To address the housing crisis in California, Senate Bill 684 (SB 684), passed in 2023 but effective as of July 1, 2024, aims to simplify the approval process for small-scale for-sale housing projects, facilitate a quicker...more
According to the Public Policy Institute of California, a non-profit, non-partisan think tank, California is facing a jaw-dropping 3.5 million unit housing deficient for the current population. This despite several...more
In it’s recent decision in United Neighborhoods for Los Angeles v. City of Los Angeles (2023) ___ Cal.App.5th ___, the Second District Court of Appeal affirmed a judgment voiding the City of Los Angeles’s reliance on the CEQA...more
In an effort to address the ongoing California housing crisis and exorbitant development costs, the 2022 Legislative Season saw the introduction of approximately 40 housing-related bills, resulting in the passage of various...more
In Save the Hill Group v. City of Livermore et al., the First District Court of Appeal (Div. 5) reversed and remanded the superior court’s decision to uphold the reissued final environmental impact report (RFEIR) for a...more
In March, the Southern California Association of Governments (“SCAG”) will adopt final Regional Housing Needs Assessment (“RHNA”) allocations for cities and counties within the SCAG region. This 6th RHNA cycle represents the...more
Recent Cases - Land Use and Entitlements
The Second District Court of Appeal rejected a California Environmental Quality Act challenge to a mitigated negative declaration for a 24-room boutique hotel (the “Project”) in...more
In Sierra Club v. County of Fresno (S219783), the California Supreme Court unanimously reaffirmed that the substantial evidence standard of review does not always apply when a lead agency prepares an environmental impact...more
2/26/2019
/ Air Quality Standards ,
CA Supreme Court ,
CEQA ,
De Novo Standard of Review ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Mitigation ,
Public Health ,
Real Estate Development ,
Sierra Club v County of Fresno ,
Substantial Evidence
The Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (“OPR”) has spent five years drafting a comprehensive update to 30 sections of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) Guidelines. The updated text (“Final Text”)...more
1/8/2019
/ Affordable Housing ,
CEQA ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Mitigation ,
Motor Vehicles ,
New Guidance ,
New Regulations ,
Office of Administrative Law ,
Office of Planning & Research (OPR) ,
Transportation Industry ,
Water Supplies
State lawmakers passed over 1,200 bills this year, the most in more than a decade according to sources. Governor Brown signed 1,016 into law as of September 30th. Below is a summary of the bills signed into law regulating the...more
10/5/2018
/ Affordable Housing ,
CEQA ,
Community Development ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Workers ,
General Contractors ,
Governor Brown ,
Homeless Issues ,
Housing Developers ,
HUD ,
Land Use Restrictions ,
New Legislation ,
Real Estate Development ,
State and Local Government ,
State Funding ,
Zoning Laws