December 14, 2017 | Category:
California,
CEQA,
Land Use,
News | Tags:
California,
california land use,
CEQA,
environmental group,
Housing,
land use,
Land Use LawIn 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,
lawsuitIn an unpublished decision filed November 6, 2017, the First district Court of Appeal upheld a County decision to approve a design review application for a market and grocery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 […]
Last month (October 2017), the Senate narrowly rejected a proposal from Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) that would have removed intrastate species from federal jurisdiction under the ESA. Current jurisprudence from the Supreme Court extends federal jurisdiction to intrastate endangered species via a very broad interpretation of the interstate commerce clause. The vote to amend the ESA […]
November 4, 2017 | Category:
California,
CEQA,
Endangered Species,
Land Use,
Lawsuit | Tags:
California,
california land use,
court case,
Endangered,
endangered species,
land use,
Land Use Law,
lawsuitThis 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,
CEQA,
court case,
environmental group,
Land Use Law,
lawsuitIn an unpublished decision filed on October 24, 2017, the Third District Court of Appeal upheld a trial court’s denial of a CEQA challenge to a freeway interchange and arterial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 27, 2017 | Category:
Endangered Species,
Land Use,
Lawsuit,
NEPA,
News | Tags:
BLM,
california land use,
court case,
Endangered,
endangered species,
environmental group,
land use,
Land Use Law,
mitchell chadwick llp,
NEPAThis week the BLM announced its plans to hold public hearings in November to allow for public comment regarding the agency’s decision to reopen 98 federal land use plans that were put in place to protect the greater sage grouse. Meanwhile, a watchdog group filed a federal lawsuit against the Interior Department, claiming the agency […]
October 26, 2017 | Category:
California,
Endangered Species,
Land Use,
Lawsuit,
NEPA,
News | Tags:
BLM,
california land use,
court case,
endangered species,
environmental group,
EPA,
land use,
Land Use Law,
lawsuitOn October 16, 2017, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt issued an administrative order with the goal of ensuring that the Environmental Protection Agency is transparent when settling lawsuits – particularly those filed by environmental groups seeking to regulate through litigation. A press release accompanying the administrative order explains that the EPA has long been sued by […]
October 15, 2017 | Category:
California,
CEQA,
Land Use,
Lawsuit,
News | Tags:
California,
california land use,
CEQA,
environmental group,
land use,
Land Use Law,
mitchell chadwick llpIn 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 […]
Earlier this week, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced that he will sign a proposed administrative rule that will withdraw from the Clean Power Plan, a set of administrative regulations targeting coal and natural-gas power plant emissions. A longtime target of President Trump and Mr. Pruitt in his former capacity as Oklahoma Attorney General, the Clean […]
September 25, 2017 | Category:
California,
CEQA,
Land Use,
Lawsuit | Tags:
appeal,
California,
california land use,
CEQA,
court case,
environmental group,
land use,
Land Use Law,
lawsuit,
mitchell chadwick,
mitchell chadwick llpThe First District Court of Appeal recently upheld the City of South San Francisco’s decision to approve a CUP for converting office buildings to a medical clinic via a CEQA categorical exemption. (Respect Life South San Francisco v. City of South San Francisco (2017) Case No. A145992.) The proposed conversion included only minor physical changes […]
