CP&DR

Lake Tulloch Shores

Oct 1, 1998

Larry Sokoloff, Vol. 13 No. 10 Oct 1998

Lake Tulloch Shores is one of the few large lakes in California where homes can be built on the water's edge, even into the water. While it sounds like a vacation paradise, it's been a planning nightmare. Until recently, the Calaveras County lake was a place where EIRs weren't done and federal infill permits weren't required. The lake, which is located about an hour's drive east of Stockton, was created in the late 1950s behind a dam built by the San Joaquin and Oakdale Irrigation Districts. As ...

Santa Cruz Boardwalk Expansion Proposed

Oct 1, 1998

Economic development, Larry Sokoloff, Local Watch, Santa Cruz County, Vol. 13 No. 10 Oct 1998

Expansion plans for Santa Cruz's beach boardwalk amusement park have been on a roller coaster ride for months, with election results in November's city council races expected to offer a public referendum on the city council's recent decision to limit the huge plan.

Santa Barabara EIR Upheld: Need Not Be Acceptable to Applicant, Court Says

Oct 1, 1998

Larry Sokoloff, Legal Digest, Vol. 13 No. 10 Oct 1998

Santa Barbara County and its consultants had no duty to prepare an environmental impact report that was acceptable to a developer, an appellate court has ruled. A three-judge panel of the Second Appellate District, Division Six, unanimously turned down a challenge from the developer of Mission Oaks, a 3,877-acre residential project proposed near Buellton. The project called for 31 homes to be built on separate 100-acre parcels, with most of the land to remain in agricultural use for cattle grazi...

State Helps MWD, San Diego Make Deal

Sep 1, 1998

Environment Watch, Larry Sokoloff, Vol. 13 No. 09 Sep 1998

A deal permitting the San Diego County Water Authority to move forward with the purchase of 200,000 acre-feet of water per year from the Imperial Valley appears likely to move forward. On August 31, the last day of the session, the legislature appropriated $235 million in state funds to help the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California obtain additional water for itself- a necessary pre-condition that MWD had demanded for the San Diego deal to go through. The $235 million would be used mostl...

Citrus Heights Settles with Sacramento County

Sep 1, 1998

Larry Sokoloff, Local Watch, Vol. 13 No. 09 Sep 1998

A settlement has been reached in lawsuits between Sacramento County and the city of Citrus Heights over costs to be paid by the new city related to its incorporation. Citrus Heights incorporated in January 1997, and before incorporation had agreed to pay the county $5.6 million in installments for 25 years. That amount was the county's "profit" from taxes after paying for all services in the area during the period Citrus Heights was unincorporated. The new city was to pay a projected total of $14...

Battle Over Dam in Monterey

Aug 1, 1998

Environment Watch, Larry Sokoloff, Vol. 13 No. 08 Aug 1998

For twenty years, water planning on the Monterey Peninsula has been in a stalemate, as local voters have turned down proposals to increase the water supply in the region. Now, a bill moving through the legislature may finally bring resolution to the matter - or complicate things further. The bill, AB 1182, by Assemblyman Fred Keeley, D-Santa Cruz, would require a special election to choose between either building a dam on the Carmel River or moving forward with a plan developed by the Public Util...

Zoning: Registered 'Marks' Override Zoning Ordinances, Court Rules

Jul 1, 1998

Larry Sokoloff, Legal Digest, Vol. 13 No. 07 Jul 1998

In a case involving municipal zoning, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a city cannot enforce zoning regulations for signs if they require the alteration of a registered service mark. The court did rule, however, that a city can prevent a company from erecting an awning containing a service mark. The case arose in Tempe, Arizona, where Blockbuster Video and Video Update, two national chains, rented space in two separate shopping centers. All exterior signs in Tempe's shopping ...

Unocal Reaches Deal on Avila Beach

Jul 1, 1998

Environment Watch, Larry Sokoloff, Vol. 13 No. 07 Jul 1998

In a major victory for environmentalists, Unocal has agreed to a settlement that will clean up 400,000 gallons of petroleum contamination in Avila Beach, an unincorporated area south of San Luis Obispo. The June settlement is being called the largest Proposition 65 settlement in state history and is believed to be the first time a company has been forced to remove contamination and rebuild a community. "This is the biggest cleanup since Love Canal," said Richard Drury, legal director of th...

Election Activity Focuses on Bay Area; Only One Measure on Ballot in Southern California

Jul 1, 1998

Featured Articles, Larry Sokoloff, Vol. 13 No. 07 Jul 1998

The June 1998 election featured only eight land use and environmental measures throughout the state, the lowest since 1986 according to a CP&DR analysis of election returns. Seven of the eight measures were on the ballot in Northern California cities and counties. In the only Southern California ballot measure, voters in San Diego overwhelmingly approved a measure to finance a $216 million expansion of the city's convention center. That expansion had been fought by opponents of downtown redevelopment,...

El Dorado County Continues Growth Battles

Jul 1, 1998

Elections, Larry Sokoloff, Vol. 13 No. 07 Jul 1998

Development continues to be a contentious issue in El Dorado County in the Sierra foothills east of Sacramento. In the June primary, development interests were able to beat back a ballot initiative that would have reduced housing densities. However, a second candidate critical of the county's growth policies was elected to its Board of Supervisors, and a new ballot initiative to control growth may be headed for the November ballot. Voters turned down Measure A, which would have required public re...