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On June 27, 2024, the California First District Court of Appeal affirmed the denial of a writ petition challenging the City of Lafayette’s (City) determination that a 12-unit residential condominium building qualified for the...more
“It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.” Yogi Berra and Lenny Kravitz - In a unanimous opinion filed on June 6, 2024, the California Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the First District Court of Appeal in the controversial...more
The court of appeal held that a City Council resolution approving a development agreement that included policy decisions regarding development of a public park was a legislative act subject to referendum. Move Eden Housing v....more
Welcome to “CEQA News You Can Use,” a quarterly production of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP’s Natural Resources lawyers. This publication provides quick, useful bites of CEQA news, which we hope can be a resource to...more
A local organization appealed the denial of its challenge to the approval of an affordable housing project and disputed the trial court’s order requiring it to post a bond. The Court of Appeal rejected plaintiff’s contentions...more
Land Use and Development Case Summaries 2023 Land Use and Development Law Briefing (Short Form) 1. Planning And Zoning - OLD EAST DAVIS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION V. CITY OF DAVIS 73 Cal. App. 5th 895 (2022) The court...more
“We didn’t start the fire….” -Billy Joel - Wildfires are an unfortunate reality of life in California and have become of increasing concern over the past several years. Eight of the ten largest wildfires in the state since...more
In March of 2021, the City of Thousand Oaks posted an agenda for its regular City Council meeting in which it was stated that the City would consider awarding a new exclusive solid waste management franchise agreement. During...more
The court held that the County of Marin did not abdicate its duties under CEQA when it approved a specific project pursuant to a stipulated judgment. Tiburon Open Space Committee v. County of Marin, 78 Cal. App. 5th 700...more
Confirms Reduction in Parking Considered Social Impact Rather Than Environmental - The Second Appellate District Court of Appeal has upheld approval of a recreational improvements/ecological restoration project despite the...more
The enactment of special CEQA streamlining legislation for the Sacramento Kings arena nearly a decade ago created a model for a series of mega-project specific bills, all aimed at reducing the development uncertainty and the...more
In Alliance for Responsible Planning v. Taylor, the Third District Court of Appeal recently struck down a voter initiative requiring a developer to fund all cumulative traffic mitigation as a condition precedent to project...more
In Jan Dunning et al. v. Kevin K. Johnson, APLC et al., the Fourth District Court of Appeal held that a developer and property owner could pursue its claims against a neighbor and project opponent for malicious prosecution...more
In California Coastkeeper v. State Lands Commission, the Third District Court of Appeal upheld the State Lands Commission’s decision to prepare a supplemental environmental impact report (EIR) for a desalination plant in...more
CEQA Appellate Court Decision Analyzed by BB&K's Amanda Daams in PublicCEO - A large attorneys’ fees award under the private attorney general statute was recently affirmed by a California Appellate Court. The case,...more
Last year brought the legal profession many things that we never expected, like trials conducted by Zoom and virtual happy hours, just to name a few. But it also brought a handful of new CEQA and land use decisions that, like...more
Guidance Brings Heightened Scrutiny - The California Department of Transportation recently released “Interim Land Development and Intergovernmental Review (LDIGR) Caltrans Safety Review Practitioners Guidance.” It...more
On April 6, 2020, the Judicial Council of California (Council) adopted a court rule that tolled statutes of limitations for all civil causes of action until 90 days after the Governor declares that the state of emergency is...more
Judicial Council amends prior emergency rule to adjust land use litigation deadlines - Bullet Allen Matkins – May 29 - On May 29, 2020, the California Judicial Council amended its Emergency Rule 9 to provide fixed...more
This Fall, the California Coastal Commission (“Commission”) was handed down two significant victories, further cementing its authority and jurisdiction within California coastal zones. These cases demonstrate that, in certain...more
In an opinion originally filed on July 31, and belatedly ordered published on August 22, 2019, the Second District Court of Appeal (Division 3) affirmed a judgment granting a CEQA writ petition invalidating the final EIR and...more
Welcome to CEQA News You Can Use, a quarterly production of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP’s Natural Resources lawyers. This publication provides quick, useful bites of CEQA news, which we hope can be a resource to your...more
An EIR’s project description may identify alternative development schemes proposed for a single project, and the agency may approve a modified version of the project that incorporates elements of one of the alternatives...more
Background - A long time ago, in a legal galaxy far, far away, Emperor Reagan signed the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) into law. For many years, the “dark forces” that had wrought the adverse environmental...more
In Sacramentans for Fair Planning v. City of Sacramento (2019) ___ Cal.App. 5th ___, the Third District Court of Appeal upheld the City of Sacramento’s use of a sustainable communities environmental assessment (“SCEA”)...more