Creative Reuse: The Opportunities and Challenges of Converting Office Space to Residential
California CRE to Expand in 2022
On November 22, 2024, the First District Court of Appeal’s (Div. 4) partially-published opinion in People of the State of California ex rel. Bonta v. County of Lake (Lotusland Investment Holdings, Inc., et al. Real Parties in...more
The Live Local Act (Act), originally passed on March 29, 2023, was modified by SB328 on May 16, 2024. While the Act has been heralded as a solution to Florida’s affordable housing shortage, it has faced roadblocks since its...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 refusal of M&S's plans to demolish and rebuild their flagship store on Oxford Street by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Michael Gove) has attracted much attention because of the wider...more
On July 1, 2023, Senate Bill (SB) 6 (Caballero) – also known as the Middle Class Housing Act of 2022 – went into effect. Under the bill, if a project site is currently zoned for commercial retail or parking use, a developer...more
On March 29, 2023, Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 102 (the Act), otherwise known as the Live Local Act, into law. The Act becomes effective on July 1. This broad-ranging legislation is intended to incentivize the...more
At this week’s City of Miami Commission meeting, the City of Miami adopted a series of important amendments to the Miami 21 Zoning Code. These amendments specifically impact the Wynwood Neighborhood Revitalization District...more
On September January 12, 2022, in Old East Davis Neighborhood Association v. City of Davis, __ Cal.App.5th __ (Case No. C090117), the Third District Court of Appeal reversed a trial court decision that granted a writ petition...more
The enactment of special CEQA streamlining legislation for the Sacramento Kings arena nearly a decade ago created a model for a series of mega-project specific bills, all aimed at reducing the development uncertainty and the...more
On May 3, 2021, the City Planning Commission referred out for public review a zoning text amendment that would require a special permit for the creation or material enlargement of transient hotels (Zoning Use Group 5) and...more
In SEQRA litigation, there is an oft-quoted proposition that the Lead Agency may not abdicate or defer its responsibilities under SEQRA to another agency. See Riverkeeper, Inc. v. Planning Bd. of Town of Se., 9 N.Y.3d 219,...more
A Summary of Published Appellate Opinions Under the California Environmental Quality Act - The year 2019 saw several trailblazing opinions, indicating that courts continue to grapple with some of CEQA’s core policies. The...more
In an opinion originally filed on July 31, and belatedly ordered published on August 22, 2019, the Second District Court of Appeal (Division 3) affirmed a judgment granting a CEQA writ petition invalidating the final EIR and...more
On July 18, 2019, in Sacramentans for Fair Planning v. City of Sacramento, __ Cal.App.5th __ (2019), the Third District Court of Appeal affirmed a trial court decision denying a “vertical” consistency challenge filed by...more
In a 30-page opinion originally filed July 3, and certified for publication on July 18, 2019, the Third District Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s judgment denying a writ petition challenging, on zoning law and CEQA...more
The City of Coral Gables’ zoning code landscape and open space requirements were recently amended as of May 14, 2019. The Coral Gables’ zoning code now requires landscape open space to be provided at the ground level and to...more
In a lengthy opinion filed February 22, and belatedly ordered published on March 25, 2019, the First District Court of Appeal (Div. 1) affirmed the trial court’s judgment denying a petition for writ of mandate challenging the...more
The Second District Court of Appeal upheld the City of Los Angeles’s General Plan amendment, which changed the land use designation of a proposed project site for a mixed-use development against challenges the decision was...more
A court of appeal has overturned a city’s mitigated negative declaration for a small mixed-use development in a historic overlay district, holding that aesthetic and traffic issues require the preparation of an environmental...more
A few recent developments and upcoming events in the CEQA world bear quick mention: The BART Housing Bill: Under AB 2923, BART now has limited land use regulation authority on its own lands near its stations....more
Land Use Matters provides information and insights into legal and regulatory developments, primarily at the Los Angeles City and County levels, affecting land use matters, as well as new CEQA appellate decisions. ...more
In an opinion filed July 16, and belatedly ordered published on August 9, 2018, the First District Court of Appeal (Division 5) affirmed the trial court’s judgment setting aside the City of Fremont’s approvals of a mixed...more
In its February 14 decision (certified for publication on March 15) in Residents Against Specific Plan 380 v. County of Riverside, the Fourth Appellate District upheld the County of Riverside’s (“County’s”) approval of a...more
Last month, the New England Real Estate Journal published an article by Rebecca Nolan touting an awakening of growth in the Connecticut region. In her article, Ms. Nolan reminds us that our Yankee perseverance has seen us...more