Proposed alterations to the inside of a private residence are not subject to California Environmental Quality Act review, even if the alterations would affect a historic structure, the First District Court of Appeal has ruled. >>read more

The environmental impact report for a proposed Highway 50 interchange that would serve an El Dorado County Indian casino has been invalidated by the Third District Court of Appeal. >>read more

Property rights activists and redevelopment opponents are preparing statewide ballot measures that could greatly limit the use of eminent domain. >>read more

People wanting to buy their own place in San Diego for less than $300,000 have essentially one option: apartments that have been converted to condominiums. Owners of approximately 15,000 apartment units have converted them into for-sale condominiums or filed applications for conversions in recent years. >>read more

The state Supreme Court has rejected most claims of a development company fighting building permit fees in the City of Rancho Cucamonga. However, the court did decide that the builder, Barratt American, could contest the validity of a city fee ordinance adopted in 2002 — a reversal of a lower court ruling.

I am writing to comment on "North Natomas: Cutting Edge or Only More of the Same?" (CP&DR Local Watch, October 2005), an article that expressed several concerns about development in the North Natomas area of Sacramento. >>read more

When the Army closed the doors at Fort Ord in 1994, Monterey County was presented with an unparalleled opportunity to create a new town out of prime real estate overlooking the Pacific Ocean. >>read more

The Environmental Trust, Inc., (TET) became the first land trust in the nation to declare bankruptcy in March 2005. The San Diego nonprofit organization's bankruptcy raises questions about the long-term stability of land trusts and mitigation banks. >>read more

Making a public park out of a Superfund site is a rarity. If Maywood, a city in the old industrial belt of South Los Angeles County, ultimately succeeds in creating a 7.3-acre park along the Los Angeles River, the result would be inspirational. >>read more

Davis adopts inclusionary housing ordinance for moderate incomes. San Diego considers military land for airport and selects proposal for port redevelopment. Los Angeles settles airport controversy while a county planner is sentenced to jail. Santa Clarita votes on open space and continues 15-year fight over a quarry. >>read more

It has now been two years since Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected governor of California under perhaps the most peculiar circumstances in American history. His political stock has been dropping rapidly for almost a year, culminating in his across-the-board loss in the November special election on which he had laid all his political chips. >>read more

The First District Court of Appeal has rejected a property owner's claim that an Alameda County ballot measure rendered any application for development futile and, therefore, effected an unconstitutional taking. >>read more

A nonprofit corporation created by the City of San Diego to carry out downtown redevelopment may not meet in closed session with legal counsel for the city's redevelopment agency, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has ruled. >>read more

A 2001 U.S. Supreme Court decision limiting the Army Corps of Engineers' regulatory authority under the Clean Water Act does not limit the Corps' jurisdiction over wetlands adjacent to "waters of the United States," the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. >>read more