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- July 29, 2004 9:05 PM Real Estate, Land Use and Environmental Attorneys
- July 28, 2004 8:45 PM Blog Editorial Team
- July 15, 2004 8:11 PM Domenic C. Drago - Practice Group Leader
- July 13, 2004 8:00 PM Judy V. Davidoff - Partner
- July 1, 2004 8:36 PM Donna Jones - Partner
- June 15, 2004 8:44 PM Michael B. Wilmar - Special Counsel
- July 9, 2011 9:27 PM Chicago
- January 27, 2006 5:11 PM Washington, D.C.
- July 20, 2004 9:35 PM Los Angeles
- July 19, 2004 1:49 AM San Francisco
- July 18, 2004 1:52 AM Orange County
- July 17, 2004 2:00 AM San Diego/Del Mar
- July 16, 2004 1:56 AM San Diego/Downtown
- April 22, 2013 5:21 PM No Relief Under CCP Section 473 For Missed Filing Deadline In CEQA Challenge
- November 29, 2012 9:30 AM Zoning Director Approval Triggers Section 65009 Statute of Limitations
- November 28, 2012 9:06 AM City May Adopt Housing Element Revisions Inconsistent With General Plan If City Also Adopts Timeline To Correct Inconsistencies
- October 30, 2012 8:57 AM Further Confirmation Notice of Exemption Filed Before Project Approval is Void
- October 26, 2012 4:48 PM The Amorphous "Unusual Circumstances" Exception to CEQA's Categorical Exemption Strikes Again
- August 8, 2012 2:35 AM Appeals Court Reaffirms That Non-Prejudicial Planning And Zoning Code And CEQA Errors Cannot Serve As Basis For Overturning City Approval
- July 12, 2012 1:57 AM Impacts On Required Public Services Not An Environmental Impact; No Mitigation Required
- June 28, 2012 9:38 AM Parties Must Exhaust Administrative Remedies Before Challenging Even A CEQA Exemption
- May 29, 2012 8:21 AM California Supreme Court Grants Hearing in Berkeley Hillside Preservation v. City of Berkeley
- April 20, 2012 7:19 PM Use of Projected Future Conditions Appropriate Baseline for Analyzing Impacts of Long-Term Infrastructure Projects
- March 29, 2012 5:43 PM California Supreme Court Denies Review of Case Holding that CEQA Does Not Require Analysis of Effects on a Project Caused by the Environment
- February 17, 2012 9:52 AM Tiered EIR Must Be Prepared Where Program EIR Provides Insufficient Guidance on Discretionary Choices
- February 14, 2012 11:43 PM Builders Charge New CEQA-Streamlining Laws, Guidelines Unhelpful
- February 7, 2012 6:28 PM OPR Releases Proposed Guidelines for Streamlining CEQA Review of Infill Projects
- February 2, 2012 1:14 AM Neither CEQA nor the Public Trust Requires Exclusion of Current Conditions in Determining Baseline for Purposes of Lease Renewal on Tide and Submerged Lands
- February 2, 2012 1:07 AM CEQA Trumps Surplus Lands Act; Lead Agency Must Respond to All Comments Regardless of Merit
- January 6, 2012 1:28 AM Court Clarifies CEQA Rules Regarding Infeasibility and Deferral of Mitigation
- January 6, 2012 1:03 AM CEQA Does Not Require Identification of Significant Effects of the Environment (Sea Level Rise) on a Project; Assertion of New Claims Barred in EIR Required to be Revised by Judgment in a Prior Case
- December 16, 2011 12:09 AM CEQA Amendments from the 2011 Legislative Session
- December 7, 2011 5:37 PM Court Upholds Medical Campus Expansion, Provides Guidance on Using Future Traffic Projections to Analyze Traffic Impacts
- November 4, 2011 11:13 PM ARB Passes Final Regulations for Cap-And-Trade Program
- September 27, 2011 9:06 PM Court Clarifies Mitigation Requirements for Impacts to Historical Resources, Reaffirms Use of Existing Conditions as Analytical Baseline
- September 14, 2011 9:29 PM California Legislature Passes Bills to Expedite Judicial Review of CEQA Challenges for Selected Projects
- August 22, 2011 6:56 PM A Case Where CEQA Worked
- August 5, 2011 9:31 PM Statutory Exemption Not Waived by Conducting EIR; Can be Invoked Even After Litigation Commences
- August 5, 2011 7:04 PM We're People Too: Corporations Have Standing To File CEQA Citizen Suits
- July 14, 2011 10:49 PM City's "Business‑As‑Usual" Threshold OK For Evaluating Greenhouse Gas Emissions Under CEQA
- July 1, 2011 10:23 PM Government Code Does not Require Analysis of Environmental Impacts Directly Related to School Facilities
- June 28, 2011 5:36 PM Reliance on Statutory Requirements to Mitigate Environmental Impacts Proper Under CEQA
- June 21, 2011 9:13 PM Global Warming and Droughts Not New Information; Project Opponents Must Fairly Present Claims Before Filing CEQA Lawsuit
- May 24, 2011 5:33 PM Court Affirms CEQA Does Not Require Cumulative Impact Analysis Where Project Makes No Contribution to Groundwater Impacts
- April 11, 2011 6:57 PM Final Decision Suspends California's AB 32 GHG Regulations: What Now?
- February 4, 2011 8:23 PM California Court Issues Tentative Ruling Enjoining AB 32 Implementation
- January 3, 2011 10:59 PM Court Invalidates EIR's Use of a Baseline Predicated On Future, Post-Approval Conditions For Analysis of Project's Impacts
- January 3, 2011 8:31 PM Baseline Using Existing Entitlements Acceptable If It Corresponds To Conditions "On The Ground"
- October 15, 2010 4:43 PM Court of Appeal Upholds Previous Decision, Finding That the Requirements for Exhausting Administrative Remedies Before Challenging CEQA Exemption Did Not Apply
- October 12, 2010 4:59 PM Governor Schwarzenegger Signs Two Bills Providing Moderate CEQA Improvements
- August 5, 2010 11:23 PM Coastal Commission's No Substantial Issue Determination Will Be Upheld Even If Project Technically Not Consistent With LCP
- July 15, 2010 8:09 PM County Approval of Conditional Siting Agreement Not A Project Approval Under CEQA
- April 30, 2010 10:07 PM Notice Of Exemption Triggers A 35-Day Statute Of Limitations Under CEQA Despite Flaws in Underlying Approval
- April 30, 2010 9:25 PM Supercenters Do Not Automatically Trigger Requirement To Study Urban Decay Effects In An EIR
- April 27, 2010 5:59 PM Vested Rights Under Prior Permits Do Not Establish CEQA Baseline
- April 16, 2010 8:15 PM Fish and Game Commission Seeks Comments Related to Proposed California Tiger Salamander Rulemaking
- March 5, 2010 10:30 PM California's High Court Clarifies CEQA's 30-Day Statute of Limitations
- February 18, 2010 1:18 PM A Brief Overview of the Recent Amendments to CEQA Guidelines
- September 30, 2009 6:07 PM A State At Risk Attempts to Adapt to Climate Change
- August 14, 2009 7:55 PM COURT OF APPEAL LIMITS 'TEXT' REQUIREMENT FOR LOCAL REFERENDUM PETITIONS
- July 18, 2009 12:41 AM New Law Automatically Extends Existing Tentative Maps For Two Years, But Also Creates New Pitfalls, And Reduces Some Protections For Recorded Maps
- July 8, 2009 10:16 PM Checklist Approval Of Design Plan Conforming To Guidelines Established Under Specific Plan Constitutes A Ministerial Act Under CEQA
- June 19, 2009 1:36 PM County Outside Counsel Work Product Not Part of CEQA Record Even If Disclosed To Real Party In Interest
- April 6, 2009 10:40 PM City Not Required To Identify Specific Location For Off-Site Mitigation Under CEQA Because Standards Sufficient
- November 4, 2008 1:14 AM Agreements Conditioned On Subsequent CEQA Review Violate CEQA If Record Shows Agency Already Committed To Project
- October 24, 2008 10:18 PM SB 375: California Adopts New Law Geared to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Integrating Regional Transportation and Land Use Planning
- September 17, 2008 7:57 PM Fish and Game Commission Must Accept Petition to List the CTS under California Endangered Species Act
- August 18, 2008 9:17 PM Loss of Power? AQMD rules Designed to Spur Development of Newer, Cleaner Electrical Power Plants Recently Vacated in LA Superior Court
- July 24, 2008 12:37 AM California Supreme Court Holds Headwaters Agreement Incidental Take Permit And Sustained Yield Plan Invalid
- July 7, 2008 7:05 PM Denial Of A Conditional Use Permit For Airport Requires Initial Study Under CEQA Because Airport Closure May Affect Environment
- September 25, 2007 11:32 PM CEQA Is Not Preempted by the Ellis Act
- August 23, 2007 6:47 PM Global Warming Update: Legislature Amends CEQA Regarding Greenhouse Gas Emissions; Attorney General Settles Global Warming Suit
- August 15, 2007 7:04 PM Test for Preparation of Supplemental or Subsequent EIR is Significance of Impacts from Project Modifications, Not the Modifications
