It seems like year-after-year, attempts are made to reform or repeal California’s rent control regulations, namely the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act (Civ. Code §§ 1954.50 et seq.) (Costa-Hawkins Act). 2024 has proven to be...more
4/24/2024
/ CA Supreme Court ,
California ,
Housing Market ,
Landlords ,
Leases ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Legislation ,
New Rules ,
Rent ,
Rental Property ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures ,
Tenants
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
Despite repeated attempts at reform by the Legislature, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) continues to be a minefield for those assigned with the herculean task of complying with the law’s myriad of directives....more
In late June, California’s Fourth District Court of Appeal upheld a Superior Court decision in Save Our Access v. City of San Diego, providing clarity for determining when a “later activity” is beyond the scope of an existing...more
On June 13, 2023, the Second Appellate District affirmed the City of Pomona’s use of a statutory exemption for its Commercial Cannabis Overlay Permit Program under California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines...more
7/13/2023
/ California ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
CEQA ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Local Ordinance ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
State and Local Government ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Zoning Laws
Last week, in California Restaurant Association v. City of Berkeley, the Ninth Circuit ruled the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) preempts local bans on the installation of natural gas infrastructure in new...more
Last week the Office of the Attorney General demonstrated the State of California’s unwillingness to cede its enforcement of state housing laws even in the face of defiance from local governments. On April 10, in People of...more
As of January 31st, the deadline for many Bay Area cities and counties to adopt legally compliant Housing Elements now has passed, and many jurisdictions remain without certifications from the California Department of Housing...more
2/2/2023
/ California ,
City Planning Departments ,
Construction Project ,
Entitlements ,
Land Developers ,
Local Ordinance ,
New Legislation ,
New Rules ,
Property Owners ,
State and Local Government ,
Urban Planning & Development
Acting in one fell swoop, on September 18, 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed 10 cannabis-related legislative bills into law. These bills, which touch on issues that run the gamut of the cannabis industry, are...more
9/21/2022
/ California ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Governor Newsom ,
Interstate Commerce ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
New Legislation ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures
For many in the cannabis industry, April 1, 2022 is seen as a day of reckoning following the July 2021 passage of Assembly Bill 141 and Senate Bill 160 (collectively, the Cannabis Trailer Bill)...more
4/12/2022
/ Agribusiness ,
California ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
CEQA ,
Compliance ,
Licensing Rules ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures
In Citizens’ Committee to Complete the Refuge et al. v. City of Newark et al., the First District Court of Appeal (Div. 4) found the California Environmental Quality Act did not require subsequent or supplemental...more
On September 16th, hot off the heels of surviving California’s latest recall effort, Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation aimed at addressing the statewide housing crisis – a critical topic leading up to last week’s...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
On April 23, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-54-20 (EO) which, in part, addresses an outstanding question related to the California Environmental Quality Act’s (CEQA) “public review”...more