On-Demand Webinar | Charting a Course for Offshore Wind Energy in California
[WEBINAR] Planning in the Coastal Zone
A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team: San Francisco - Small and Mighty: How small businesses can reinvent downtown San Francisco (SPUR Policy Brief): SPUR’s research, drawn from a...more
The City of Malibu determined that an attached accessory dwelling unit (ADU) did not fall within the coastal development permit exemptions set forth in its local coastal program (LCP). The court overturned the City’s...more
The California Coastal Commission unanimously voted last Thursday to issue $4.7 million in fines to the Rio Del Mar Beach Island Homeowners Association. The violations, accruing since 1982, have to do with blocked beach...more
California recently enacted two laws—the Offshore Wind Expediting Act (SB 286) and the California Offshore Wind Advancement Act (AB 3)—to accelerate the development of offshore wind energy that could have significant...more
The Berkeley City Council opened the door to high-rise apartment buildings in the Southside neighborhood by signing off on new zoning regulations that could allow for thousands more homes at UC Berkeley’s doorstep....more
Managed retreat—the process of moving people and property away from the shoreline—is an unpopular but increasingly accepted response to rising sea-levels. In the inaugural issue of Nossaman’s California Water Views – 2023...more
It's no secret that the wealthy enclave of Coronado is flouting State housing laws. What's remarkable is that it is hoping the Coastal Commission will come to its rescue....more
In Pacific Palisades Residents Association, Inc. v. City of Los Angeles et al. (March 8, 2023, Case No. B306658) __ Cal.App.2d __, the Second District issued a strong opinion affirming the trial court’s ruling that a proposed...more
According to California’s projections, the miles of highways susceptible to coastal flooding in a 100-year storm event will triple from current levels to 370 miles by 2100, with over 3,750 miles exposed to temporary flooding....more
California’s first upcoming offshore wind lease sale, scheduled for December 6, 2022, is the next major step forward for clean energy in the Golden State. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the State of...more
On October 21, 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”) published a Final Sale Notice (“FSN”) for commercial leasing for wind power on California’s Outer Continental Shelf (“OCS”). Specifically, the FSN...more
Housing in California is a hot topic, particularly when the short-term rentals are thrown into the mix. Those opposed to short-term rentals often argue that it removes permanent housing stock from the market and that such...more
The Court of Appeal held that a writ petition asserting potential CEQA violations concerning the Campus Town project, a significant development project in Monterey County, was untimely because it was filed after the fixed end...more
The action marks the clearance of another significant hurdle toward BOEM’s offshore wind lease sales in federal waters offshore California, anticipated to occur this fall. In the first half of 2022, the Bureau of Ocean...more
On May 12, 2022, at the conclusion of a ten-hour hearing, the California Coastal Commission voted to deny Poseidon Water’s application to site and operate a desalination plant in Huntington Beach, in what could be a fatal...more
Southland air regulators threaten to sue EPA for failure to control federally-regulated emissions sources Bullet - Los Angeles Times - May 10 - The South Coast Air Quality Management District (District), which oversees a...more
The Court of Appeal held that absent a distinction between short- and long-term rentals, both are permitted under city zoning ordinances, and any ban on short-term rentals that changes the status quo is an amendment that...more
California attorney general subpoenas ExxonMobil, opens major investigation into plastic pollution - The Mercury News - April 28 - California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Thursday announced a major investigation into...more
In early April there were two major leaps forward in offshore wind development in California. On April 6, 2022, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), a bureau within the U.S. Interior Department, released a Draft...more
Legislature passes enrollment cap reprieve for UC Berkeley in CEQA dispute - Courthouse News Service – March 14 - State legislators voted Monday to amend the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to specify that...more
The California coast offers significant potential for offshore wind development that can help the state reach its renewable energy goals. Developers of wind energy projects located off the California coast will face a number...more
A California Court of Appeal held that the Coastal Commission and the Department of Housing and Community Development have concurrent jurisdiction over mobilehomes located in the coastal zone and that proper notice of a...more
In Linovitz Capo Shores LLC v. Calif. Coastal Commission (Linovitz Capo), California's Fourth District Court of Appeal applied and reconciled three different statutes. The first, the California Mobilehome Parks Act...more
In a landmark ruling last week, the California Court of Appeal held that park owners and residents in coastal manufactured housing communities must obtain permits from the California Coastal Commission (CCC), as well as from...more
On May 27, Nossaman’s Water Industry Group hosted a webinar to discuss the potential impacts of sea level rise on infrastructure and private property, as well as current legislation seeking to address the impacts of sea level...more