Vol. 20 No. 05 May 2005

A billboard company has lost a lawsuit seeking damages from the City of Los Angeles for planting trees that obstructed visibility of six billboards.

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Raise the topic of suburban sprawl in California, and you most likely launch a conversation about the San Fernando Valley, coastal Orange County, or the bedroom communities inland of San Francisco Bay. Only belatedly, if at all, will the conversation wander to the high desert, historically home only to scattered, windblown settlements scraped out of sand and creosote bush.

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The meetings of two Malibu City Council members whom the council had charged with reviewing and negotiating over a land use plan prepared by the Coastal Commission were not subject to the state's open meeting law, an appellate court panel has ruled.

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I recently had an unsettling experience in a parking lot in Lompoc. I was standing in the middle of an enormous asphalt parking lot, surrounded by large buildings emblazoned with the logos of national retail chains, and, for a split second, I didn't know where I was.

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A recent ruling by the Department of Industrial Relations regarding labor rates for subsidized housing projects might be an advantage for affordable housing development, especially in rural areas. However, the situation regarding “prevailing wage” requirements might best be described as fluid.

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Kern County should have prepared an environmental impact report before adopting an ordinance regulating the disposal of sewage sludge on agricultural land, the Fifth District Court of Appeal has ruled.

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A City of San Francisco decision to deny an application for a cell phone antenna has been upheld in part by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

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Local governments in California have no authority over Indian casinos and collect no taxes from the casinos. But some cities and counties still see value in having a casino nearby and manage to reap economic benefits of a casino and its accompanying facilities.

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A lawsuit filed by Malibu property owners while the City of Malibu was suing the Coastal Commission was not a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, the Second District Court of Appeal has ruled.

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This month's selection of In Brief items includes: Legislative Analyst's Office suggests the state consider wildfire threats when planning developments near wilderness; Santa Ana voters support plans for Orange County's would-be tallest building; Private investors back away from plans for hotel and convention center; Battle over Bolsa Chica is perhaps over; and much more.

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