How To Be A Project Advocate By Diffusing Adjacent Neighbor Tensions
As wildfires increase in frequency and severity, the construction industry is turning to advanced fire-resistant building techniques and materials to create “fire-hardened” homes that can withstand extreme heat, direct...more
A bid to bolster eviction protections for San Francisco’s oldest neighborhood businesses won key approval last Tuesday as city leaders contemplate a sweeping rezoning plan that stands to boost building height limits along...more
Welcome to Construction & Claims, a periodic digest of the headlines, statutory and regulatory changes and court cases involving construction news, claims, bid protests, contract administration and payment-related disputes....more
In the final part of the 2024 Housing New Law Guidance series from Best Best & Krieger LLP (BBK), we cover important new housing legislation related to fire safety, elections, post-entitlement phase permits, streamlined...more
On January 17, 1994, a 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck Northridge, California, resulting in thousands of casualties and approximately $60 billion in damages and economic loss. Hospitals within the impacted area suffered...more
In part two of the 2024 Housing New Law Guidance series we cover important new housing legislation related to CEQA, code enforcement, housing development, the Housing Crisis Act (HCA), housing element, infill infrastructure...more
In April 2023, we reported on the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s decision in California Restaurant Association (CRA) v. City of Berkeley striking down a Berkeley ordinance that prohibited natural gas piping in...more
2023 served up roughly the same number of published appellate CEQA cases as 2022 with a defense win percentage of over 80 percent, which has been the case in many, if not all, of the past ten years. A prominent theme of...more
The United States Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit (“Ninth Circuit”) addressed in a January 2nd Order and Amended Opinion (“Order”) a challenge to a Berkeley, California, building code provision that prohibited the installation...more
A court rejected a developer’s attempt to take advantage of provisions in the Housing Accountability Act that prohibit a City from requiring a rezoning when zoning is inconsistent with the General Plan. It upheld Los...more
Governor Gavin Newsom is releasing more than $300 million dollars in grants to fund housing and infrastructure development around transit hubs across the state. Funded by the Regional Early Action Planning (REAP 2.0) grants...more
The land use entitlement process in California is notoriously complicated, lengthy, and fraught with uncertainty. Less attention is paid to the process of receiving building permits, post-entitlement. Generally, this process...more
There are multiple proposed bills under consideration by the State Assembly and Senate that would affect new housing developments. The following is a summary of a few of the key bills, which is current as of the date of this...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (“Ninth Circuit”) addressed in an April 17th Opinion a challenge to a Berkeley, California, building code provision that prohibited the installation of natural gas...more
Below are summaries of the key California and Ninth Circuit land use and development law cases decided in 2021. 1. Planning and Zoning - CHEVRON v. COUNTY OF MONTEREY 70 Cal. App. 5th 153 (2021) - A county ordinance...more