- June 26, 2007 12:27 AM California Supreme Court Upholds Use of "Common Sense" Exemption, Says That CEQA May Require Consideration of the Effects of "Displaced Development"
- May 23, 2007 8:19 PM Global Climate Change Legislation Does Not Require Supplemental Environmental Review Under CEQA
- February 20, 2007 7:40 PM Transfer Of Park & Recreation District Land To Third Party Was Not A Project Requiring Prior CEQA Review Where The Lack Of Any Development Plan Made Environmental Review Premature
- February 14, 2007 8:12 PM Court Sets Aside Approval Of Demolition Permit On Basis That Findings Of Infeasibility Concerning EIR Project Alternatives Not Supported By Substantial Evidence
- February 12, 2007 11:27 PM No Cause Of Action Under CEQA To Challenge County CEQA Determination Where Determination Superseded By Coastal Commission De Novo Review On Appeal
- February 3, 2007 12:34 AM District Approval Of Agreement For Purchase And Sale Of Water Expressly Conditioned On Future CEQA Compliance Does Not Require Prior CEQA Review
- January 2, 2007 7:54 PM CEQA Violated Where City Determined No Additional Environmental Review Required For Wal-Mart Supercenter
- December 14, 2006 4:52 PM Court Overturns Award Of Record Preparation Costs As Excessive And Lacking Adequate Documentation
- November 16, 2006 1:27 AM Lead Agency Can Decide New Information Does Not Require Recirculation Of A Final EIR Without First Adding The Information To The Final EIR
- November 15, 2006 5:46 PM Filing Of Appeal To City Council Not Necessarily Required For Exhaustion Of Administrative Remedies
- September 15, 2006 2:38 AM Major Victory for Habitat Conservation Planning: California Appeals Court Denies CEQA and CESA Challenge to Natomas Basin Habitat Conservation Plan
- May 3, 2006 11:22 PM Cities Can Limit Big Box Retail But They Have To Be Fair To The Little Guy
- December 15, 2005 4:29 PM CREED Case Leaves Questions Regarding Program EIRs
- September 22, 2005 5:58 PM Court of Appeal Strikes Down Orange County Development Project
- September 22, 2005 5:26 PM Court of Appeal Rules on Attorneys' Fees in CEQA Cases
- March 17, 2005 11:25 PM Conversion and Collocation: Viable Tools for Increasing Housing Supply
- July 16, 2004 9:01 PM Case Summary - Maintain Our Desert Environment v. Town of Apple Valley
- July 12, 2005 9:20 PM Contact Us
- April 29, 2013 9:40 PM Can California Cap and Trade if Brussels Stumbles?
- December 5, 2012 7:02 PM What Will It Cost for California to Save the World? California Conducts its First Greenhouse Gas Cap-and-Trade Auction
- July 6, 2012 5:40 PM Flame Retardant Commonly Used in Furniture Added to Proposition 65 Chemical List
- June 29, 2012 9:40 AM Revising Flammability Standards to Reduce Flame Retardants in Furniture
- March 26, 2012 6:23 PM Comment Period to Close On Petition to FDA for Mandatory Labeling of All Foods Produced Using Genetic Engineering
- March 21, 2012 6:56 PM Recent Water and Pesticide Regulatory Guidance
- March 15, 2012 9:49 AM Proposition 65 Private Party Settlement Guidance Provides Clarity and a Limitation on Releases in the Public Interest
- October 6, 2011 4:49 PM Governor Brown Signs Two Bills Intended to Protect Children From Toxic Exposures
- July 1, 2011 10:32 PM Carbon Dioxide Emissions Not Subject to Federal Common Law Nuisance Claims
- June 29, 2011 9:50 PM U.S. Supreme Court to Review Two Cases With Potentially Significant Consequences for Wetlands and Waterways
- June 28, 2011 5:36 PM Reliance on Statutory Requirements to Mitigate Environmental Impacts Proper Under CEQA
- June 13, 2011 9:42 PM Superior Court's Injunction Preventing California's Cap and Trade Program Has Been Stayed...Right?
- April 12, 2011 6:17 PM Municipalities Are Responsible For Discharges Of Stormwater Regardless Of The Ultimate Source Of Pollution
- February 4, 2011 8:23 PM California Court Issues Tentative Ruling Enjoining AB 32 Implementation
- August 4, 2010 11:37 PM Under CERCLA, "Owner" Means Owner When Cleanup Costs Are Incurred, Not When Reimbursement Is Sought
- September 30, 2009 6:20 PM 2nd Circuit Allows Public Nuisance Suit Against Greenhouse Gas Emitters
- May 8, 2009 11:02 PM U.S. Supreme Court Holds Superfund's Traditional Joint and Several Liability and Arranger Liability Have Their Limits: Bar May Be Lowered For Demonstrating Apportionment Liability
- March 10, 2009 12:06 AM California Budget Plan Will Delay Off-Road Diesel Emissions Regulations
- September 17, 2008 8:15 PM What You Need To Know About SF's Green Building Ordinance
- August 18, 2008 9:17 PM Loss of Power? AQMD rules Designed to Spur Development of Newer, Cleaner Electrical Power Plants Recently Vacated in LA Superior Court
- July 29, 2008 12:11 AM Ninth Circuit Says EPA Must Regulate Marine Discharges, Including Ballast Water
- July 24, 2008 9:11 PM EPA Releases Advance Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking Regarding Regulation Of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Under Clean Air Act
- July 15, 2008 8:58 PM Update On Proposed Draft Regulation To Reduce Emissions Of Diesel Particulate Matter, And Other Pollutants From In Use On Road Heavy Duty Diesel-Fueled Engines
- July 1, 2008 11:22 PM Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions: California Air Resources Board Releases Draft AB 32 Scoping Plan
- June 11, 2008 11:15 PM No Idling: California Air Resources Board Adopts New Off-Road Diesel Rule
- April 28, 2008 6:32 PM City of Los Angeles Adopts Green Building Ordinance on Earth Day
- April 16, 2008 5:52 PM Corps And EPA Issue Important New Mitigation Rule
- January 11, 2008 7:42 PM Clash of the Titans
- December 7, 2007 6:04 PM California Sues U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Seeks Permission To Enforce Own Standards Regulating Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- November 20, 2007 5:20 PM THANK YOU FOR READING THE REAL ESTATE AND CONSTRUCTION LAW BLOG
- November 1, 2007 11:46 PM California Air Resources Board Issues Proposed Regulations to Require Facilities to Report Greenhouse Gas Emissions Under the Global Warming Solutions Act
- September 25, 2007 11:24 PM California Cannot Hold Carmakers Accountable For Their Contribution to Global Warming
- September 8, 2007 1:25 AM California Air Resources Board Proposes Additional Early Action Measures Pursuant to the Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32)
- August 21, 2007 12:21 AM Summary of Proposed Draft Regulation to Reduce Emissions of Diesel Particulate Matter, and Other Pollutants From In-Use On-Road Heavy-Duty Diesel-Fueled Engines
- July 31, 2007 7:29 PM Update to June 15, 2007 Blog: The California Air Resources Board Passes New Regulations Limiting Off-Road Diesel Engine Emissions (13 CCR SEC. 2449)
- June 18, 2007 9:02 PM Private Parties Under CERCLA May Sue Potentially Responsible Parties for Cost Recovery Even if They Are Barred From Suing For Contribution
- June 15, 2007 12:55 AM CARB Proposes New Diesel Emission Regulations (13 CCR SEC. 2449)
- July 5, 2006 4:38 PM North Gualala Water Company v. State Water Resources Control Board, (June 16, 2006, A109438) __ Cal.App.4th __
- December 15, 2005 4:29 PM CREED Case Leaves Questions Regarding Program EIRs
- November 14, 2005 6:35 PM Court of Appeal Vacates $14 Million Damages Award for Environmental Trespass "Benefits"
- September 22, 2005 5:26 PM Court of Appeal Rules on Attorneys' Fees in CEQA Cases
- August 19, 2005 5:08 PM California District Court Answers CERCLA Question Left Open By U.S. Supreme Court
- July 16, 2004 9:01 PM Case Summary - Maintain Our Desert Environment v. Town of Apple Valley
- April 1, 2013 5:04 PM Bill Introduced to Restore Cities' Ability to Require Affordable Housing
- July 20, 2012 9:18 AM Inclusionary Zoning: Superior Court Strikes Down City of San Jose's "Inclusionary Housing" Ordinance
- October 6, 2011 5:22 PM Inclusionary Zoning In California: Legal Questions And Issues
- April 11, 2011 8:18 AM "Pay Under Protest" Procedure for "Other Exactions" Is Not Applicable to All Development Exactions
- June 22, 2010 8:15 AM Mitigation Fee Act May Not Require Specific Identification of New Facilities
- June 21, 2010 8:45 AM General And Special Benefits Of Special Assessments Must Be Separated And Quantified
- October 29, 2009 5:58 PM Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Palmer Case - Are Inclusionary Zoning Practices Due for Change?
