CP&DR

Court Rejects Local Costal Plan: State Costal Act Prohibits Building on ESHA, Wetlands

May 1, 1999

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 14 No. 05 May 1999

The Coastal Act does not allow destruction of a designated environmentally sensitive habitat area simply because the destruction is mitigated off-site, the Fourth District Court of Appeals has ruled. The court also determined that residential development of wetlands and removing a pond to build a road were not permissible under the Coastal Act. The decision stems from the 25-year controversy over Bolsa Chica, a 1,588-acre area of wetlands and coastal mesas near Huntington Beach where developers have s...

Envirnomental Impact Report required for Mitigation Bank

May 1, 1999

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 14 No. 05 May 1999

The Metropolitan Water District must complete an environmental impact report before creating a mitigation bank that MWD and private developers would use to offset building on habitat for endangered species, the Fourth District Court of Appeals has ruled. The ruling reverses a trial court judge's decision that allowed plans for the multiple species reserve in western Riverside County to go forward with only a mitigated negative declaration. The appellate court backed San Bernardino Valley Audubon Socie...

Approval Process: Landowner Loses Subdivision for a Second Time

Apr 1, 1999

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 14 No. 04 Apr 1999

Completing the subdivision application process twice, and having the project rejected both times, does not qualify as an exhaustion of the administrative process, The First District Court of Appeal as ruled. In a case from the Town of Ross, a unanimous three-judge panel said a landowner's taking claim was not ripe because the landowner had not used up all administrative remedies. The court also said the "futility exception" was not available because the landowner had filed only two applications, both ...

Trustee Agencies Must Get Negative Declaration Notice

Apr 1, 1999

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 14 No. 04 Apr 1999

Failure of a county to send a copy of a mitigated negative declaration to the state Department of Fish & Game is a big enough oversight to require setting aside the mitigated negative declaration and a subsequent rezoning, the Third District Court of Appeal has ruled. In interpreting Public Resources Code §21005, the unanimous three-judge panel ruled that the lack of notice given to a trustee agency "deprived the county of information necessary to informed decision making and informed public participa.

Court Defines Environmental ‘Baseline': Conditions Allowed By CUP Serve As Starting Point

Apr 1, 1999

California Environmental Quality Act, CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Ventura County, Vol. 14 No. 04 Apr 1999

A county considering the environmental impact of a proposal to expand a mine may use full-capacity operation of the existing facility as the environmental "baseline" even if the facility is operating at less than full capacity, the Second District Court of Appeal has ruled.

Rent Control: Court Upholds City Board's Denial of Requested Increase

Apr 1, 1999

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 14 No. 04 Apr 1999

Carson's mobile home rent control board acted properly in granting a mobile home park owner a rent increase of only $58 per month rather than the $160-170 that the park owner requested, the Second District Court of Appeal has ruled. The court also ruled that the city's formula for granting rent increases is constitutional even though it is vague. The city board reduced the rent increase by determining that the mobile home park should amortize the cost of remediating contaminated wetlands over...

LAFCO: AG's Opinion Addresses Alternate Member's Role

Apr 1, 1999

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 14 No. 04 Apr 1999

Alternate members of a Local Agency Formation Commission, when not serving in the place of regular members, may participate in public hearings and deliberations, but they may not attend closed sessions, according to a state Attorney General's opinion. The opinion should lead to a standardization of practices for the 57 LAFCOs in California, said Mike Gotch, executive director of the California Association of Local Agency Formation Commissions. In fact, Gotch was the one who raised the issue of parti...

Design Review: City May Block Home Addition For Solely Aesthetic Reasons

Mar 1, 1999

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 14 No. 03 Mar 1999

The Del Mar City Council had enough evidence to deny a permit for a two-story home addition based on aesthetic grounds only, the Sixth District Court of Appeal has ruled. In so doing, the court reversed San Diego County Superior Court Judge Lisa Guy-Schall's decision to grant the homeowner a writ of mandate requiring the city to issue the permit. In overturning the trial judge, the appellate court found that Del Mar had not violated the landowner's civil rights under federal law. Significantl...

Defendant Entitled to Attorney's Fees Even if Case Dropped

Mar 1, 1999

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 14 No. 03 Mar 1999

The defendants in an alleged SLAPP suit are entitled to attorneys fees even if the plaintiffs drop the case before the SLAPP motion to strike is heard, the Second District Court of Appeal has ruled. The appellate panel overturned the ruling of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl, saying that Kuhl's ruling "constitutes a nullification of an important part of California's anti-SLAPP legislation" because it denies the defendants monetary relief and relieves the plaintiffs of punis...

Ordering Poolrooms Closed at 2 a.m. Violates Equal Protection

Mar 1, 1999

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 14 No. 03 Mar 1999

In a split decision, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has ruled that the City of Riverside's requirement that poolrooms be closed from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. is unconstitutional because it denies poolroom owners equal protection under the law. Noting that the ordinance dates back to 1909, Acting Presiding Justice Thomas Hollenhorst wrote for the majority: "Unfortunately, times are different today, and there are many establishments that cater to idleness and are open all night. The City...

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