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San Bernadino County Planner Indicted for Hiding Public Records; Valery Pilmer Denies Wrongdoing in Failed Desert Landfill Propo

Mar 1, 1999

Featured Articles, Paul Shigley, Vol. 14 No. 03 Mar 1999

The lengthy story of a proposal to bury Los Angeles County trash in San Bernardino County took a surprising turn when San Bernardino County's long-time planning director was indicted on charges of allegedly hiding, altering or destroying public records and lying about it in a sworn statement. Land Use Services Director Valery Pilmer pleaded not guilty after being indicted in late January by a special San Bernardino County grand jury investigating the Rail-Cycle landfill project. She has since been pla...

North Natomas HCP

Mar 1, 1999

CP&DR Staff, Environment Watch, Vol. 14 No. 03 Mar 1999

North Natomas A lawsuit challenging a habitat conservation plan for Sacramento's North Natomas area has been filed in federal court by a group of environmentalists. A popular tool promoted by the Clinton administration, HCPs are intended to end disputes with landowners over plants and animals covered by the Endangered Species Act. Under the Natomas HCP, an acre of land is to be preserved for every two acres developed in the area, a few miles north of downtown Sacramento along Interstat...

Smart Growth Hits the Agenda of California and National Leaders; Al Gore Supports ‘Livability Initiative' as an Elixir for Subu

Mar 1, 1999

Featured Articles, Paul Shigley, Vol. 14 No. 03 Mar 1999

State and national politicians are jumping on the anti-sprawl bandwagon like never before, with no less than Vice President Al Gore launching a "livability initiative." Gore's proposal, which President Clinton mentioned during the State of the Union speech, promotes mass transit, open space conservation and development within existing cities. Pundits expect Gore may make the issue a cornerstone of his presidential campaign. Although new California Gov. Gray Davis has yet to discuss the subject...

Richmond City Center: The Virtues of Simplicity

Mar 1, 1999

Morris Newman, Places, Vol. 14 No. 03 Mar 1999

Heavens, how did we ever design cities before marketing existed? Sarcasm aside, let us observe that the Main Street movement, despite its harkening of the past, has not necessarily encouraged simplicity. In today's marketing-driven urban-design culture, it does not seem to be enough to bring back housing and commercial uses. We must also bring in giant retail centers and brand-name retailers (usually the same 50 or so names you find in regional malls). Then the city itself must be...

El Dorado County May Reconsider Long-Range Development Plans

Mar 1, 1999

Local Watch, Paul Shigley, Vol. 14 No. 03 Mar 1999

A Superior Court ruling invalidating the environmental impact report for El Dorado County's general plan is likely to reopen debate over the amount of growth allowed in the county and puts into question the future of several large developments. In a 142-page ruling, Sacramento Superior Court Judge Cecily Bond determined that the EIR violated the California Environmental Quality Act in 23 different ways. The judge found the county did not adequately address, among other things, impacts on w...

Ordering Poolrooms Closed at 2 a.m. Violates Equal Protection

Mar 1, 1999

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 14 No. 03 Mar 1999

In a split decision, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has ruled that the City of Riverside's requirement that poolrooms be closed from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. is unconstitutional because it denies poolroom owners equal protection under the law. Noting that the ordinance dates back to 1909, Acting Presiding Justice Thomas Hollenhorst wrote for the majority: "Unfortunately, times are different today, and there are many establishments that cater to idleness and are open all night. The City...

Anti-SLAPP Law Grows: ‘Issue of Public Significance' Receives Broad Reading

Mar 1, 1999

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 14 No. 03 Mar 1999

In a split decision, the California Supreme Court has once again expanded the scope of the anti-SLAPP law. This time, the court concluded that an allegation of racism in small-claims court and a complaint to the federal government does constitute the type of "issue of public significance" described in the law. In overturning a ruling by the First District Court of Appeal, the five-member Supreme Court majority rejected the argument that a nonprofit organization's tenant counseling activities wer...