- August 28, 2009 1:49 PM Administrative Fee for Tax Collection is an Unconstitutional Hidden Tax
- July 18, 2009 12:41 AM New Law Automatically Extends Existing Tentative Maps For Two Years, But Also Creates New Pitfalls, And Reduces Some Protections For Recorded Maps
- June 19, 2009 6:07 PM Appellate Court Decision Invalidating Unjustified "Affordable Housing In Lieu Fees" Is Now Final
- March 10, 2009 12:29 AM Decision Overturning City's "Affordable Housing in Lieu Fee" Ordered Published by Court of Appeal
- February 9, 2009 7:26 PM Affordable Housing In Lieu Fees Must Be Shown To Be Reasonably Related, And Limited, To "Deleterious Impacts Of New Development" Like Other Development Fees
- July 18, 2008 4:31 PM Supreme Court Raises The Bar: Holds Prop. 218 Requires Court To Exercise Independent Judgment Regarding Validity Of Assessments And Places Burden Of Proof On Assessing Agency
- January 29, 2007 7:26 PM New State Fees For Water Rights Permits and Licenses Unconstitutional Due To Failure To Demonstrate Reasonable "Proportionality" To Fee Payors
- August 1, 2006 9:10 PM California Supreme Court Permits Use Of Local Initiatives To Reduce Or Repeal Water Delivery Charges, But Such Initiatives May Not Require That Future Rate Increases Be Submitted For Voter Approval
- February 6, 2006 6:59 PM Building Permit Fees: Considerations Raised by the Recent Cal. Supreme Court Decision in Barratt-American v. City of Rancho Cucamonga
- January 24, 2006 11:36 PM Cal Supreme Court Illuminates the Path for Suing Local Entities Over Excessive Building Permit Fees
- April 29, 2013 9:40 PM Can California Cap and Trade if Brussels Stumbles?
- December 5, 2012 7:02 PM What Will It Cost for California to Save the World? California Conducts its First Greenhouse Gas Cap-and-Trade Auction
- July 20, 2012 9:16 AM Overcoming Inertia -- Advancing Corporate Leadership in Adaptation
- June 26, 2012 10:54 AM California Appellate Court Greenlights Air Resources Board's Cap-And-Trade Program [1]
- February 10, 2012 4:50 PM California Adopts Revolutionary New Clean Car Standards
- January 6, 2012 12:14 AM Enforcement of California Low-Carbon Fuel Standard Blocked
- November 4, 2011 11:13 PM ARB Passes Final Regulations for Cap-And-Trade Program
- October 6, 2011 5:47 PM California AB 32's Cap-And-Trade Program Developments
- July 14, 2011 10:49 PM City's "Business‑As‑Usual" Threshold OK For Evaluating Greenhouse Gas Emissions Under CEQA
- July 1, 2011 10:32 PM Carbon Dioxide Emissions Not Subject to Federal Common Law Nuisance Claims
- June 13, 2011 9:42 PM Superior Court's Injunction Preventing California's Cap and Trade Program Has Been Stayed...Right?
- April 11, 2011 6:57 PM Final Decision Suspends California's AB 32 GHG Regulations: What Now?
- February 4, 2011 8:23 PM California Court Issues Tentative Ruling Enjoining AB 32 Implementation
- November 12, 2010 11:37 PM Proposition 23's Failure Means Full Speed Ahead On AB 32
- September 23, 2010 11:31 PM The Truth About Proposition 23: Is it a "California Jobs Initiative" or a "Dirty Energy Proposition"...or Neither?
- February 23, 2010 5:05 PM Council for Environmental Quality Issues Draft NEPA Guidance for Consideration of Climate Change Effects
- February 18, 2010 1:18 PM A Brief Overview of the Recent Amendments to CEQA Guidelines
- November 25, 2009 9:14 PM U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Strategic Climate Change Plan
- November 25, 2009 7:00 PM California Governor Signs S.B. 827 into Law; South Coast Air Quality Management District Now Permitted to Continue Emissions Trading Program
- November 25, 2009 6:52 PM The EPA Uses the Clean Air Act to Propose New Rules Intended to Reduce GHG Emissions from Large Emitters
- September 30, 2009 6:20 PM 2nd Circuit Allows Public Nuisance Suit Against Greenhouse Gas Emitters
- September 30, 2009 6:07 PM A State At Risk Attempts to Adapt to Climate Change
- August 20, 2009 6:57 PM Sheppard Mullin's New Climate Change and Clean Technology Blog
- January 6, 2012 1:22 AM Court of Appeal Rules that Denial of a Landowner's Application to Develop Property Can Be a Compensable Regulatory Taking
- January 6, 2012 12:46 AM Statements of Intent to Condemn Do Not Give Rise to Inverse Condemnation Claim
- August 10, 2010 12:00 AM Three-Year Statute Of Limitations Applies To Inverse Condemnation Action
- October 1, 2009 9:45 PM Regulatory Takings Law: Ninth Circuit Panel Holds A Mobile Home Rent Control Ordinance Is Subject To A "Facial Challenge" And Awards Compensation To Property Owners
- October 23, 2008 5:42 PM City of Rancho Palos Verdes Liable for Taking During Moratorium
- September 17, 2008 12:51 AM Nollan/Dolan Does Not Apply To A Facial Challenge Of A Land Use Regulation
- July 3, 2008 7:37 PM Sea Walls Can Be Expensive: $2 Million Mitigation Fee for Loss of Shoreline Recreational Value is Not a Taking
- June 20, 2008 12:44 AM Federal Claims Court Awards $4.2M to Ranchers' Estate for Taking of Water Rights
- November 16, 2005 8:29 PM Ripeness Doctrine And Futility Exception Both Require Submission And Denial of a "Meaningful Application"
- November 29, 2012 9:30 AM Zoning Director Approval Triggers Section 65009 Statute of Limitations
- November 28, 2012 9:06 AM City May Adopt Housing Element Revisions Inconsistent With General Plan If City Also Adopts Timeline To Correct Inconsistencies
- October 30, 2012 8:57 AM Further Confirmation Notice of Exemption Filed Before Project Approval is Void
- October 26, 2012 4:48 PM The Amorphous "Unusual Circumstances" Exception to CEQA's Categorical Exemption Strikes Again
- August 8, 2012 2:35 AM Appeals Court Reaffirms That Non-Prejudicial Planning And Zoning Code And CEQA Errors Cannot Serve As Basis For Overturning City Approval
- July 20, 2012 9:19 AM Federal Government's Eminent Domain Power Trumps California's Sovereign Public Trust Title
- March 5, 2012 7:45 PM River Segment Must Be Navigable In Fact For Commercial Purposes At Statehood For State To Obtain Title To Riverbed Under The Equal Footing Doctrine
- February 17, 2012 9:53 AM Decision to Deny a Zoning Change Subject to 90-Day Statute of Limitation
- December 16, 2011 12:09 AM CEQA Amendments from the 2011 Legislative Session
- December 7, 2011 5:37 PM Court Upholds Medical Campus Expansion, Provides Guidance on Using Future Traffic Projections to Analyze Traffic Impacts
- November 22, 2011 11:30 PM Housing Accountability Act Applies to More Than Just Affordable Housing Developments
- November 14, 2011 11:59 PM Condominium Developer Cannot Enforce CC&R's After Selling All Units
- November 4, 2011 11:24 PM BCDC Bay Plan Amendments
- September 27, 2011 9:06 PM Court Clarifies Mitigation Requirements for Impacts to Historical Resources, Reaffirms Use of Existing Conditions as Analytical Baseline
- August 22, 2011 9:32 PM Zoning Unique to 70-Acre Parcel Not Spot Zoning
- August 22, 2011 6:56 PM A Case Where CEQA Worked
