Administrative Law › Commercial Real Estate

Massachusetts Smart Growth Zoning Reform Bill On Fast Track to Passage?

58 Legislators Pushing Comprehensive Zoning Reform Bill “Inclusionary Zoning” Provision May Expand Controversial 40B Law With “Smart Growth” advocates strongly behind them, a cadre of Beacon Hill lawmakers are pushing a...more

Charter Schools: Leasing a surplus building from the District of Columbia

The District of Columbia has a special program to lease surplus buildings to Charter Schools. Read Roberta Colton's article to find out the details. and best practices....more

Hoku Lele, LLC v. City and County of Honolulu

Opinion of the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals

The Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals, in a unanimous panel opinion authored by Judge Foley, held that a "zoning verification" by the Director of the City and County's Department of Planning and Permitting is not a "action...more

Approval of $1.375 million in EPA Fines Highlights Importance of Commercial Property Owners Complying with Environmental Reporting...

On January 3, 2013, the Environmental Appeals Board approved an administrative settlement that requires New Cingular Wireless PCS to pay a total of $1.375 million in fines and environmental projects for alleged violations of...more

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (the "Act") was enacted in 2005. The Act recognizes "the history of discrimination against persons with disabilities in Ontario" and has, as its primary purpose,...more

Governmental Actions That May Assist Insurance Recovery for Superstorm Sandy Claims [UPDATED]

Following the widespread destruction caused by “Superstorm Sandy,” the governors of New York and New Jersey declared states of emergency and issued numerous emergency executive orders and directives. Some of these orders have...more

Legislature Expands Definition of "Direct Cost" Relating to Reimbursement for Use of Civic Center Act Facilities

SB 1404 expands the scope of direct costs that school districts can recover for allowing Civic Center use of its facilities. The new legislation, which went into effect January 1, 2013, amends Education Code section 38134,...more

BuildSouth: Considering Construction Delivery Methods On Public Works

Originally Published In BUILDSouth, Winter 2013. Historically, in Alabama, the project delivery methods available for owners to de-sign and construct private projects have differed from those delivery methods available...more

Proposed “Homeless Person’s Bill Of Rights And Fairness Act” Will Have Huge Impact On Government And Business

California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act, Civil Code Section 51, generally provides that all persons within California are free and equal, regardless of their sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability,...more

Big Year For Published Eminent Domain Decisions

Originally Published in Daily Journal, January 15, 2013. As we look back on 2012, federal funds continued to make their way to local projects and shovels continued to break ground for infrastructure projects. This led to...more

California High Court Issues Important Ruling on Labor Speech Rights of Unions on Private Property

The California Supreme Court recently issued its decision in Ralphs Grocery Company v. United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 8. Although the ruling resolved a long-standing dispute between a supermarket owner and the...more

Court of Appeal Grants Petition for Rehearing in School District Parcel Tax Case

The court of appeal in Borikas v. Alameda Unified School District (--- Cal.Rptr.3d ----, Cal.App. 1 Dist., December 6, 2012; re-hearing granted January 7, 2013) held that the school district did not have the authority to...more

California Supreme Court Permits Picketing on Private Property

In a split decision, the California Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of two statutes that restrict state court injunctions against picketing by labor unions on private property. Ralphs Grocery Co. v. United Food...more

Legislative Update: SB 1404 Expands Scope Of Costs That A School District Can Charge for Civic Center Use of Facilities

KMTG is continuing our series reviewing new legislation. Unless noted otherwise, the new laws take effect January 1, 2013. Senate Bill 1404 amends Education Code section 38134, known as the Civic Center Act, which...more

OSHA Publishes Fact Sheet to Address Mold Cleanup of Buildings Damaged by Sandy

Due to the overwhelming damage to homes, businesses, and public facilities by Super Storm Sandy, cleanup is a priority for most victims of Sandy. With the federal and state governments joining in that effort, the...more

Virginia Supreme Court Opinion Affecting Local Government Law, January 10, 2013

Today, the Virginia Supreme Court issued one opinion affecting Virginia local government law. Congratulations to the County of Albemarle and the City of Charlottesville! The Local Government Attorneys of Virginia supplied an...more

Unions May Now Picket On Private Property In California

In a blow to retail businesses in California, the California Supreme Court has held that labor unions have the right to picket in front of privately owned store entrances. In Ralphs Grocery Company v. United Food and...more

New Liability Protection For Tenants On Brownfield Properties

In a December 2012 Guidance Memo, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced new enforcement principles intended to enhance protections for tenants on contaminated or previously contaminated “brownfield” properties....more

Eighteen Counties Will Send Out Revaluation Notices in 2013

Counties in North Carolina are required to revalue real property every eight years; however, some counties chose to do so in shorter intervals. According to the North Carolina Department of Revenue, eighteen counties are set...more

Cook County property owners can cut property tax bills by filing a protest in 2013

Each year, the Cook County Assessor reassesses one-third of the nearly 1.8 million parcels in Cook County. For 2013, the 13 townships located in the north and northwest sections of Cook County will be reassessed starting in...more

Summary Of HUD’s New Draft LEAN Loan Documents, December 21, 2012

On September 7, 2012, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) published new regulations for the Section 232 Healthcare Facility Insurance Program in the Federal Register. FHA had previously proposed new regulations and loan...more

Summary Of HUD’s LEAN 232 Program E-Mail Blast: Office Of Residential Care Facilities (ORCF), December 19, 2012

In an effort to summarize the highlights of the LEAN E-mail Blasts that we receive, and rarely have time to review in a timely fashion, we at Pepper are providing this quick synopsis of the latest LEAN update. Our aim is to...more

Eminent Domain Opinions Focus On 'Just Compensation'

Originally Published in Daily Journal, January 4, 2013 It has been quite a busy year for takings cases, and the state Court of Appeal provided one last published eminent domain opinion just before 2012 came to a close....more

New EPA Guidance Gives Long-Term Tenants Direct Access to the Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser Defense and Greater Protection from...

Newly issued guidance by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) suggests that prudent long-term tenants of commercial and industrial properties should conduct environmental due diligence before entering into a...more

Legal Alert: California Supreme Court Reverses Court Of Appeal; Declares State Labor Picketing Laws Constitutional In 6-1 Decision...

In a case that will significantly strengthen labor's hand regarding picketing activities in the state, the California Supreme Court reversed a Court of Appeals decision that had declared unconstitutional two state laws...more