News & Analysis as of

California Zoning Laws

Allen Matkins

Sustainable Development and Land Use Update 7.26.24

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San Diego made ambitious changes this Tuesday to the city’s blueprint for future growth to help prepare the city for climate change, speed up revisions to neighborhood zoning plans, and try to reverse racial segregation....more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Big Streamlining for Small Subdivision Developers

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

Allen Matkins

Court of Appeal Upholds Transit-Oriented Development Surrounding Los Angeles’ Expo Line - 2024 Land Use, Environmental & Natural...

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California’s Second District Court of Appeal upheld the City of Los Angeles’s legislative actions related to the Metro Exposition Light Rail Transit Line (commonly known as the Expo Line) in a February 2024 ruling that...more

Allen Matkins

Evaluating Changes In Industrial Regulation: 2024 And Beyond - 2024 Land Use, Environmental & Natural Resources Update

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In recent years, the demand for industrial warehouse, distribution, and outdoor storage uses has surged. This robust demand, a response to the e-commerce boom and other market forces, has driven a critical need for logistics...more

Allen Matkins

Sustainable Development and Land Use Update 3.19.24

Allen Matkins on

The Los Angeles Superior Court issued a highly anticipated ruling on March 4, 2024, addressing a Builder’s Remedy project denial by the City of La Cañada Flintridge. The decision confirms (i) that a local jurisdiction cannot...more

Allen Matkins

Sustainable Development and Land Use Update 2.22.24

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The city of Berkeley will pay $4 million in connection with its mishandling of an application to build 260 housing units on the old Spenger's parking lot. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch fined Berkeley $2.6...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

2023 Year-in-Review CEQA Litigation

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

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Conditional Approval is Project Approval: Appellate Court Confirms CEQA Statute of Limitations Triggered by Tentative Map Approval...

Following California Supreme Court and its own case law precedent, the Second District, Division Five, has ruled in Guerrero et al. v. City of Los Angeles (Jan. 17, 2024) (Guerrero), certified for publication, that a CEQA...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Consider Appeal of Ninth Circuit Ruling that Sober Living Homes Do Not Have to Prove Each Resident...

Near the end of 2023, the United States Supreme Court declined to consider the City of Costa Mesa’s appeal of a January Ninth Circuit ruling in SoCal Recovery, LLC v. City of Costa Mesa (2023) 56 F.4th 802. The decision held...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

CEQA 2023 Legislative Update

The 2023 legislative cycle saw another mixed-bag of legislation dealing with CEQA “reform,” with a particular focus on streamlining affordable housing development. While many bills died during the process, a few key laws were...more

Buchalter

24 Legislative Update: 56 New Laws Targeting Housing Development Become Effective in California

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The California Legislature’s laser focus on addressing the state housing crisis did not subside during the 2023 legislative session. While legislators proposed over 150 housing bills, only a fraction of those bills were...more

Alston & Bird

Land Use Matters December 2023 - CEQA Appellate Decisions & Other Legal Developments

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City of Los Angeles - The Processes and Procedures Ordinance Becomes Operative January 22, 2024 - The city council adopted the Processes and Procedures Ordinance amending the Los Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC) to...more

Perkins Coie

Housing Accountability Act Provision That Prohibits an Agency From Requiring a Rezoning When Zoning Is Inconsistent with the...

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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

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck

Surplus Lands Act Amendments: Public Agencies Get Clarity, Flexibility & Private Developers Take Note

Recent Legislation Amending the Surplus Lands Act Provides Clarity and Additional Flexibility to Public Agencies - Recently, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 747 and Assembly Bill 480 into law to make common-sense...more

Allen Matkins

Sustainable Development and Land Use Update 9.08.23

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The California Coastal Commission approved a landmark settlement Wednesday with San Diego’s Paradise Point resort aimed at remedying years of Coastal Act violations that have long inhibited public access to the waterfront on...more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Circuits Apply 'California Payphone' Standard to Contrasting Wireless and Wireline Cases

Two recent decisions issued this summer by different United States Courts of Appeals interpreting Sections 253 and 332 of the Communications Act demonstrate the continuing uncertainty carriers face when challenging state and...more

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck

An Overview of Santa Barbara County’s Agricultural Enterprise Ordinance

The County of Santa Barbara’s proposed Agricultural Enterprise Ordinance would expand the range of activities on farms and ranches (all unincorporated lands zoned AG-II), and allow incidental food service at wine tasting...more

Allen Matkins

Sustainable Development and Land Use Update 8.10.23

Allen Matkins on

San Diego’s Planning Commission unanimously voted last Thursday against a key part of Mayor Todd Gloria’s housing plan that would have eliminated single-family zoning in much of the city. The commission voted to recommend the...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Commercial Cannabis Permit Program and Overlay District Statutorily Exempt Under CEQA Guideline Section 15183

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

Allen Matkins

Sustainable Development and Land Use Update - 5.22.23

Allen Matkins on

As we reported in our prior legal alert, these important new state housing laws will allow for the streamlined approval of qualifying housing development projects on properties where retail, office and/or parking are...more

Perkins Coie

33rd Annual Land Use & Development Law Briefing - 2023

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Land Use and Development Case Summaries 2023 Land Use and Development Law Briefing (Short Form) 1. Planning And Zoning - OLD EAST DAVIS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION V. CITY OF DAVIS 73 Cal. App. 5th 895 (2022) The court...more

Buchalter

Governor Newsom Signs Major Development Bills into Law

Buchalter on

On September 28, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law two of the most anticipated housing bills of this legislative session: AB 2011 and SB 6. Both bills have the potential to increase significantly the amount of land...more

Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass

San Francisco Election Results: Which Land Use-Related Ballot Propositions Passed?

In early June, we reported on the key land use-related ballot propositions San Francisco voters faced during the June 7, 2022 special election. Now that the dust has settled after the election, voters came very close to...more

Perkins Coie

Ban on Short-Term Rentals Required Coastal Commission Approval

Perkins Coie on

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

Perkins Coie

Action Challenging Restrictions on Short-Term Vacation Rentals Was Barred by 90-Day Statute of Limitations

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The Court of Appeal held that an action to set aside an ordinance restricting short-term vacation rentals on the ground of failure to obtain a Coastal Development Permit (CDP) was barred by the 90-day statute of limitations...more

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