- August 5, 2011 9:31 PM Statutory Exemption Not Waived by Conducting EIR; Can be Invoked Even After Litigation Commences
- August 5, 2011 7:04 PM We're People Too: Corporations Have Standing To File CEQA Citizen Suits
- July 14, 2011 10:49 PM City's "Business‑As‑Usual" Threshold OK For Evaluating Greenhouse Gas Emissions Under CEQA
- July 1, 2011 10:23 PM Government Code Does not Require Analysis of Environmental Impacts Directly Related to School Facilities
- June 28, 2011 5:36 PM Reliance on Statutory Requirements to Mitigate Environmental Impacts Proper Under CEQA
- June 21, 2011 9:13 PM Global Warming and Droughts Not New Information; Project Opponents Must Fairly Present Claims Before Filing CEQA Lawsuit
- May 24, 2011 5:33 PM Court Affirms CEQA Does Not Require Cumulative Impact Analysis Where Project Makes No Contribution to Groundwater Impacts
- March 8, 2011 12:01 AM State Policy Barring Development Seaward Of Most Landward Extension Of Historical Mean High Tide Line Invalid As Underground Regulation
- March 8, 2011 12:01 AM Nonconforming Uses: Part One & Two
- February 17, 2011 12:21 AM Developer Must Pay Prevailing Wages for Privately Financed Public Improvements
- January 26, 2011 11:40 PM Ninth Circuit Abandons Federal Defendant Rule Prohibiting Intervention Of Right In NEPA Cases
- January 21, 2011 5:46 PM Provisions in CC&R's Requiring Arbitration of Claims Against Developers by Homeowners Associations or Owners Are Not Enforceable
- January 3, 2011 10:59 PM Court Invalidates EIR's Use of a Baseline Predicated On Future, Post-Approval Conditions For Analysis of Project's Impacts
- January 3, 2011 8:31 PM Baseline Using Existing Entitlements Acceptable If It Corresponds To Conditions "On The Ground"
- January 3, 2011 8:02 PM Attorney Fees Award May Be Reevaluated When Claims Are Partially Reversed On Appeal
- January 3, 2011 7:48 PM Local Air District Rule Requiring Development Sites to Reduce Amount of Pollutants Emitted Not Preempted by the Clean Air Act
- November 12, 2010 11:57 PM Courts Clarify Local Agency Role In Mobile Home Park Ownership Conversions
- October 15, 2010 4:43 PM Court of Appeal Upholds Previous Decision, Finding That the Requirements for Exhausting Administrative Remedies Before Challenging CEQA Exemption Did Not Apply
- October 12, 2010 4:59 PM Governor Schwarzenegger Signs Two Bills Providing Moderate CEQA Improvements
- August 5, 2010 11:23 PM Coastal Commission's No Substantial Issue Determination Will Be Upheld Even If Project Technically Not Consistent With LCP
- July 15, 2010 8:09 PM County Approval of Conditional Siting Agreement Not A Project Approval Under CEQA
- June 22, 2010 7:53 PM Supreme Court Says Florida's Beach Preservation Activities Did Not Infringe Shoreline Property Rights; Justices Scrap Over Role Of Courts In Property Takings
- June 22, 2010 8:15 AM Mitigation Fee Act May Not Require Specific Identification of New Facilities
- June 21, 2010 8:50 AM San Francisco Distinction Between Drugstores and Supermarkets Goes Up in Smoke
- June 21, 2010 8:45 AM General And Special Benefits Of Special Assessments Must Be Separated And Quantified
- April 30, 2010 10:07 PM Notice Of Exemption Triggers A 35-Day Statute Of Limitations Under CEQA Despite Flaws in Underlying Approval
- April 30, 2010 9:25 PM Supercenters Do Not Automatically Trigger Requirement To Study Urban Decay Effects In An EIR
- April 27, 2010 6:39 PM Court Invalidates Housing Cap
- April 27, 2010 5:59 PM Vested Rights Under Prior Permits Do Not Establish CEQA Baseline
- March 5, 2010 10:30 PM California's High Court Clarifies CEQA's 30-Day Statute of Limitations
- October 29, 2009 5:58 PM Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Palmer Case - Are Inclusionary Zoning Practices Due for Change?
- September 10, 2009 5:31 PM New Construction General Permit Imposes Significant New Requirements for Storm Water Discharges
- August 28, 2009 1:49 PM Administrative Fee for Tax Collection is an Unconstitutional Hidden Tax
- August 18, 2009 7:53 PM Affordable Housing: Could California's Inclusionary Zoning Laws be on the Brink of Collapse?
- August 14, 2009 7:55 PM COURT OF APPEAL LIMITS 'TEXT' REQUIREMENT FOR LOCAL REFERENDUM PETITIONS
- July 18, 2009 12:41 AM New Law Automatically Extends Existing Tentative Maps For Two Years, But Also Creates New Pitfalls, And Reduces Some Protections For Recorded Maps
- July 8, 2009 10:16 PM Checklist Approval Of Design Plan Conforming To Guidelines Established Under Specific Plan Constitutes A Ministerial Act Under CEQA
- June 19, 2009 6:07 PM Appellate Court Decision Invalidating Unjustified "Affordable Housing In Lieu Fees" Is Now Final
- June 19, 2009 1:36 PM County Outside Counsel Work Product Not Part of CEQA Record Even If Disclosed To Real Party In Interest
- April 6, 2009 10:40 PM City Not Required To Identify Specific Location For Off-Site Mitigation Under CEQA Because Standards Sufficient
- March 10, 2009 12:29 AM Decision Overturning City's "Affordable Housing in Lieu Fee" Ordered Published by Court of Appeal
- February 9, 2009 7:26 PM Affordable Housing In Lieu Fees Must Be Shown To Be Reasonably Related, And Limited, To "Deleterious Impacts Of New Development" Like Other Development Fees
- December 12, 2008 9:27 PM AB 32 Gains Traction - California Air Resources Board Adopts AB 32 Climate Change Scoping Plan
- November 4, 2008 1:14 AM Agreements Conditioned On Subsequent CEQA Review Violate CEQA If Record Shows Agency Already Committed To Project
- October 24, 2008 10:18 PM SB 375: California Adopts New Law Geared to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Integrating Regional Transportation and Land Use Planning
- October 23, 2008 5:50 PM Homestead exemption does not apply to Home owned by single shareholder corporation
- October 23, 2008 5:14 PM Challenge to a moratorium resolution announcing plans for zoning amendments dismissed as not ripe to litigate
- August 5, 2008 6:05 PM State Water Board Lifts Moratorium On New Construction in LA Region
- July 31, 2008 8:10 PM Pre-1915 Subdivisions Not Validated By Map Act Grandfather Provisions
- July 24, 2008 9:20 PM State Water Board Imposes Moratorium On New Construction In Los Angeles Region
- July 18, 2008 4:31 PM Supreme Court Raises The Bar: Holds Prop. 218 Requires Court To Exercise Independent Judgment Regarding Validity Of Assessments And Places Burden Of Proof On Assessing Agency
- July 16, 2008 8:40 PM New Law Automatically Extends Existing Vesting Tentative Maps, But Don't Celebrate Too Soon: There Are Pitfalls For The Unwary
- July 7, 2008 7:05 PM Denial Of A Conditional Use Permit For Airport Requires Initial Study Under CEQA Because Airport Closure May Affect Environment
- March 26, 2008 11:11 PM Five Year Statute of Limitations Applies to Unrecorded Rules of Homeowners Association
- February 29, 2008 5:24 PM The Vineyard EIR Water Services Principles Applied
