 2016

County Board May Not Take Actions That Implement Essential Feature of a Referended Ordinance

 When a referendum petition is presented against an ordinance and the board of supervisors decides to "entirely repeal the ordinance" rather than present it to the voters, the board must revoke the challenged ordinance in its entirety and may not take additional action that has the practical effect of implementing the essential feature of the ordinance. View blog post
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June 1, 2016

Wetlands Jurisdictional Determinations are Final Agency Actions Subject to Immediate Judicial Review

 The U.S. Supreme Court ruled yesterday that a wetlands jurisdictional determination by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under the Clean Water Act is a final agency action subject to judicial review.  Hawkes Co., Inc. v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 578 U.S. View blog post
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May 27, 2016

Court Blocks Implementation of Level 3 School Fees

 A Sacramento Superior Court judge has issued a temporary restraining order barring the State Allocation Board from formally notifying the California Senate and Assembly that state funds for new school facility construction are no longer available. View blog post
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May 26, 2016

State Allocation Board Approves Level 3 Fees -- CBIA Seeks Injunction

 In a move that could result in doubling developer fees overnight in more than 200 school districts, the State Allocation Board last night voted to formally notify the California Senate and Assembly that state funds for new school facility construction are no longer available. View blog post
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May 25, 2016

Ordinance Prohibiting Mobile Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Was Not a “Project” Under CEQA

 A California Court of Appeal has held that a city ordinance prohibiting mobile medical marijuana dispensaries within city boundaries did not constitute a "project" under the California Environmental Quality Act.  View blog post
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April 5, 2016

Wetland Jurisdictional Determinations: Reviewable or Not?

 Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of United States Army Corps of Engineers v. Hawkes Co. (Supreme Court Case No. 15-290), which poses the question of whether a determination by the Army Corps that a property contains "waters of the United States" under the Clean Water Act is a final agency action that may be challenged in court. View blog post
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April 4, 2016

Ninth Circuit Rules Navy Satisfied NEPA in Considering Potential Terrorist Threat to San Diego Facility

 The Ninth Circuit has rejected a claim, under the National Environmental Policy Act, that the Navy did not adequately consider the environmental consequences of a potential terrorist threat to the redevelopment of a military complex near downtown San Diego.  The opinion upheld the Navy's Environmental Assessment for the complex, which concluded that the project would not create the potential View blog post
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March 30, 2016

Inadvertent Disclosure of Documents Under the Public Records Act Does Not Waive the Attorney-Client Privilege

The California Supreme Court has resolved a significant split among California appellate courts regarding whether inadvertent disclosure of documents in response to a Public Records Act request results in waiver of the attorney-client privilege pursuant to section 6254.5 of the Act.

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February 29, 2016

Assessing traffic impacts under CEQA

 In enacting CEQA, the Legislature established a policy to "provide the people of this state with clean air and water, enjoyment of aesthetic, natural, scenic and historical environmental qualities, and freedom from excessive noise." The Legislature did not mention freedom from intersection congestion. View blog post
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February 1, 2016

Governor’s Office Moves One Step Closer to Eliminating Automobile Delay as a Significant CEQA Impact

 On January 20, 2016, the Governor's Office of Planning and Research released a revised draft of proposed new CEQA Guidelines to replace automobile congestion-based thresholds for evaluating transportation impacts with thresholds that emphasize proximity to transit and a reduction in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) on a per capita or per employee basis. SB 743, passed by the Legislature in 2013, requ View blog post
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January 13, 2016

Agency’s CEQA Analysis Must Consider the Project’s Long-Term Impacts

 The Third Appellate District's opinion in North Coast Rivers Alliance v. A.G. View blog post
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December 30, 2015 CEQA

CEQA YEAR IN REVIEW 2015

A Summary of Published Appellate Opinions Under the California Environmental Quality Act

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December 17, 2015

CEQA Requires An Analysis Of The Project’s Impacts On The Environment, Not The Environment’s Impacts On The Project; California Supreme Court Sets Clear Limits On CEQA's Reach

CEQA generally does not require that public agencies analyze the impact existing environmental conditions might have on a project's future users or residents, according to the California Supreme Court's decision in California Building Industry Association v Bay Area Air Quality Management District (S213478, December 17, 2015).

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December 17, 2015

Court Rebuffs CEQA Challenge to Subway Tunnel Under Beverly Hills High

 Beverly Hills and its school district have failed to persuade the court of appeal to block construction of a subway line beneath Beverly Hills High School. Beverly Hills Unified School District v. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, 241 Cal. App. 4th 627 (2015). View blog post
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