Lockyer Indicates He Will Take Active Role in Green Issues

Mar 1, 1999

Environment Watch, Larry Sokoloff, Vol. 14 No. 03 Mar 1999

The state's new Attorney General, Bill Lockyer, ran for that office as a friend of the environment, and early indications are that he intends to have a high profile on environmental issues. Lockyer mentioned protection of natural resources in his inaugural speech, and, in one of his first official acts, announced greater involvement by his department in a lawsuit to ban personal watercraft, such as Jet Skis, from Lake Tahoe. Since then, the Democrat from Alameda County has requested more money to beef...

Another Challenge Arises for Control of L.A. Redevelopment

Mar 1, 1999

Economic Development, Vol. 14 No. 03 Mar 1999, William Fulton

The City of Los Angeles is once again considering a reorganization of its redevelopment functions that would dismantle the once-powerful Community Redevelopment Agency and place it under the control of the City Council. But some council members are still balking at the idea of taking over the CRA themselves. At a meeting in early February, the council ordered city officials to move forward with the reorganization plan, which would give the council direct control over redevelopment functions ...

Lack of Engineering Details Does Not Invalidate Study

Mar 1, 1999

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 14 No. 03 Mar 1999

The lack of precise engineering plans in an environmental impact report's project description of a proposed gravel mine expansion did not violate the California Environmental Quality Act, the Fifth District Court of Appeal has ruled. "CEQA requires an EIR to reflect a good faith effort at full disclosure; it does not mandate perfection, nor does it require an analysis to be exhaustive," Justice James F. Thaxter wrote in the unanimous decision for the three-judge panel. When considering an ...

Inter-County JPA Will Deal with Tracy HIlls Transportation

Feb 1, 1999

Larry Sokoloff, Local Watch, Vol. 14 No. 02 Feb 1999

No sooner had the fast-growing San Joaquin County city of Tracy settled a lawsuit and agreed to set up a joint powers authority on traffic issues than it was hit with a second lawsuit challenging its water supply and other facets of another huge development. In December, Tracy, Alameda County, the nearby city of Livermore, and the Sierra Club announced a settlement to a lawsuit brought over traffic issues raised by the city's approval of the 5,000-unit Tracy Hills project. Under the settlement, the J...

Placer County Undertakes Habitat Conservation PLan

Feb 1, 1999

Environment Watch, Larry Sokoloff, Vol. 14 No. 02 Feb 1999

A pro-active approach to preserving open space and create a Natural Communities Conservation Plan is taking shape in Placer County in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Members of the county's planning staff are working with the Sierra Business Council to design a countywide program that may serve as a model for other urbanizing counties in the Sierra. The program, known as the Placer Legacy, seeks to set up an NCCP before the county is forced to do so by a legal challenge or a government agency, and also...

New Courthouses for Downtown Riverside

Feb 1, 1999

Public Development, Vol. 14 No. 02 Feb 1999, William Fulton

Downtown Riverside appears to be using the legal system as a revitalization tool - not by suing anybody, but by recruiting new courthouses. Last year, Riverside County agreed to finance construction of a $21 million federal courthouse in the same neighborhood as the county's Hall of Administration and County Courthouse. And in January, the Fourth District Court of Appeal moved from its longtime headquarters in downtown San Bernardino to a new courthouse adjacent to the federal site. The Court of App...

No Taking in Rent Control: Deeply Split, Cal Supremes Uphold Santa Monica Law

Feb 1, 1999

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 14 No. 02 Feb 1999

In a case with potentially widespread significance, a sharply divided California Supreme Court has upheld the Santa Monica rent control law against an inverse condemnation claim. In concluding that rent control cases are subject to a different level of judicial scrutiny than cases involving exactions and other economic aspects of land-use regulation, the Supreme Court has created the possibility that different types of inverse condemnation cases will be treated differently in court. Espec...