- February 14, 2008 11:55 PM Absent Prohibition in Local Coastal Program, Coastal Commission May Designate Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Area During Consideration of a Development Permit
- February 14, 2008 11:52 PM Court Strikes Down Coastal Commission Attempt to Designate Land as Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Area Without LCP Authority
- January 24, 2008 5:12 PM Third District Court of Appeals Deals Blow to "Streamlined Zoning"
- January 2, 2008 8:10 PM Ad Hoc Zoning Exceptions Impermissible, Even in Development Agreements: Neighbors in Support of Appropriate Land Use, et al. v. County of Tuolumne, et al., (Dec. 7, 2007, F051690) __ Cal. App. 4th
- September 25, 2007 11:32 PM CEQA Is Not Preempted by the Ellis Act
- August 23, 2007 6:47 PM Global Warming Update: Legislature Amends CEQA Regarding Greenhouse Gas Emissions; Attorney General Settles Global Warming Suit
- August 15, 2007 7:04 PM Test for Preparation of Supplemental or Subsequent EIR is Significance of Impacts from Project Modifications, Not the Modifications
- June 26, 2007 12:27 AM California Supreme Court Upholds Use of "Common Sense" Exemption, Says That CEQA May Require Consideration of the Effects of "Displaced Development"
- June 11, 2007 6:13 PM Coastal Commission Can't Deny Permit Because of "Potential" Presciptive Public Access Rights
- May 23, 2007 8:19 PM Global Climate Change Legislation Does Not Require Supplemental Environmental Review Under CEQA
- April 25, 2007 6:16 PM California Coastal Commission Not Estopped from Enforcing Easily Visible, 18 Year Old Permit Violation
- February 20, 2007 7:40 PM Transfer Of Park & Recreation District Land To Third Party Was Not A Project Requiring Prior CEQA Review Where The Lack Of Any Development Plan Made Environmental Review Premature
- February 14, 2007 8:12 PM Court Sets Aside Approval Of Demolition Permit On Basis That Findings Of Infeasibility Concerning EIR Project Alternatives Not Supported By Substantial Evidence
- February 12, 2007 11:27 PM No Cause Of Action Under CEQA To Challenge County CEQA Determination Where Determination Superseded By Coastal Commission De Novo Review On Appeal
- February 3, 2007 12:34 AM District Approval Of Agreement For Purchase And Sale Of Water Expressly Conditioned On Future CEQA Compliance Does Not Require Prior CEQA Review
- January 29, 2007 7:26 PM New State Fees For Water Rights Permits and Licenses Unconstitutional Due To Failure To Demonstrate Reasonable "Proportionality" To Fee Payors
- January 18, 2007 7:38 PM Appeals Court determines that a contract for the sale of two undivided parcels was void in violation of the Subdivision Map Act.
- January 2, 2007 7:54 PM CEQA Violated Where City Determined No Additional Environmental Review Required For Wal-Mart Supercenter
- December 27, 2006 10:15 PM Newly Incorporated City May Disapprove Final Subdivision Map Even Though County Had Approved Vesting Tentative Map
- December 20, 2006 4:57 PM A Vested Rights Determination Under SMARA Regarding Surface Mining Operations In The Diminishing Asset Context Is Subject To Procedural Due Process Requirements Of Reasonable Notice And Opportunity To Be Heard
- December 14, 2006 4:52 PM Court Overturns Award Of Record Preparation Costs As Excessive And Lacking Adequate Documentation
- November 17, 2006 8:46 PM Disclosure By Local Legislators Of Their Views In One-On-One Conversations With Other Legislators May Inadvertently Create Improper "Collective Concurrence"
- November 16, 2006 1:27 AM Lead Agency Can Decide New Information Does Not Require Recirculation Of A Final EIR Without First Adding The Information To The Final EIR
- November 15, 2006 5:46 PM Filing Of Appeal To City Council Not Necessarily Required For Exhaustion Of Administrative Remedies
- October 26, 2006 7:01 PM Border Business Park, Inc. v. City of San Diego
- September 22, 2006 7:30 PM Voting Rights Act Does Not Require Translation Of Recall Petition Into Minority Languages
- June 5, 2006 4:29 PM Exclusive Possession Insufficient To Oust TIC Co-Tenant
- May 3, 2006 11:22 PM Cities Can Limit Big Box Retail But They Have To Be Fair To The Little Guy
- April 5, 2006 8:37 PM Court Of Appeal Confirms Applicability of Brown Act to Settlements Entered Into by Local Governments in Closed Session
- March 15, 2006 5:58 PM Ninth Circuit Holds Recall Petitions Fall Within Bilingual Requirements of Federal Voting Rights Act of 1965
- February 22, 2006 4:38 PM D.C. Circuit Holds Unanimously That "Tulloch Rule" Is Ripe For Judicial Review
- February 6, 2006 6:59 PM Building Permit Fees: Considerations Raised by the Recent Cal. Supreme Court Decision in Barratt-American v. City of Rancho Cucamonga
- January 5, 2006 8:35 PM Two Recent Cases Shed Light On Section 404 Alternatives Analysis
- October 27, 2005 6:39 PM Guidelines For Land Uses Near Military Installations To Be Issued Nov. 30
- October 13, 2005 4:49 PM Court of Appeal Emphasizes Importance of Development Agreements
- October 10, 2005 6:33 PM Legislature Enacts New Public Resources Code Section 6307; Expands Land Commission's Exchange Authority
- September 22, 2005 5:58 PM Court of Appeal Strikes Down Orange County Development Project
- August 29, 2005 12:36 AM California Supreme Court To Rule On State Lands Commission's Exchange Authority
- August 9, 2005 11:35 PM California Supreme Court Voids Jury Trial Waivers
- July 14, 2005 2:09 AM U.S. Supreme Court Holds Condemnation for Economic Development is Constitutional
- July 12, 2005 2:14 AM U.S. Supreme Court Holds That Final Takings Judgment In State Court Precludes Federal Claim
- July 11, 2005 2:20 AM California Supreme Court Holds Legislative Appointments to Coastal Commission Are Constitutional
- May 17, 2005 12:29 AM New Transportation Fee Threatens to Cripple County's Commercial, Industrial Development
- March 17, 2005 11:25 PM Conversion and Collocation: Viable Tools for Increasing Housing Supply
- March 1, 2005 12:33 AM Permits and Zoning
- January 12, 2005 7:15 PM The Challenges of Infill Housing
- July 19, 2004 6:43 PM CEQA Resources
- July 15, 2004 8:41 PM Case Summary - Defend the Bay v. City of Irvine
- April 25, 2005 11:43 PM Disclaimer
- April 25, 2005 11:43 PM Privacy Policy
- April 16, 2013 5:18 PM Utility Pole Not A Point Source Under The Clean Water Act
- January 10, 2013 5:45 PM Conveyance of Polluted Water Within River Involves No 'Discharge' Under Clean Water Act
- September 17, 2012 8:45 AM Recovery Plan Not Binding on Delisting Decisions
- July 20, 2012 9:21 AM Supreme Court to Hear Two Significant Clean Water Cases
- March 28, 2012 6:03 PM Supreme Court Holds EPA Compliance Order Asserting Clean Water Act Jurisdiction Is Subject to Judicial Review
- February 22, 2012 7:08 PM New And Revised Nationwide Permits For Dredge And Fill Activities
