Navigating Environmental Restrictions on Alternative Project Delivery for Complex Infrastructure Projects
On-Demand Webinar | Charting a Course for Offshore Wind Energy in California
[WEBINAR] Update on the California Environmental Quality Act: What’s New for 2018
[WEBINAR] Building a Solar Energy Project in 2018
How Trump's Infrastructure Plan Impacts the Energy Industry
BB&K's Charity Schiller Discusses CEQA Baseline
A California court of appeal has held that a lead agency conducting environmental review, under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), of “vehicle miles traveled” (VMT) impacts may not unquestioningly use thresholds...more
Several modest amendments to CEQA took effect on Jan. 1, 2024. Our CEQA News You Can Use team summarized a few of changes to keep in mind in the new year....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 Sixth District Court of Appeal, in Santa Rita Union School District v. City of Salinas (2023), 94 Cal.App.5th 298, reversed the lower court, finding that the City of Salinas’ (“City”) final programmatic environmental...more
The 2023 California Legislative Session, which closed on September 14, was dominated yet again by efforts to address the state’s continued housing crisis. For the last several years, we have written about many bills enacted...more
In this alert, Brownstein outlines Gov. Gavin Newsom’s latest swing at the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and provides the updates (and potentially what to expect) regarding two new bills introduced by Sen. Scott...more
Noisy college students, the new CEQA impact? Would you be surprised to learn that college students can throw noisy parties? Uh, no, but it may be a surprise that they constitute a potentially significant environmental impact...more
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
CEQA Case Report: Understanding the Judicial Landscape for Development - Public agencies prevailed in 71% of CEQA cases analyzed. Latham & Watkins is pleased to present its fifth annual CEQA Case Report. Throughout...more
The California Legislature and Governor approved three key housing bills in 2021, to facilitate housing production in California. SB 8 (Senator Skinner) extends and expands the Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (SB 330). SB 9...more
In an opinion filed on December 16, 2021, and belatedly ordered published on January 13, 2022, the Fourth District Court of Appeal rejected a CEQA challenge to a small multifamily project in the City of Santa Cruz. Ocean...more
In a recently published decision and a case of first impression, the California Court of Appeal has held that development limited to a 2.38-acre portion of an existing 12-acre shopping center qualified for the "infill...more
While the 2020-2021 California Legislative Session was dominated by the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis and the ultimately unsuccessful Gubernatorial recall election, there were significant efforts made to change statewide...more
Governor Newsom recently signed into law Senate Bill 288 (the “Sustainable Transportation COVID-19 Recovery Act”), which will temporarily add new exemptions to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) statute. The...more
On August 29, 2020, Governor Newsom signed into law AB 2731, which is intended to support the potential redevelopment of the 70-acre Navy Old Town Campus in downtown San Diego. The site would include a LEED Gold certified...more
In 2019, the California legislature passed, and Governor Newsom approved, new legislation impacting the development industry. Effective January 1, 2020, the laws summarized in the link below will impact the development...more
California Department of Fish and Wildlife Annual Adjustments - The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced an increase in filing fees for all California Environmental Quality Act Notices of Determination...more
In this op-ed for pv magazine, David Lazerwitz and Linda Sobczynski of Farella Braun + Martel examine the levels of precaution necessary to ensure fire risk mitigation in project development. Originally published in...more
Businesses seeking discretionary approvals or development permits are often subject to the California Environmental Quality Act. CEQA, the state’s environmental protection law, requires California public agencies to analyze...more
In February, the San Francisco Planning Department issued the first quarterly performance report for implementation of its Process Improvements Plan, a program intended to overhaul the project review process. ...more
In a decision that allows progress on development of new housing in a time of great need in California, a California appellate court upheld a trial court ruling that had rejected several legal challenges to a residential...more
Parking impacts (as distinguished from secondary impacts related to parking) associated with infill development in transit priority areas are exempt from environmental review under certain circumstances, a California...more
Aptos Council v. County of Santa Cruz ruling also clarifies CEQA "Piecemeal" Doctrine - The Sixth District Court of Appeal's recent decision in Aptos Council v. County of Santa Cruz provides useful California...more