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California Land Use & Development Law Report

California Land Use & Development Law Report offers insights into legal issues relating to development and use of land and federal, state and local permitting and approval processes. View posts by topic. Subscribe 🡢

CEQA YEAR IN REVIEW 2019

A SUMMARY OF PUBLISHED APPELLATE OPINIONS UNDER THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT

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Automobile Delay May Not Be Treated As a Significant Environmental Impact

Automobile delay (as measured solely by roadway capacity or traffic congestion) cannot constitute a significant environmental impact, even for projects that were approved before the new CEQA guidelines on transportation impacts were certified in December 2018. Citizens for Positive Growth & Preservation v.

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Charter Cities Must Adhere to Affordable Housing Requirements of the Surplus Lands Act

The statewide concerns underlying the affordable housing provisions of the Surplus Lands Act superseded municipal home rule authority on the same subject and hence required charter cities to comply with the affordable housing provisions of the Act. Anderson v.

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City’s General Plan Policies Allowing Exemptions from Zoning Requirements Did Not Violate Fourteenth Amendment or Result in Spot Zoning

The City of Sacramento did not violate constitutional law or implied-in-law zoning contract when it approved a project with characteristics that deviated from the City's zoning ordinance. Sacramentans for Fair Planning v. City of Sacramento, 37 Cal. App. 5th 698 (2019) A developer sought approval to build a high-rise tower in Midtown Sacramento.

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Court May Order City to Remedy Inconsistencies in its General Plan Created by Initiative

A court could properly direct a city council to correct internal inconsistencies in its general plan resulting from adoption of an initiative. Denham, LLC v. City of Richmond, 41 Cal. App. 5th 340 (2019). The Richmond City Council adopted an initiative, approved by 10 % of the City's voters, without alteration in accordance with Elections Code section 9215.

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Court Upholds San Diego Convention Center Expansion

A court of appeal has rejected Coastal Act and CEQA challenges to the Coastal Commission's approval of expansions at the San Diego Convention Center. San Diego Navy Broadway Complex Coalition v. California Coastal Commission, 40 Cal. App. 5th 563 (2019).

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San Francisco County Transportation Authority is Not Subject to the City’s Sunshine Ordinance

The First District Court of Appeal held that the San Francisco County Transportation Authority is a state agency and thus did not need to comply with local public access rules.

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Conditions for Coastal Development Approvals Must Be Reasonably Tailored to Accomplish Their Intended Purpose

The Fourth District Court of Appeal held that that while most of the California Coastal Commission's conditions for construction of a home on an oceanfront lot were reasonable, a requirement that the home be removed from the parcel "if any government agency orders it not to be occupied due to a natural hazard" was "overbroad, unreasonable and [did] not achieve the Commission's stated purpose in dr

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Documents Merely Referenced in a General Plan Resolution Need Not be Included in a Referendum Petition

If a referendum petition includes the full text of the subject land use measure, documents referenced in such measure need not be attached to the petition unless they are attached to the measure or expressly incorporated into it by reference.

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Power Plant EIR Defeated By Inadequate Responses to Commenters’ Proposed Mitigation Measures

An EIR that did not squarely respond to detailed comments recommending additional mitigation measures has been held not to comply with CEQA. Covington v.

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Permitting Scheme to Encourage Cooperation Between Owners of Surface Rights and Mineral Rights Did Not Violate Due Process or Equal Protection

A zoning ordinance providing for expedited oil and gas permitting where owners of the mineral estate cooperate with surface owners did not grant surface owners so much control as to offend the mineral owners' due process. Nor did disparate treatment of mineral owner permittees violate equal protection where County had legitimate objective of encouraging cooperation among split-estate owners.

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School Mitigation Fees May Validly be Imposed on Adult-Only Seasonal Farmworker Housing

When imposing a school impact fee on residential development, a district need not separately analyze particular subtypes of projects; the authorizing statutes simply require a reasonable relationship between the need for the school facilities and the type of development project -- in this case, residential. Tanimura & Antle Fresh Foods v. Salinas Union High School Dist., 34 Cal. App.

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Unsubstantiated or Speculative Expert Opinion Is Not Substantial Evidence of a Significant Environmental Impact

Editors' Note: On January 2, 2019, the California Supreme Court granted a request for depublication of this decision.

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No Subdivision of Williamson Act Land Unless Residential Development is Closely Associated With Agricultural Use

The County of San Diego violated the Subdivision Map Act by approving residential development of land restricted to agricultural use under the Williamson Act when the development was neither closely related to nor necessary for agricultural use. Cleveland Nat. Forest Foundation v. County of San Diego, 37 Cal. App.

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Increase in San Francisco Office and Laboratory Use Development Fees to Pay for Affordable Housing

The San Francisco Jobs Housing Linkage Fee (JHLF) is set to more than double under the "Housing for SF Workers" ordinance recently passed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors (Ordinance).

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