- November 22, 2011 11:37 PM 9th Circuit Upholds Biological Opinions For Proposed Mine
- August 5, 2011 11:37 PM Fish and Wildlife Service Settles Lawsuits on Listing Deadlines
- June 29, 2011 9:50 PM U.S. Supreme Court to Review Two Cases With Potentially Significant Consequences for Wetlands and Waterways
- May 24, 2011 6:06 PM Application of Sections 7 and 9 of the Endangered Species Act to California Delta Smelt Does Not Violate Commerce Clause
- February 28, 2011 7:02 PM Corps Proposes New, Reissued, And Modified Nationwide Permits
- February 22, 2011 10:50 PM Fourth Circuit Offers Pyrrhic Victory On Corps Jurisdiction Over Developer's Clean Water Act Permit
- July 15, 2010 10:31 PM California Endangered Species Act Prohibits State Agencies From Taking Threatened and Endangered Species Without Permit Authority
- June 22, 2010 4:20 PM 9th Circuit Upholds Critical Habitat Designation for Mexican Spotted Owl
- June 22, 2010 8:59 AM 9th Circuit Upholds Corps Permit and Biological Opinion
- April 30, 2010 10:22 PM EPA Proposes 'Veto' of Section 404 Permit for Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining Project in West Virginia
- April 16, 2010 8:15 PM Fish and Game Commission Seeks Comments Related to Proposed California Tiger Salamander Rulemaking
- March 8, 2010 11:55 PM State Listing of California Tiger Salamander Warranted
- November 25, 2009 9:14 PM U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Strategic Climate Change Plan
- July 8, 2009 10:27 PM EPA's New Source Performance Standard Does Not Apply to Discharges of Mining Slurry Regulated Under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act
- April 6, 2009 10:56 PM EPA May Use Cost-Benefit Analysis In Setting "Best Technology Available" Standards Under Clean Water Act
- April 6, 2009 10:40 PM City Not Required To Identify Specific Location For Off-Site Mitigation Under CEQA Because Standards Sufficient
- March 26, 2009 5:25 PM Supreme Court Tightens Standing Requirements For Recreational Users Challenging Forest Service Actions
- March 10, 2009 11:40 PM Army Corps Properly Limited Scope of NEPA Review of Section 404 Permits to Impacts of Filling Jurisdictional Waters
- March 2, 2009 8:14 PM Fish and Game Commission Accepts Petition to List CTS and Adopts Interim Take Rules
- January 23, 2009 9:39 PM California Fish and Game Commission to Consider Candidacy Status of California Tiger Salamander under CESA at February 5 Meeting
- September 17, 2008 8:09 PM No Judicial Review of CORPS Jurisdictional Determinations Under APA
- September 17, 2008 7:57 PM Fish and Game Commission Must Accept Petition to List the CTS under California Endangered Species Act
- September 17, 2008 12:42 AM Ninth Circuit: Four 60-Day Notices Not Enough, Rejects Clean Water Act Challenge
- July 24, 2008 12:37 AM California Supreme Court Holds Headwaters Agreement Incidental Take Permit And Sustained Yield Plan Invalid
- June 20, 2008 8:21 PM Army Corps Proposes Templates to Expedite Development and Approval of Mitigation Bank Proposals
- January 31, 2008 7:59 PM Corps Eliminates Elevations for Jurisdictional Delineations Affected by Rapanos Decision in Revised Coordination Procedures
- August 29, 2007 1:32 AM Man-Made Pond That Is Within a Larger Wetland Area Adjacent to Traditionally Navigable Water Is Within Corps Jurisdiction Under Clean Water Act
- August 10, 2007 6:43 PM Construction Activities During Dry Season in Creek Experiencing Seasonal Flow Only Two Months of the Year Violates Clean Water Act
- June 6, 2007 2:27 AM Army Corps of Engineers, US EPA Publish Long-Awaited Guidance on Determining Clean Water Act Regulatory Jurisdiction Subject to the Supreme Court's Rapanos and Carabell Decisions
- April 10, 2007 8:54 PM Ninth Circuit Holds Recovery Standard Applies To Jeopardy Analysis
- March 26, 2007 10:55 PM Bureau of Reclamation Decision to Withhold Water, As Required By Federal Law, Did Not Breach 1983 State Water Contracts Nor Did It Constitute A Taking of A Vested Property Right.
- March 21, 2007 9:34 PM Clean Water Act Update: Adjacent Wetlands Rule for Establishing Clean Water Act Regulatory Authority Does Not Apply to a Non-Wetland Diked Pond
- March 14, 2007 10:22 PM Army Corps Issues New and Modified Nationwide Permits
- March 13, 2007 7:34 PM Clean Water Act Update: District Courts on the East, West Coasts Explain and Apply the Rapanos Decision to Adjacent Wetlands and Intermittent and Ephemeral Streams
- February 1, 2007 8:00 PM U.S. District Court Throws Out "Tulloch II" Rule Defining Incidental Fallback
- December 29, 2006 7:49 PM Corps Announces Implementation of Arid West Interim Supplement to the 1987 Wetlands Delineation Manual
- December 21, 2006 8:54 PM Court Orders the CTS be Considered for Listing under the California Endangered Species Act
- September 26, 2006 10:38 PM Corps Proposes New, Reissued, and Modified Nationwide Permits
- September 22, 2006 1:17 AM Nationwide Permits Scheduled To Expire On March 19, 2007
- September 15, 2006 2:38 AM Major Victory for Habitat Conservation Planning: California Appeals Court Denies CEQA and CESA Challenge to Natomas Basin Habitat Conservation Plan
- June 22, 2006 10:09 PM Supreme Court Curtails Army Corps Of Engineers' Jurisdiction
- April 3, 2006 6:18 PM Court Concludes Fish And Wildlife Service Improperly Ignored Recovery Goal Of Critical Habitat Designation
- February 22, 2006 4:38 PM D.C. Circuit Holds Unanimously That "Tulloch Rule" Is Ripe For Judicial Review
- February 6, 2006 6:59 PM Building Permit Fees: Considerations Raised by the Recent Cal. Supreme Court Decision in Barratt-American v. City of Rancho Cucamonga
- September 30, 2005 6:39 PM House Passes POMBO ESA Bill
- September 27, 2005 4:59 PM Activity on Reform of The Endangered Species Act
- September 22, 2005 5:58 PM Court of Appeal Strikes Down Orange County Development Project
- August 9, 2005 11:35 PM California Supreme Court Voids Jury Trial Waivers
- July 14, 2005 2:09 AM U.S. Supreme Court Holds Condemnation for Economic Development is Constitutional
- October 1, 2004 7:05 PM Ninth Circuit Raises the Level of Protection Afforded to Critical Habitat
- September 1, 2004 7:16 PM Statewide Listing of California Tiger Salamander As A Federal Endangered Species Took Effect on September 3, 2004, Critical Habitat Proposed
- July 1, 2004 12:51 AM Major New ESA Decision Limits Mitigation the Services May Require
- May 1, 2013 4:44 PM California Commercial Building Owners Must Comply With New Energy Use Disclosure Rules Commencing July 1, 2013
- April 22, 2013 5:19 PM New Disability Access Law Imposes Notification Requirements For Commercial Leases
- April 1, 2013 5:04 PM Bill Introduced to Restore Cities' Ability to Require Affordable Housing
- September 28, 2012 4:43 PM ARB Initiates Potentially Controversial Agricultural Equipment Regulation
- March 12, 2012 4:45 AM Redevelopment Law Unconstitutional Because of Impairment of Contract?
