CP&DR

Fair Housing Act: Hotel Owner Has Standing to Sue for Mentally Ill

Dec 1, 1998

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 13 No. 12 Dec 1998

The owner of a San Pedro hotel who intends to sell out to a nonprofit group has standing to file a Fair Housing Act lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles for allegedly interfering with the sale, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. In addition, the Ninth Circuit ruled that City Councilman Rudy Svornich - while immune from liability for his legislative actions - is not immune from a lawsuit alleging he retaliated against the hotel owners by allegedly initiating code enforcement inspec...

Shasta Lake Battles Over Fibergalss Plant

Dec 1, 1998

CP&DR Staff, Local Watch, Vol. 13 No. 12 Dec 1998

In a region where unemployment is double the state average and many available jobs are in the low-paying service and retail sectors, a $100 million factory would appear to be a godsend. But in Shasta County, a proposed fiberglass insulation factory has instead become a lightning rod. The two-year-old battle has split the community, with business and government leaders on one side and a mix of slow-growth advocates, physicians, and small business owners on the other. In October 1996, representatives ...

Locals Can Sue Feds: City, County Have Standing on Water Management Plan

Dec 1, 1998

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 13 No. 12 Dec 1998

Two local governments in Nevada have won the right to sue the federal government over alleged failure to prepare an environmental impact statement prior to implementing a water-rights acquisition plan in the Lahontan Valley. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Churchill County and the City of Fallon do have the standing to sue the Secretary of the Interior under the federal Administrative Procedures Act. The local governments claim the Interior Department should have prepared a...

Stirling Will Be Master Developer at George AFB

Nov 1, 1998

CP&DR Staff, Economic Development, Vol. 13 No. 11 Nov 1998

After years of contention, the airport redevelopment planned for the site of the former George Air Force Base in the High Desert of San Bernardino County may finally be getting off the ground. The former base was annexed by Victorville in 1994 and is now occupied by an airport. The Victorville City Council, which also serves as the Southern California International Airport Authority, received a redevelopment plan from Stirling Enterprises of Laguna Hills at their October 20 meeting. Afte...

Cities Must Pay Takings Judgments Even If Debt Limits are Exceeded

Nov 1, 1998

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 13 No. 11 Nov 1998

California's constitutional prohibition on excessive municipal debt doesn't apply in situations where cities must pay involuntary judgments such as inverse condemnation awards, the Fifth District Court of Appeal has ruled. Furthermore, the court suggested that a city may be legally obligated to increase taxes without a vote, as otherwise required under Proposition 13, in order to pay the judgment. The ruling came in a case by several farming companies against the City of Lindsay, in Tulare Co...

Natural Hazards: CIty Not Liable for Landslide Despite Violating Code

Nov 1, 1998

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 13 No. 11 Nov 1998

The City of Los Angeles should not be held liable for landslide-related damage to a property in the Pacific Palisades even though it violated municipal code requirements because the code sections had been repealed and the statutes of limitations had run out, the Second District Court of Appeal has ruled. The case involved a house owned by Paul Haggis that was damaged by a landslide triggered in the 1994 Northridge earthquake, and later condemned and demolished by the city. After the house wa...

Expenditures Not Needed to Create ‘Fundamental' Right

Nov 1, 1998

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 13 No. 11 Nov 1998

The revocation of a conditional use permit involves a fundamental vested right even if the landowner has not made a major financial investment in reliance of it, the Second District Court of Appeal. However, the Second District declined to remand the particular case back to the Superior Court, saying that there was no possibility of a reversal even though the trial judge had used the wrong standard of review. The case arose when the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission revoked the ...

NEPA: Presidio Golf Analysis Consistent with NEPA

Oct 1, 1998

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 13 No. 10 Oct 1998

The federal government's review of potential impacts of a new public clubhouse at the Presidio Golf Course was adequate under both federal environmental and historic preservation laws, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. The federal analysis had been challenged by the Presidio Golf Club, a century-old private golf club which owns an historic clubhouse adjacent to the Presidio. A predecessor to the Presidio Golf Club built the golf course on the grounds of the Presidio in 1895, as well a...

Federal Railroad Pre-Emption: Local Ordinances Don't Coveer Ancillary Construction

Oct 1, 1998

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 13 No. 10 Oct 1998

Federal law pre-empts state and local power to independently review the environmental impact and land-use consequences of construction projects dealing with railroads, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit ruled that the King County, the City of Auburn, and several other local governments in the State of Washington can't undertake their own environmental review of the federal Surface Transportation Board's decision to permit reopening of the S...

Judge's Decision Reversed in Watsonville Annexation Dispute

Oct 1, 1998

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 13 No. 10 Oct 1998

In the latest skirmish in a longrunning battle, an appellate court has overturned a trial judge's decision to strike down the City of Watsonville's decision to "pre-zone" and annex 216 acres of land in a disputed agricultural and coastal area west of Highway 1. If it is eventually published, the court ruling could be an important step in establishing the credibility of "tiered" environmental impact reports. The unpublished ruling by the Sixth District Court of Appeal in San Jose gives Watso...

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