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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.

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March 23, 2017

Ellis Act preempts San Francisco ordinances requiring landlords to pay enhanced relocation payments

The Court of Appeal ruled that the Ellis Act preempted measures mandating relocation assistance payments of "the difference between the tenant's current rent and the prevailing rent for a comparable apartment in San Francisco over a two-year period" because such mitigation constituted a prohibitive price for landlords to exit the rental business.

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March 9, 2017

Public Employees’ Personal E-mail and Text Messages May be Subject to Disclosure under the Public Records Act

The California Supreme Court has held that information relevant to public business contained in emails or text messages stored on private electronic devices of government officials is subject to disclosure under the Public Records Act.

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March 8, 2017

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Adopts 30-Year Eagle Take Rule

As we previously reported, in August 2015, a federal court nullified the U.S.

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March 5, 2017

Initiative petition must include full text of every provision enacted into law

The Court of Appeal has held that because the proponents of an initiative failed to include the full text of the proposed initiative in the petition, the petition violated Elections Code section 9101 and was therefore invalid. Wilson v.

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January 6, 2017

Local election over Walmart project invalidated for violation of the Brown Act

The court of appeal has overturned a local initiative because the City Council failed to agendize its consideration of Walmart's offer to fund election costs.

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January 5, 2017 CEQA

CEQA YEAR IN REVIEW 2016

A Summary Of Published Appellate Opinions Under The California Environmental Quality Act

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December 20, 2016

California Supreme Court Rejects City’s Attempt To “Evade” General Plan Amendment Referendum

The California Supreme Court has unanimously denied an effort by the City of Orange to defend its approvals for a residential development project despite an intervening public vote that rejected a general plan amendment the city had passed to advance the project.

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December 7, 2016

City Does Not Have Burden of Showing Reasonableness of Housing Fees

Just over a year after the California Supreme Court strongly endorsed inclusionary housing ordinances, the Second District Court of Appeal upheld a city's collection of in-lieu housing fees against a developer's claim that the city failed to carry its burden of proving the fees were reasonably related to development impacts.

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December 3, 2016

City Council Can Sponsor Ballot Measure To Repeal Prior Initiative That Restricts Council Action

Elections Code section 9222 allows a city council to propose a ballot measure that repeals or amends a prior initiative. In Brookside Investment, Ltd. v. City of El Monte (2d. Dist. No. B267081, Nov. 15, 2016) the court held that section 9222 does not unconstitutionally interfere with the voters' reserved power of initiative, even when the prior initiative restricts council action.

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December 1, 2016

Zoning Ordinance Is Not Necessarily a Project Subject to CEQA

The enactment of a zoning ordinance regulating medical marijuana facilities is not necessarily a project under CEQA, according to the court of appeal's decision in Union of Medical Marijuana Patients, Inc. v.

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November 28, 2016

California Coastal Act Trumps Statutes Awarding Density and Height Increase Bonuses

Statutes awarding housing density and height increase bonuses do not take precedence over the California Coastal Act, according to a decision of the Second Circuit Court of Appeal.

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October 31, 2016

Court of Appeal Clears the Way for Level 3 School Fees

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The California Court of Appeal yesterday lifted a stay it had imposed in a lawsuit by the California Building Industry Association challenging implementation of "Level 3" school facilities fees.

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October 15, 2016

Citywide Community Facilities District to fund additional municipal services was valid under the Mello-Roos Act

A Mello-Roos tax on new residential development to finance a wide variety of governmental services was a valid special tax, not a general tax to fund existing municipal services. Building Industry Association of the Bay Area v.

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October 7, 2016

California Adopts Ambitious New Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets

Governor Jerry Brown has signed two related bills that will tighten greenhouse gas limits and increase legislative oversight over the California Air Resources Board, SB 32 and AB 197. Some of the key components of the two bills include:

New state-wide target for reductions in GHG emissions.

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October 5, 2016

Municipal Regulation of Telecommunications Equipment In Public Right Of Way Based On Aesthetic Considerations Not Preempted

The California Court of Appeal has upheld municipal regulation of telecommunications equipment in the public right-of-way against the argument that such regulations are preempted by state law. T-Mobile West LLC v. City and County of San Francisco, No. A144252 (1st Dist., Sept.