- February 22, 2012 7:08 PM New And Revised Nationwide Permits For Dredge And Fill Activities
- February 10, 2012 4:50 PM California Adopts Revolutionary New Clean Car Standards
- February 7, 2012 6:28 PM OPR Releases Proposed Guidelines for Streamlining CEQA Review of Infill Projects
- December 16, 2011 12:09 AM CEQA Amendments from the 2011 Legislative Session
- November 4, 2011 11:24 PM BCDC Bay Plan Amendments
- November 4, 2011 11:13 PM ARB Passes Final Regulations for Cap-And-Trade Program
- October 6, 2011 5:47 PM California AB 32's Cap-And-Trade Program Developments
- October 6, 2011 4:49 PM Governor Brown Signs Two Bills Intended to Protect Children From Toxic Exposures
- October 4, 2011 4:39 PM Update On Redevelopment Law: Litigation Proceeds - Uncertainty Continues
- September 14, 2011 9:29 PM California Legislature Passes Bills to Expedite Judicial Review of CEQA Challenges for Selected Projects
- July 25, 2011 6:34 PM New Law Automatically Extends Subdivision Map Approvals (Again)
- July 1, 2011 10:42 PM Update On Redevelopment Law: Governor Signs Trailer Bills To End Redevelopment Agencies Unless They Make Payments - Uncertainty Continues
- June 16, 2011 10:34 PM Update On Redevelopment Law: Legislative Two Step To Cut Redevelopment Agency Funding Goes Down With Governor's Budget Veto
- April 26, 2011 9:19 PM Update on Redevelopment Law: No News Is...No News
- February 28, 2011 7:02 PM Corps Proposes New, Reissued, And Modified Nationwide Permits
- February 22, 2011 11:10 PM Brokers - Thou Shalt Not Accept Payments From More Than One Source In Connection With a Mortgage Loan
- November 12, 2010 11:37 PM Proposition 23's Failure Means Full Speed Ahead On AB 32
- September 10, 2009 5:31 PM New Construction General Permit Imposes Significant New Requirements for Storm Water Discharges
- April 13, 2009 8:57 PM Modifications of home loans under government program will not adversely affect REMICs
- February 27, 2009 5:42 PM New Cancellation of Indebtedness Deferral Election May Not Cover Deed-In-Lieu Transactions
- February 23, 2009 7:13 PM Stimulation Has Its Price - The Audit and Oversight Provisions of The 2009 Stimulus Bill Are Unlike Anything Most Funding Recipients Have Ever Seen
- February 17, 2009 9:38 PM Tax Relief For Investment, Restructuring, Refinancing And Other Business Activity
- September 17, 2008 8:15 PM What You Need To Know About SF's Green Building Ordinance
- August 5, 2008 6:05 PM State Water Board Lifts Moratorium On New Construction in LA Region
- July 24, 2008 9:20 PM State Water Board Imposes Moratorium On New Construction In Los Angeles Region
- July 24, 2008 9:11 PM EPA Releases Advance Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking Regarding Regulation Of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Under Clean Air Act
- July 16, 2008 8:40 PM New Law Automatically Extends Existing Vesting Tentative Maps, But Don't Celebrate Too Soon: There Are Pitfalls For The Unwary
- July 15, 2008 8:58 PM Update On Proposed Draft Regulation To Reduce Emissions Of Diesel Particulate Matter, And Other Pollutants From In Use On Road Heavy Duty Diesel-Fueled Engines
- July 1, 2008 11:22 PM Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions: California Air Resources Board Releases Draft AB 32 Scoping Plan
- June 20, 2008 8:21 PM Army Corps Proposes Templates to Expedite Development and Approval of Mitigation Bank Proposals
- June 11, 2008 11:15 PM No Idling: California Air Resources Board Adopts New Off-Road Diesel Rule
- May 23, 2008 7:29 PM Relief for Securitization Vehicles: Mortgage Modification under Foreclosure Prevention Programs
- April 28, 2008 6:32 PM City of Los Angeles Adopts Green Building Ordinance on Earth Day
- January 31, 2008 7:59 PM Corps Eliminates Elevations for Jurisdictional Delineations Affected by Rapanos Decision in Revised Coordination Procedures
- August 21, 2007 12:21 AM Summary of Proposed Draft Regulation to Reduce Emissions of Diesel Particulate Matter, and Other Pollutants From In-Use On-Road Heavy-Duty Diesel-Fueled Engines
- November 29, 2005 11:22 PM U.S. EPA Issues Final Rule on "All Appropriate Inquiry" for Avoiding CERCLA Liability
- January 15, 2013 10:38 PM Recent tax law changes of 2013
- October 25, 2012 9:01 AM Avoiding Things That Can Make You Go Bust In The Student Housing Boom
- February 14, 2008 3:50 PM Court Clarifies Prompt Payment Risks to Contractor
- November 2, 2007 12:12 AM Court Of Appeal Finds That A Tolling Agreement Between An HOA And Developer Tolls The Applicable Statute Of Limitations Even As To A Non-Party Subcontractor.
- April 5, 2007 12:13 AM Federal Arbitration Act Preempts Contrary California Law and Prevents Purchaser of Real Property from Bringing an Action in Court for Construction and Design Defects
- January 25, 2007 1:29 AM A Public Entity's Determination That A Subcontractor Could Be Substituted Under Public Contracts Code Section 4107 Is Denied Preclusive Effect In Subsequent Litigation
- December 8, 2006 4:58 PM Clean Water Act Regulations Do Not Require Numeric Testing Of Individual Pollutants Or Numeric Effluent Limitations For Industrial Stormwater Discharges
- July 12, 2006 5:18 PM A Cautionary Tale On Relying On Advice From Commission Staff
- July 3, 2006 4:40 PM California Supreme Court Limits Pre-Election Challenges to Ballot Initiatives
- April 11, 2006 5:23 PM California LLC Fee Unconstitutional; Filing Protective Claim For Refund
- July 30, 2004 5:58 PM Real Estate/ Land Use/ Environmental Overview
- July 20, 2004 6:02 PM CEQA and Land Use
- June 13, 2004 7:24 PM Real Estate Litigation
- June 10, 2004 6:10 PM Military Base Reuse and Closure ("BRAC")
- July 18, 2004 8:16 PM Our Work
- March 23, 2009 8:40 AM Public-Private Partnerships: P3s and Competitive Bidding Laws (Part III)
- March 10, 2009 1:03 PM Public-Private Partnerships: Potential Conflicts With Prevailing Wage Laws (Part II)
- February 26, 2009 9:44 PM Public-Private Partnerships: A Growing Trend (Part I)
- February 2, 2012 1:02 AM The Covenant of Quiet Enjoyment - A Bang or a Whimper
- February 22, 2011 11:10 PM Brokers - Thou Shalt Not Accept Payments From More Than One Source In Connection With a Mortgage Loan
- August 10, 2010 5:36 PM Homeowner Associations and Members Not Necessarily Bound By Arbitration Provisions in CC&Rs or in Related Purchase Agreement Where Developer is Initial Declarant
- March 9, 2010 12:41 AM Recovery Zone Facility Bonds May Not Provide the Economic Stimulus Local Agencies Hoped For
- March 5, 2010 10:06 PM As of March 8, 2010, Major Title Insurers Will No Longer Underwrite Policies to Protect Creditors' Rights
- November 19, 2009 7:00 PM Changes to Penalty for Failure to Timely File CA Entity Change in Ownership Statement
- April 13, 2009 8:57 PM Modifications of home loans under government program will not adversely affect REMICs
- January 28, 2009 10:15 PM Landlords Keep Your House In Order - Claims For Past Due Rents Dismissed Where Certificate Of Occupancy Not Obtained
- October 23, 2008 5:50 PM Homestead exemption does not apply to Home owned by single shareholder corporation
- September 7, 2007 11:34 PM Court May Not Imply Essential Terms Regarding Time and Payment to Make Option Agreement Enforceable if Parties Continued to Negotiate Those Terms After Execution of Agreement.
- March 6, 2007 6:43 PM Physical Recordation Of A LIS Pendens With The Recorder's Office Does Not Provide Constructive Notice Of The Claim Until The LIS Pendens Is Properly Indexed By The Recorder.
- February 3, 2007 12:24 AM Exculpatory Clauses In A Purchase Agreement Do Not Bar Claims By Buyers Of Real Property Alleging That The Seller's Brokers Made Intentional Misrepresentations About The Property
- January 18, 2007 7:38 PM Appeals Court determines that a contract for the sale of two undivided parcels was void in violation of the Subdivision Map Act.
- August 9, 2005 11:35 PM California Supreme Court Voids Jury Trial Waivers
- July 26, 2005 7:11 PM Out of Form: Special Considerations in Biotech Leasing
- July 18, 2005 5:49 PM Landlord's Profits Following Repossession Do Not Reduce Tenant's Liability For Breach
- October 4, 2001 11:33 PM A Subtenant's Guide to Subleasing
Recent Cases
- June 20, 2008 12:44 AM Federal Claims Court Awards $4.2M to Ranchers' Estate for Taking of Water Rights
- February 14, 2008 11:55 PM Absent Prohibition in Local Coastal Program, Coastal Commission May Designate Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Area During Consideration of a Development Permit
- February 14, 2008 11:52 PM Court Strikes Down Coastal Commission Attempt to Designate Land as Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Area Without LCP Authority
- January 24, 2008 5:12 PM Third District Court of Appeals Deals Blow to "Streamlined Zoning"
- June 26, 2012 10:54 AM California Appellate Court Greenlights Air Resources Board's Cap-And-Trade Program [1]
- January 6, 2012 12:14 AM Enforcement of California Low-Carbon Fuel Standard Blocked
- July 1, 2011 10:32 PM Carbon Dioxide Emissions Not Subject to Federal Common Law Nuisance Claims
- June 13, 2011 9:42 PM Superior Court's Injunction Preventing California's Cap and Trade Program Has Been Stayed...Right?
- April 12, 2011 6:17 PM Municipalities Are Responsible For Discharges Of Stormwater Regardless Of The Ultimate Source Of Pollution
- April 11, 2011 6:57 PM Final Decision Suspends California's AB 32 GHG Regulations: What Now?
