April 13, 2018 | Category:
California,
CEQA,
Land Use,
News | Tags:
California,
california land use,
CEQA,
Housing,
land use,
Land Use Law,
LegislationThe sponsor of California State Senate Bill 827, Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) amended the proposed bill ahead of its first legislative committee debate. SB 827 has potentially significant land use implications and was previously summarized on this blog. To recap, the bill is an aggressive attempt to address the housing shortfall in California by overriding […]
February 26, 2018 | Category:
California,
CEQA,
Land Use,
Lawsuit,
News | Tags:
california land use,
CEQA,
concrete,
environmental group,
land use,
Land Use LawProposed 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 […]
This week the Bureau of Reclamation announced that most customers would receive all of their contracted water supplies from the Central Valley Project (“CVP”). However, because of a dry winter in California, approximately 10 percent of customers have yet to even receive a supply estimate and large areas of farmland south and east of the […]
February 4, 2018 | Category:
Land Use,
Lawsuit,
News,
Water | Tags:
appeal,
court case,
environmental group,
EPA,
land use,
Land Use Law,
lawsuit,
Water,
Water Law,
Waters Of The U.S.On Thursday, the Ninth Circuit ruled that wastewater injections whose pollutions reach navigable U.S. waters via groundwater are subject to the Clean Water Act (“CWA”). Experts say this decision could drastically expand the scope of CWA liability and includes activities ranging from coal ash and pipeline spills to agricultural runoff. In coming to this decision, […]
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 16, 2018 | Category:
California,
Endangered Species,
Land Use,
Lawsuit,
NEPA,
News | Tags:
California,
california land use,
court case,
Endangered,
endangered species,
environmental group,
land use,
Land Use Law,
lawsuitOn Wednesday, a three-judge panel from the Ninth Circuit rejected environmentalists’ appeal to overturn a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) policy that allows the taking of one owl species to help recover another. Friends of Animals initially sued the USFWS over a 2014 plan to kill thousands of barred owls (on the left in […]
January 15, 2018 | Category:
California,
CEQA,
Land Use,
Lawsuit,
News | Tags:
California,
california land use,
CEQA,
court case,
environmental group,
land use,
Land Use Law,
lawsuitIn 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 9, 2018 | Category:
California,
Endangered Species,
Land Use,
Lawsuit,
News | Tags:
California,
california land use,
court case,
Endangered,
endangered species,
environmental group,
land use,
Land Use Law,
lawsuit Last week, California River Watch sued a group of vineyard developers for allegedly violating the Endangered Species Act (ESA), arguing that the group engaged in agricultural practices that harm the protected California Tiger Salamander (CTS). In 2014, a group of developers filed for and received permits to convert 9.8 acres of their property into […]
January 8, 2018 | Category:
Air Quality,
California,
CEQA,
Land Use,
Lawsuit,
News | Tags:
Air Quality,
appeal,
california land use,
CEQA,
court case,
environmental group,
Greenhouse Gas,
land use,
Land Use Law,
lawsuitIn 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 […]
January 3, 2018 | Category:
Endangered Species,
Land Use,
Oil and Gas | Tags:
BLM,
Endangered,
endangered species,
land use,
Land Use Law,
oil,
oil & gas,
oil and gas,
speciesLast week, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued an instruction memorandum (IM) revising an Obama-era policy that directed agency field offices to prioritize oil and natural gas leasing and drilling projects outside of the most sensitive greater sage grouse habitat. The IM now says that the BLM does not need to lease and develop […]
