CP&DR

LAFCO Approval of Giant Lathrop Annexation Upheld by Trial Court

Jan 1, 2001

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 16 No. 01 Jan 2001

A lawsuit that has already reached the state Supreme Court is again making its way up the legal ladder. In mid-December, San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Bob McNatt upheld the San Joaquin Local Agency Formation Commission's approval of the Califia project (formerly called Gold Rush City) in the City of Lathrop. Last year, the state Supreme Court allowed the case to go forward after McNatt and the Third District Court of Appeal ruled that project opponents did not exhaust their administrative re...

Orange County Wins Jail Lawsuit

Jan 1, 2001

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 16 No. 01 Jan 2001

The Fourth District Court of Appeal has upheld Orange County's environmental impact report for expansion of the James A. Musick jail. In an unpublished opinion, the court overturned a trial judge's ruling in a lawsuit brought by the City of Lake Forest. (City of Lake Forest v. County of Orange, G023884.) The county wants to expand the existing jail, which is bordered by Lake Forest, Irvine and El Toro, from 1,250 beds to nearly 8,000 beds. However, the county has indicated it would pursue a smaller faci...

State Supreme Court Accepts Case Based on SF Housing Conversion Law

Jan 1, 2001

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 16 No. 01 Jan 2001

The California Supreme Court has accepted a takings case that threatens the viability of San Francisco's Hotel Conversion Ordinance. The court has decided to hear San Remo Hotel v. City and County of San Francisco, C.A. 1st Div. 5, No. A083530 (see CP&DR Legal Digest, September 2000, October 2000). In an opinion published in two portions, the First District Court of Appeal ruled that the "heightened scrutiny" test applied to the hotel conversion ordinance, meaning there must be a close relationship ...

Land-Use Ballot Measure Results for November 2000

Dec 1, 2000

Ballot Measures , CP&DR Staff, Vol. 15 No. 12 Dec 2000

Land-use ballot measures for November 2000. Alameda County Voters approved the Sierra Club's urban growth boundary initiative drawing draw a tight urban limit line around Dublin, Pleasanton, Livermore, Sunol and Castro Valley. Voters rejected the competing Tri-Valley Vision 2010 measure, a less-restrictive UGB placed on the ballot by the Board of Supervisors. Measure D (Sierra Club initiative): Yes, 56.5% Measure C (Vision 2010 plan): No, 56.9% County voters approved a 20-year extension of a hal...

In Brief: Oregon, Colorado Voters Reject Growth Boundaries

Dec 1, 2000

CP&DR Staff, In Brief, Vol. 15 No. 12 Dec 2000

In Brief: Election results from Arizona, Colorado and Oregon; Stanford growth plan approved; Speaker appoints Commission on Regionalism; SCAG and HCD fight over housing allocations; Bolsa Chica development limited; Cisco announces Fremont building plans; Navy agrees to clean up Hunters Point; Kern County sludge ban upheld.

Land Exchanges: Court Overturns Desert Land Swap to Accommodate Imperial Landfill

Dec 1, 2000

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 15 No. 12 Dec 2000

A federal appellate court has overturned a land exchange between the Bureau of Land Management and a private company that hoped to develop a regional landfill in Imperial County. A unanimous three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said the BLM grossly underestimated the value of its land where the landfill was proposed. The BLM relied on an appraisal that said the "highest and best use" of the 1,745 acres in question was open space or mine waste storage. The appraisal did not...

Clean Water Act: Environmentalists Win Right to Sue Over Timber Company's Practices

Dec 1, 2000

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 15 No. 12 Dec 2000

Environmentalists were victorious in one of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' first interpretations of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the Clean Water Act. The Ninth Circuit held that two environmental organizations could sue a Northern California lumber company for alleged Clean Water Act violations because the supposed pollution harmed members' recreational use of a creek. In January, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that South Carolina citizens could sue the operator of a hazardo...

Court Rules Development Agreements Are Constitutional

Dec 1, 2000

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, San Luis Obispo County, Vol. 15 No. 12 Dec 2000

A development agreement between San Luis Obispo County and the developer of a subdivision and resort did not amount to an unconstitutional contracting away of the county's police power, the Second District Court of Appeal has ruled. The opinion validates development agreements as legitimate planning tools and appears to erase any lingering doubts about the constitutionality of the practice.

Inverse Condemnation: Court Reads Writing on L.A. Sign Ordinance Clearly; Upholds Permit

Dec 1, 2000

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 15 No. 12 Dec 2000

The Second District Court of Appeal has overturned a City of Los Angeles decision not to permit construction of a billboard, and the court indicated the city could be liable for revenue the would-be sign builder lost. The opinion by Justice Rueben Ortega strongly suggests that political pressure from the mayor's office influenced the city's Board of Building and Safety Commissioners. The board initially refused to revoke the billboard permit on appeal. After the mayor's office intervened, t...

Endangered Species: Sale of Kern County Oil Land Exempt from Species Law

Dec 1, 2000

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 15 No. 12 Dec 2000

The Department of Energy could sell 47,000 acres in an area with five endangered species to Occidental Petroleum without consulting the Fish & Wildlife Service, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal has ruled. The federal legislation authorizing the sale of land outside Bakersfield allowed the sale to go forward without an endangered species consultation, and without Occidental applying for a new "take" permit under the Endangered Species Act, the court held. National Petroleum Reserve –...

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