CP&DR Staff

Tehama County did not have to disclose publicly advice it received from an outside law firm on how to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act while dealing with a controversial development project, the Third District Court of Appeal has ruled. The unanimous three-judge panel ruled that the four documents were protected by attorney-client privilege or work product privilege, even though Tehama County shared the documents with the project’s developer. » read more | add to cart

There is no evidence that California’s enterprise zone program – the state’s largest economic development effort – has increased jobs in program areas, according to a Public Policy Institute of California study. “Our main finding is that, on average, enterprise zones have no effect on business creation or job growth,” PPIC researchers Jed Kolko and David Neumark wrote. 

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Property assessments levied to fund the downtown Pomona Property and Business Improvement District did not violate Proposition 218, the Second District Court of Appeal has ruled for a second time. » read more | add to cart

Approval of an 88-acre warehouse distribution facility at March Air Reserve Base was exempt from environmental review because the project was included in a general plan and a specific plan, both of which received environmental analysis, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has ruled. » read more | add to cart

Opponents of the proposed construction of two houses on a coastal bluff in San Clemente may pursue their lawsuit to overturn the California Coastal Commission’s approval of the projects, even though the suit was filed after a statute of limitations had ostensibly expired, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has ruled. » read more | add to cart

A state appellate court has upheld the City of Los Angeles’s refusal to grant a conditional use permit for the sale and on-site consumption of alcohol at an adult cabaret. The court ruled that the decision to deny the permit strictly concerned alcohol and did not prohibit the expression of protected speech. » read more | add to cart

The California Supreme Court has reversed an appellate court ruling that regional park and open-space districts said would have greatly diminished their ability to acquire and manage land. The court said that a regional park and open-space district can dispose of property if it has not officially declared – such as by adopting a resolution – that the property is “dedicated” for use as a park and open space. » read more | add to cart

In this month's roundup of land use news, both the developer of a Calaveras County golf course built without permits and the county must decide how to proceed after supervisors refused to approve the project after-the-fact; the Obama administation has reversed a controverial Bush-era Endangered Species Act rule; a conservation plan for an endangered salamander in Sonoma County has died; developer DMB Associates has announced it is abandoning a new town proposal in San Benito County but has a new 12,000-unit project in Redwood City; and a whistleblower lawsuit over redwoods logging has been settled. » read more | add to cart

Voters in the Santa Clara County city of Morgan Hill have changed their minds and approved a growth control modification to permit additional housing development in the downtown area. Measure A keeps in place Morgan Hill’s population cap of 48,000 by 2020, but permits 500 more units downtown than had been allowed. » read more | add to cart

A City of Los Angeles ordinance that subjects replacement rental units to the city’s rent control scheme has been upheld by the Second District Court of Appeal. The court rejected the argument that the ordinance violates the Costa-Hawkins Act, which exempts newly constructed units from local rent control measures. » read more | add to cart