California Land Use & Development Law Report
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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 🡢
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U.C. Santa Cruz Expansion Plan EIR Overturned

 In Habitat and Watershed Caretakers v. City of Santa Cruz, the court of appeal set aside the EIR for long-term development of the U.C. View blog post
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Water Discharge Permit for Dairies Invalidated Under State's Antidegradation Policy

 In 2007, after decades of allowing most dairies in the Central Valley Region to operate without a water quality discharge permit, the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board issued a general, region-wide permit regulating wastewater discharges from existing diaries. View blog post
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90-Day Limitations Period Under Government Code § 65009 Applies to Zoning Administrator Decisions.

 Round two of a citizen group's challenge to approval of a WalMart ended with a decisive knock-out by the City of Stockton.  The appellate court ruled that the petitioners' planning and zoning law claims were barred by the 90-day statute of limitations in Government Code § 65009, rejecting petitioners' argument that the statute did not apply to decisions of a zoning administrator.  The View blog post
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City Has Time to Make General Plan Consistent with Housing Element Revisions

 A court of appeal has confirmed that after a city updates its general plan housing element, the city has additional time to amend other general plan elements to restore the general plan's internal consistency—as long as the city adopts a timeline for making the necessary amendments. Every five years, a city must update its general plan housing element.  This, often arduous process requires t View blog post
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Water Supply Uncertainty Sinks Another EIR

 After wading through a detailed discussion relating to biological impacts (see Perkins Coie Update), the court in Preserve Wild Santee v. View blog post
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Court Rules City Council Can't Skip CEQA By Adopting Voter-Proposed Legislation

 Project proponents often ask whether there is a way to shortcut the CEQA timeline or head off litigation.  In Tuolumne Jobs & Small Business Alliance v. View blog post
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California Court Sidesteps Jurisdictional Question Under The Clean Water Act

 Since the U.S. View blog post
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Battle on the Beach—Sunset Beach Has No Right to Vote on Huntington Beach Taxes Before Being Annexed

 Faced with the prospect of having to pay special property taxes after annexation by Huntington Beach, residents of unincorporated Sunset Beach sued to block annexation, or to require a vote by the Sunset Beach electorate on whether they should have to pay the taxes after annexation. In Citizens Association of Sunset Beach v. View blog post
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Water Supply Agreement for Casino Fails CEQA and LAFCO Tests

 In a case packed with hot-button issues -- CEQA exemptions, water supply impacts, climate change, LAFCO regulation of land uses, and  preemption of state law on tribal lands -- a court of appeal has ruled that the El Dorado Irrigation District erred in approving an agreement to supply water to a tribal casino. Background.  In 1987, the irrigation district agreed to supp View blog post
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Court Overturns Biological Opinion That Relied On Unenforceable Conservation Measures

 The Ninth Circuit has overturned a Biological Opinion issued by the U.S. View blog post
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Under CEQA Non-Prejudicial Errors Do Not Invalidate an EIR.

 The County of Siskiyou certified an Environmental Impact Report for a project to expand an existing manufacturing facility to accommodate a cogeneration power plant housed on one acre of a 300-acre site.  Environmental groups claimed the EIR violated CEQA by failing to include adequate project alternatives and failing to fully disclose, analyze, and mitigate the project's air quality, noise, View blog post
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CEQA Review Not Required for Ballot Measure Requiring Competitive Bidding for City's Solid Waste Contracts

 Measures put on the ballot by a city council are not automatically exempt from CEQA even though they must be approved or disapproved by the voters.  As shown in a recent appellate court decision, however,  CEQA review is not required for a ballot measure that does not commit the city to a "project" as that term is defined by CEQA. View blog post
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Can a Premature Notice of Exemption Trigger CEQA's Short Limitations Period?

 CEQA provides an extraordinarily brief period for bringing suit if a public agency files the proper notice with the county clerk – 30 days for project approvals based on a negative declaration or an EIR, and 35 days for projects that are exempt. If the agency fails to file a notice, a challenger has 180 days from project approval to sue. View blog post
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Ninth Circuit Dismisses Federal Nuisance Claim Based on Global Warming

 The City of Kivalina sits on the tip of a six-mile barrier reef on the northwest coast of Alaska, about 70 miles north of the Arctic Circle.  For decades, the city has experienced serious erosion problems from waves and sea storms.  In recent years, the problems have gotten worse, threatening to destroy city buildings and infrastructure and even the city's very existence.  Seeking r View blog post
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No Exception to the Exemption -- Installation of Small Wireless Telecom Equipment on Existing Utility Poles Throughout City is Exempt from CEQA

 After obtaining the necessary permit, T-Mobile installed wireless equipment on an existing utility pole in a residential neighborhood in San Francisco.  The installation was part of a larger project to install similar equipment on existing utility poles scattered throughout the city.  Residents living nearby sought to have the city's decision to issue the permit overturned, claiming that View blog post
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