Orange County

The Sierra Club’s challenge of the environmental review for a large annexation by the City of Orange and a related development by the Irvine Company has been rejected by the Fourth District Court of Appeal.

The court turned away arguments that the environmental analysis for the Santiago Hills and East Orange projects improperly described the project, segmented environmental reviews, failed to adequately address water quality, incorrectly analyzed traffic and lacked a proper project alternatives analysis.
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Voters in the City of San Clemente will decide on a building height and view ordinance, thanks to a state appellate court ruling regarding signature gathering for a referendum of the ordinance. » read more | add to cart

Morris Newman’s June Deals column, “Disney Spins Negative Fantasia About Housing,” is off the mark, citing misinformation and wrongly taking Disney to task on Anaheim housing issues. As the former director of the California Department of Housing and Community Development, and now as President and CEO of the Orange County Business Council (OCBC), I appreciate the opportunity to correct the record. » read more | add to cart

The saga of plan check and building inspection fees in Orange County continues, as an appellate court has ruled that the county must reduce fees by $4.5 million and pay nearly $1.4 million in attorney fees and court costs.

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I simply adore being in Cannes, with its splendid, high-end hotels, its outdoor cafes, the elegantly turned-out couples strolling on the boulevard, the nearly naked young people frolicking at the water’s edge, unembarrassed by their perfectly toned bodies and golden skin….What’s that? I am mistaken? We’re not on the Riviera? Oh, naughty carissima, you are trying to fool me with a cruel joke! This couldn’t possibly be…Huntington Beach? » read more | add to cart

Why did nobody tell me that market-rate housing had become a NIMBY issue? Did I sleep this momentous event, just as I sawed a log through the Northridge earthquake? Here I am, bumbling through life as if nothing special is happening, while unbeknownst to me The Walt Disney Company is having one of its most creative moments since it released Dumbo.

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A grading permit for a nursery in Huntington Beach did not violate a six-year-old conditional use permit and was not subject to environmental review, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has ruled.

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For at least the third time in two years, litigation filed by housing advocates has resulted in a court order or settlement for hundreds of affordable housing units. The latest city to get hit with a judgment is Brea, whose redevelopment agency was ordered to produce 208 units of low- and very low-income housing by June 2012. » read more | add to cart

Anaheim officials have sided with Disneyland and rejected SunCal’s neighboring development proposal; report by LAO says Indian casinos will not provide significant revenues for the state of California; Madera County settled with Indian tribe; the Bureau of Indian Affairs has approved a proposed landfill on a Colusa County Indian reservation; Seal Beach has repealed a ban on three-story houses in the Old Town area; and the ongoing redevelopment of the former George Air Force Base in Victorville receives a boost from Newell Rubbermaid.

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Orange County’s approval of a controversial housing project in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains has been overturned by the Fourth District Court of Appeal.

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