Everybody knows there are lots of lots in California. And there's always been lots of controversy about what you can do with your lots. But now there's lots of controversy about the more basic question of what is a lot and what is not. Jurisdictions all over the state are dealing with the question of how to handle old parcels that don't meet current standards. Increasingly, however, localities are facing big property owners who are asserting something a little different – the idea that big c

Like many types of affordable housing, farmworker housing has received a substantial boost during the last 15 months thanks to an unprecedented level of state spending. However, the picture for California's agricultural workers is not all bright because the state cash has arrived after many grower-provided housing units have closed. And local opposition to farmworker housing persists, even in communities that are primarily agricultural.

Buffeted by competition from lower priced imports, snarled in a tangle of environmental regulations, besieged by sprawling cities and suburbs, America's small family farmers can be forgiven for feeling like members of an endangered species.

A lawsuit challenging a Southern California water agency's purchase of a private water company has been reinstated by the Second District Court of Appeal.

In the session that ended Sept. 14, the California Legislature has passed bills that would strengthen the connection between water supply and land use planning, place restrictions on how long redevelopment agencies can keep operating, and shut down the "certificates of compliance" loophole in the Subdivision Map Act being used by Hearst Ranch and others. The question of whether Gov. Gray Davis will sign the subdivision and redevelopment bills in particular is sparking keen interest in land-use circles.

Two Southern California redevelopment agencies have lost separate lawsuits over the allocation of property tax revenue from redevelopment project areas.

The U.S. Supreme Court will decide a case in which Lake Tahoe property owners allege that a temporary building moratorium amounted to an unconstitutional taking.

A Clinton-era Interior Department policy that delayed endangered species petitions filed by the public has been thrown out by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The unanimous three-judge panel agreed with environmentalists who said the policy improperly stalled consideration of plants and animals that could qualify for protected status.

Regulations that require most new development to contain and treat stormwater runoff continue to advance at Regional Water Quality Control Boards for California's coastal urban areas. The regulations, however, have received mixed reviews from environmentalists and condemnation from the building industry.

An environmental group that sued the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection over environmental review of a North Coast timber harvest lost its chance to pursue the lawsuit because it did not request a hearing within a prescribed deadline.

The Bay Area town of Hercules has adopted a new plan that city officials hope will allow the town to capitalize on a unique asset: 400 acres of mostly vacant land, some of it with sweeping bay views, situated in the middle of town.

While finger-pointing and chest-thumping have been California politicians' most visible reactions to the latest version of the energy crisis, a few local governments are slowly emerging as leaders in addressing the new energy crisis. The most aggressive of these agencies are going beyond simple conservation programs and actually using their existing facilities as alternative energy power generating locations. And some are seeing that by being leaders in alternative energy production, they can gain com