- February 4, 2011 8:23 PM California Court Issues Tentative Ruling Enjoining AB 32 Implementation
- April 22, 2013 5:21 PM No Relief Under CCP Section 473 For Missed Filing Deadline In CEQA Challenge
- November 29, 2012 9:30 AM Zoning Director Approval Triggers Section 65009 Statute of Limitations
- November 28, 2012 9:06 AM City May Adopt Housing Element Revisions Inconsistent With General Plan If City Also Adopts Timeline To Correct Inconsistencies
- October 30, 2012 8:57 AM Further Confirmation Notice of Exemption Filed Before Project Approval is Void
- October 26, 2012 4:48 PM The Amorphous "Unusual Circumstances" Exception to CEQA's Categorical Exemption Strikes Again
- August 8, 2012 2:35 AM Appeals Court Reaffirms That Non-Prejudicial Planning And Zoning Code And CEQA Errors Cannot Serve As Basis For Overturning City Approval
- July 20, 2012 9:19 AM Federal Government's Eminent Domain Power Trumps California's Sovereign Public Trust Title
- July 12, 2012 1:57 AM Impacts On Required Public Services Not An Environmental Impact; No Mitigation Required
- June 28, 2012 9:38 AM Parties Must Exhaust Administrative Remedies Before Challenging Even A CEQA Exemption
- May 29, 2012 8:21 AM California Supreme Court Grants Hearing in Berkeley Hillside Preservation v. City of Berkeley
- April 20, 2012 7:19 PM Use of Projected Future Conditions Appropriate Baseline for Analyzing Impacts of Long-Term Infrastructure Projects
- March 29, 2012 5:43 PM California Supreme Court Denies Review of Case Holding that CEQA Does Not Require Analysis of Effects on a Project Caused by the Environment
- March 5, 2012 7:45 PM River Segment Must Be Navigable In Fact For Commercial Purposes At Statehood For State To Obtain Title To Riverbed Under The Equal Footing Doctrine
- February 17, 2012 9:53 AM Decision to Deny a Zoning Change Subject to 90-Day Statute of Limitation
- February 17, 2012 9:52 AM Tiered EIR Must Be Prepared Where Program EIR Provides Insufficient Guidance on Discretionary Choices
- February 2, 2012 1:07 AM CEQA Trumps Surplus Lands Act; Lead Agency Must Respond to All Comments Regardless of Merit
- January 6, 2012 1:28 AM Court Clarifies CEQA Rules Regarding Infeasibility and Deferral of Mitigation
- January 6, 2012 1:17 AM Map Act 90-Day Statute of Limitations Applies to Ordinances Adopted Under Authority of the Act
- January 6, 2012 1:03 AM CEQA Does Not Require Identification of Significant Effects of the Environment (Sea Level Rise) on a Project; Assertion of New Claims Barred in EIR Required to be Revised by Judgment in a Prior Case
- January 5, 2012 11:40 PM Superior Court Strikes Down Numeric Effluent Limits in California's Construction General Permit
- December 7, 2011 5:37 PM Court Upholds Medical Campus Expansion, Provides Guidance on Using Future Traffic Projections to Analyze Traffic Impacts
- November 22, 2011 11:30 PM Housing Accountability Act Applies to More Than Just Affordable Housing Developments
- November 14, 2011 11:59 PM Condominium Developer Cannot Enforce CC&R's After Selling All Units
- September 27, 2011 9:06 PM Court Clarifies Mitigation Requirements for Impacts to Historical Resources, Reaffirms Use of Existing Conditions as Analytical Baseline
- August 22, 2011 9:32 PM Zoning Unique to 70-Acre Parcel Not Spot Zoning
- August 22, 2011 6:56 PM A Case Where CEQA Worked
- August 5, 2011 9:31 PM Statutory Exemption Not Waived by Conducting EIR; Can be Invoked Even After Litigation Commences
- August 5, 2011 7:04 PM We're People Too: Corporations Have Standing To File CEQA Citizen Suits
- July 14, 2011 10:49 PM City's "Business‑As‑Usual" Threshold OK For Evaluating Greenhouse Gas Emissions Under CEQA
- July 1, 2011 10:23 PM Government Code Does not Require Analysis of Environmental Impacts Directly Related to School Facilities
- June 28, 2011 5:36 PM Reliance on Statutory Requirements to Mitigate Environmental Impacts Proper Under CEQA
- June 21, 2011 9:13 PM Global Warming and Droughts Not New Information; Project Opponents Must Fairly Present Claims Before Filing CEQA Lawsuit
- May 24, 2011 5:33 PM Court Affirms CEQA Does Not Require Cumulative Impact Analysis Where Project Makes No Contribution to Groundwater Impacts
- April 11, 2011 8:18 AM "Pay Under Protest" Procedure for "Other Exactions" Is Not Applicable to All Development Exactions
- March 8, 2011 12:01 AM State Policy Barring Development Seaward Of Most Landward Extension Of Historical Mean High Tide Line Invalid As Underground Regulation
- February 17, 2011 12:21 AM Developer Must Pay Prevailing Wages for Privately Financed Public Improvements
- January 26, 2011 11:40 PM Ninth Circuit Abandons Federal Defendant Rule Prohibiting Intervention Of Right In NEPA Cases
- January 21, 2011 5:46 PM Provisions in CC&R's Requiring Arbitration of Claims Against Developers by Homeowners Associations or Owners Are Not Enforceable
- January 3, 2011 10:59 PM Court Invalidates EIR's Use of a Baseline Predicated On Future, Post-Approval Conditions For Analysis of Project's Impacts
- January 3, 2011 8:31 PM Baseline Using Existing Entitlements Acceptable If It Corresponds To Conditions "On The Ground"
- January 3, 2011 8:02 PM Attorney Fees Award May Be Reevaluated When Claims Are Partially Reversed On Appeal
- January 3, 2011 7:48 PM Local Air District Rule Requiring Development Sites to Reduce Amount of Pollutants Emitted Not Preempted by the Clean Air Act
- April 16, 2013 5:18 PM Utility Pole Not A Point Source Under The Clean Water Act
- January 10, 2013 5:45 PM Conveyance of Polluted Water Within River Involves No 'Discharge' Under Clean Water Act
- September 17, 2012 8:45 AM Recovery Plan Not Binding on Delisting Decisions
- July 20, 2012 9:21 AM Supreme Court to Hear Two Significant Clean Water Cases
- March 28, 2012 6:03 PM Supreme Court Holds EPA Compliance Order Asserting Clean Water Act Jurisdiction Is Subject to Judicial Review
- November 22, 2011 11:37 PM 9th Circuit Upholds Biological Opinions For Proposed Mine
- June 29, 2011 9:50 PM U.S. Supreme Court to Review Two Cases With Potentially Significant Consequences for Wetlands and Waterways
- February 22, 2011 10:50 PM Fourth Circuit Offers Pyrrhic Victory On Corps Jurisdiction Over Developer's Clean Water Act Permit
- February 2, 2012 1:02 AM The Covenant of Quiet Enjoyment - A Bang or a Whimper
- August 10, 2010 5:36 PM Homeowner Associations and Members Not Necessarily Bound By Arbitration Provisions in CC&Rs or in Related Purchase Agreement Where Developer is Initial Declarant
- October 2, 2012 9:35 AM Redevelopment: Rising From The Ashes Or Final Death Rattle?
- March 12, 2012 4:45 AM Redevelopment Law Unconstitutional Because of Impairment of Contract?
- January 5, 2012 7:19 PM State Cancellation of Redevelopment Agencies May Affect You!
- December 29, 2011 7:38 PM Update On Redevelopment Law: The Supreme Court Makes it Official - Redevelopment Is Dead In California
- December 28, 2011 10:46 PM Supreme Court Ruling on Redevelopment Fate Expected Tomorrow
- December 16, 2011 11:07 AM Sheppard Mullin's Michael Kiely Interviewed on the Ramifications of Redevelopment Legislation
- October 4, 2011 4:39 PM Update On Redevelopment Law: Litigation Proceeds - Uncertainty Continues
- July 1, 2011 10:42 PM Update On Redevelopment Law: Governor Signs Trailer Bills To End Redevelopment Agencies Unless They Make Payments - Uncertainty Continues
- June 16, 2011 10:34 PM Update On Redevelopment Law: Legislative Two Step To Cut Redevelopment Agency Funding Goes Down With Governor's Budget Veto
- April 26, 2011 9:19 PM Update on Redevelopment Law: No News Is...No News
- April 26, 2005 12:00 AM RSS