February 26, 2018 | Category:
California,
CEQA,
Land Use,
Lawsuit,
News | Tags:
california land use,
CEQA,
concrete,
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Land Use Law
Proposed Assembly Bill (“AB”) 1905 by Assemblyman Tim Grayson aims to make it harder for lawsuits filed under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) to stop construction of roads and public transit. This legislation is specifically aimed at the road or transit projects that are included in state-approved regional growth plans. These projects have already […]
Do you want to shock someone today? Show them this new report from the California Association of Realtors on housing affordability in California and the Bay Area for the fourth quarter of last year. According to the report, a household in San Francisco needs to make a minimum income of just more than $303,000 a […]
The California State Legislature began its efforts on housing reform early in 2018, with the release of SB 827 (Weiner) on January 3. This follows the approval of several housing reform bills in 2017. These bills focus on streamlining permitting, enforcing regional housing production benchmarks, and preventing municipalities from down-zoning parcels or rejecting by-right projects. […]
January 15, 2018 | Category:
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Land Use,
Lawsuit,
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California,
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lawsuit
In an unpublished opinion filed January 4, 2018, the Fifth District Court of Appeal rejected challenges to a general plan update prepared by the City of Visalia. Plaintiffs in the case argued that the EIR prepared by the City failed to adequately address urban decay impacts. In particular, plaintiffs argued that the 40,000 square foot […]
January 8, 2018 | Category:
Air Quality,
California,
CEQA,
Land Use,
Lawsuit,
News | Tags:
Air Quality,
appeal,
california land use,
CEQA,
court case,
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Greenhouse Gas,
land use,
Land Use Law,
lawsuit
In a case certified for partial publication, the Second District Court of Appeal addressed the Public Resources Code section 21168.9 mandate that a court’s order overturning the CEQA decision of a public agency shall be limited to the scope necessary to bring the agency’s decision into compliance with CEQA. The case, Center for Biological Diversity […]
December 14, 2017 | Category:
California,
CEQA,
Land Use,
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California,
california land use,
CEQA,
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Housing,
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Land Use Law
In its latest update to the Housing Opportunity Index (“Index”), the National Association of Home Builders identified Los Angeles to be the most expensive housing market in the nation, overtaking San Francisco, who had held the dubious number ranking for nearly five years. According to the NAHB, just 9% of the homes sold in Los […]
November 10, 2017 | Category:
California,
CEQA,
Land Use,
Lawsuit | Tags:
appeal,
california land use,
CEQA,
court case,
land use,
Land Use Law,
lawsuit
In an unpublished decision filed November 6, 2017, the First district Court of Appeal upheld a County decision to approve a design review application for a market and grocery store renovation project. (Case No. A150043) The petitioner appealed from a trial court decision, which found application of the CEQA exemption proper. Marin County first issued […]
November 4, 2017 | Category:
California,
CEQA,
Endangered Species,
Land Use,
Lawsuit | Tags:
California,
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Endangered,
endangered species,
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Land Use Law,
lawsuit
This week a group of property owners and developers filed suit against the U.S. Department of Interior, alleging that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) violated federal procedure rules when it repeatedly found that the coastal California gnatcatcher is protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Filed in a D.C. federal court by the […]
October 31, 2017 | Category:
Air Quality,
California,
CEQA,
Land Use,
Lawsuit,
News,
Noise | Tags:
california land use,
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lawsuit
In an unpublished decision filed on October 24, 2017, the Third District Court of Appeal upheld a trial court’s denial of a CEQA challenge to a freeway interchange and arterial roadway project. The case, Eureka Village Homeowners Association v. City of Rancho Cordova (C082276) considers whether the EIR prepared by the city analyzed a reasonable […]
October 15, 2017 | Category:
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Land Use,
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California,
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mitchell chadwick llp
In Pesticide Action Network North America v. California Department of Pesticide Regulation (September 19, 2017) Case No. A145632, the First District Court of appeal considered whether the Department of Pesticide Regulation met its CEQA obligations under the Department’s certified regulatory program. Documents prepared pursuant to the regulatory program serve as the functional equivalent of CEQA […]