The California Supreme Court ruled that water rates and other local utility charges are considered “taxes” for the purpose of California Constitution Article II, Section 9 and therefore exempt from the referendum process....more
The County of San Diego could not be held liable for damage caused by leakage from a privately-owned storm drain pipe on private property merely because water from public property drained through it. Ruiz v. County of San...more
Kern County’s ordinance banning marijuana dispensaries was validly reenacted because a “material change in circumstances” had occurred since the County previously repealed a similar ordinance in response to a referendum...more
As the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread, we are facing stressful and rapidly changing times trying to combat the pandemic—the president invoked the Stafford Act and declared a national emergency; Center for Disease...more
A court of appeal upheld the City of Madera’s interpretation of a municipal code provision requiring “a five-sevenths vote of the whole of the [City] Council” as mandating the approval of five councilmembers, rather than a...more
Effective January 20, 2020, eviction controls under the San Francisco Rent Stabilization and Arbitration Ordinance (Administrative Code Chapter 37) (the “Rent Ordinance”) apply to any residential units constructed after June...more
The First District Court of Appeal held that the San Francisco County Transportation Authority is a state agency and thus did not need to comply with local public access rules. SF Urban Forest Coalition v. City and County of...more
If a referendum petition includes the full text of the subject land use measure, documents referenced in such measure need not be attached to the petition unless they are attached to the measure or expressly incorporated into...more
The San Francisco Jobs Housing Linkage Fee (JHLF) is set to more than double under the “Housing for SF Workers” ordinance recently passed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors (Ordinance). Mayor London Breed refused to...more
Continuing a trend toward stricter application of the administrative exhaustion doctrine, an appellate court held that plaintiffs could not bring a takings claims against the Coastal Commission because they did not “present...more
Operators of an unlicensed an alcohol and drug treatment facility in violation of a city’s zoning ordinance could not avail themselves of the California Health and Safety Code’s section safe harbor provisions. City of Dana...more
A plaintiff challenging a city council’s interpretation of a local ballot measure was entitled to recover costs and attorney fees when successful on only one cause of action because the primary relief sought was granted....more
10/10/2019
/ Attorney's Fees ,
Ballot Measures ,
Cause of Action Accrual ,
Conditional Use Permit ,
Litigation Fees & Costs ,
Local Ordinance ,
Prevailing Party ,
Property Owners ,
Public Interest ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Repeal ,
Reversal ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Zoning Laws
Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law the Tenant Protection Act of 2019, AB 1482, (now California Civil Code Section 1946.2 and 1947.12), on October 8, 2019, joining only Oregon in enacting a statewide rent control law....more
10/9/2019
/ Eviction ,
Exemptions ,
Governor Newsom ,
Landlords ,
Local Ordinance ,
New Legislation ,
Rent Control ,
Rental Property ,
Residential Leases ,
Residential Real Estate Market ,
Tenants
The San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development released its much-awaited Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA) Program Rules on Monday, September 3, 2019. (The mayor signed COPA on May 3, 2019.)...more
A decision by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia issued on August 21, 2019, highlights the continuing confusion over the definition of “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act. The...more
A municipality’s approval of a permit amendment allowing a quarry to import asphalt for recycling improperly expanded the quarry’s nonconforming use, the First District Court of Appeal ruled in Point San Pedro Road Coalition...more
Effective June 2, 2019, San Francisco has enacted the “Community Opportunity to Purchase Act” or COPA (codified as San Francisco Administrative Code, Section 41.B.1 through Section 41.B.14).
Recognizing the housing crisis...more
5/31/2019
/ Affordable Housing ,
Housing Market ,
Low-Income Issues ,
Multi-Family Development ,
New Legislation ,
Nonprofits ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Right of First Refusal ,
San Francisco ,
State and Local Government ,
Urban Planning & Development
The court of appeal held that a challenge to a partially recirculated EIR of the County of Amador was barred by the doctrine of res judicata, which precludes relitigation by the same parties of issues previously adjudicated...more
The court of appeal held that a fire district’s resolution to dissolve the district was not a legislative act subject to voter referendum. Southcott v. Julian-Cuyamaca Fire Protection District, No. D074324 (4th Dist., Mar. 7,...more
An appellate court held that the City of Los Angeles’s procedure for approval or denial of development projects in Venice did not violate residents’ due process rights because the procedure was ministerial. Coalition to...more
A Summary of Published Appellate Opinions Under the California Environmental Quality Act -
The California Supreme Court issued its only CEQA opinion of 2018 at the end of the year. In Sierra Club v. County of Fresno, the...more
1/14/2019
/ Air Quality Standards ,
Appeals ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Building Permits ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Carbon Emissions ,
CEQA ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Excessive Noise ,
Exemptions ,
Final Judgment ,
General Plan ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Historic Preservation ,
Housing Developers ,
Mitigated Negative Declaration ,
Mixed-Use Zoning ,
Oil & Gas ,
Railroads ,
Railways ,
Real Estate Market ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Res Judicata ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Sierra Club v County of Fresno ,
Standard of Review ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Substantial Evidence Standard ,
Tenants ,
Traffic Impact Assessments ,
Trucking Industry ,
Urban Planning & Development
The Ninth Circuit held that the City of Carson’s mobile home rent control board’s decision not to factor in debt service increases in its adjustment of a rental rate for a mobile home park did not result in a regulatory...more
The Second District Court of Appeal upheld the City of Los Angeles’s General Plan amendment, which changed the land use designation of a proposed project site for a mixed-use development against challenges the decision was...more
The Third District Court of Appeal rejected a CEQA challenge to a county’s general plan update, holding that a county’s California Timberland Productivity Act finding that a residence or structure is necessary for timberland...more