CP&DR

George Brewster

May 1, 2000

CP&DR Staff, Q&A, Vol. 15 No. 05 May 2000

George B. Brewster has served as executive director of the California Center for Land Recycling since its founding in 1996. The nonprofit organization advocates sustainable community development and provides programs to facilitate redevelopment of brownfields, which are abandoned or underutilized sites hampered by real or perceived contamination. Brewster has an extensive background in real estate development, asset management and finance, and he serves on the Urban Land Institute's Infill Dev...

April 11 Municipal Election Results: Culver CIty Electorate Backs Redevelopment While Benecia Voters Support Green Spaces

May 1, 2000

CP&DR Staff, Vol. 15 No. 05 May 2000

Voters in Culver City rejected an initiative that would have blocked a downtown redevelopment project, while voters in Benicia overwhelmingly approved an open space protection measure during April 11 special elections. The split decisions on growth follow March 7 balloting, when three-quarters of slow-growth measures failed. In Culver City, which lies a few miles north of Los Angeles International Airport, Measure M received only 32.8% of the vote. The complex Save Our Schools Initiative would ...

Local Planners Resist OPR Mandate: Annual General Plan Progress Reports Are a Source of Contention

May 1, 2000

Featured Articles, Paul Shigley, Vol. 15 No. 05 May 2000

The Governor's Office of Planning and Research is insisting that cities and counties file annual general plan progress and implementation reports, but many local planners are questioning the mandate. Some planning directors do not want such reports to become political fodder because they have the potential to reflect badly on a local jurisdiction. Others say preparing an annual report is a bureaucratic exercise that takes time away from more worthwhile planning. The California County Planning Di...

Regional Malls, Big Boxes Flood Sacramento Retail Market

May 1, 2000

Economic Development, Paul Shigley, Vol. 15 No. 05 May 2000

There is no doubt that the Sacramento metropolitan area is awash in retail shopping development, but whether or not the region is facing an excess of retail stores is subject to debate. The question arises while a 1.1-million-square-foot regional mall prepares to open in Roseville this summer, and regional malls of similar size are proposed in Folsom and Elk Grove. Plus, the City of Sacramento continues to consider large-scale downtown retail development. In three recent studies performed fo...

Garbage Company Loses Case Because It Lacks Legal Standing

May 1, 2000

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 15 No. 05 May 2000

A garbage company does not have legal standing to file a lawsuit regarding the environmental review of a competing company's landfill plans, the Third District Court of Appeal has ruled. The three-judge panel unanimously voted to dismiss a suit filed by Waste Management of Alameda County. Waste Management argued that Alameda County should have required environmental impact report before allowing Browning-Ferris Industries to accept "designated wastes" because the county required Waste Manageme...

Department of Fish and Game Fees for Reviewing Documents Survives

May 1, 2000

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 15 No. 05 May 2000

The Department of Fish & Game's flat fees for reviewing documents under the California Environmental Quality Act do not constitute taxes even though the fees do not reflect the exact cost of the CEQA review in every case, the Third District Court of Appeal has ruled. In rejecting a Shasta County landowner's argument to the contrary, the Third District reaffirmed a longstanding principle of "takings" law that property-rights advocates have unsuccessfully sought to overturn: the courts should no...