CP&DR

Power Plant Opponents Already Had Day In Court, Panel Rules

Mar 1, 2003

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 18 No. 03 Mar 2003

Opponents of a proposed power plant in San Jose have lost an attempt to get their arguments heard in court. The Third District Court of Appeal ruled that project opponents could not bring a case in Superior Court because the California Supreme Court has exclusive jurisdiction to review power plant certification decisions by the state Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission. The fact that the Supreme Court rejected the opponents' lawsuit without reviewing the record did not matter, the Th

West Hollywood Apartment Building Owners Lose Rent Control Exemption

Mar 1, 2003

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 18 No. 03 Mar 2003

The owners of apartment buildings in the City of West Hollywood cannot avoid the city's rent control ordinance by relying on 1980s-era approvals to convert the buildings to condominiums, an appellate court has ruled.

Sludge Disposal Ordinance Exempted From CEQA Review

Mar 1, 2003

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 18 No. 03 Mar 2003

The owner of a business that spreads sludge from wastewater treatment plants on fields in Kings County has taken a beating in court over a lawsuit that claimed the county could not exempt an ordinance regulating sewage sludge disposal from environmental review. In upholding a decision by Kings County Superior Court Judge Peter Schultz, the Fifth District Court of Appeal ruled that Shaen Magan failed to present any evidence to support his claim that the ordinance was not categorically exempt from the Ca

City Not Allowed To Use Currrent Zoning In Setting Fair Market Value

Mar 1, 2003

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 18 No. 03 Mar 2003

The value of property being taken by eminent domain cannot be based on the property's zoning if the same entity that is taking the property also imposed the zoning, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has ruled.

News From Around California

Feb 1, 2003

CP&DR Staff, In Brief, Vol. 18 No. 02 Feb 2003

The status of the California Coastal Commission was everything but clear in January, following a December 30 appellate court ruling that the Commission's composition was unconstitutional. The court ruled that the authority of the Assembly speaker and Senate Rules Committee to appoint eight of twelve commissioners and remove them at will violated the separation of powers doctrine.

Caltrans Can Convert Bond-Funded Parkland To Highway, Court Rules

Feb 1, 2003

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 20 No. 02 Feb 2005

Caltrans did not need legislative approval to acquire parkland that San Diego County had purchased earlier with state park bond money, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has ruled. The court rejected the argument from park supporters that Caltrans could not convert the land to road use without approval of the state Legislature.

SD Base Redevelopment Avoids Voter-Approved Height Restriction

Feb 1, 2003

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 18 No. 02 Feb 2003

A voter-approved height limitation initiative does not apply to redeveloped land that was part of a military base, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has ruled.

Environmentalists, Agencies Split 2 Rulings On ESA Interpretation

Feb 1, 2003

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 18 No. 02 Feb 2003

Environmental advocates challenging federal agency interpretations of the Endangered Species Act were victorious in one case at the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but lost a second case. The late-2002 decisions both came on 2-1 rulings, and the decisions appeared in one aspect.

News In Brief From Around California

Jan 1, 2003

CP&DR Staff, In Brief, Vol. 18 No. 01 Jan 2003

A potential Southern California water crisis reached new heights in December when the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) Board of Directors rejected a plan to sell roughly 6% of its Colorado River water allotment to the San Diego County Water Agency.

State Wins Right To Review Federal Offshore Oil Drilling Leases

Jan 1, 2003

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 18 No. 01 Jan 2003

The California Coastal Commission has the authority to review an extension of offshore oil drilling leases that the federal government granted to oil companies, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.

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