San Bernardino County is using redevelopment tools to help a rural community devastated by the Southern California firestorms of 2003 rebuild. The effort is one of the first times a California redevelopment agency has formed a project area specifically to aid recovery from a natural disaster. >>read more
Developing real estate in the City of South Pasadena is a little bit like the lovemaking of porcupines: Both are activities to be approached very, very carefully.
The only way to squeeze a generation's worth of growth into existing urban areas plus 2% more land is with a heavy reliance on infill development. With the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) beginning to finesse its density-driven, "2% Strategy" growth vision from policy into action, Solimar Research Group is producing information of use to those planning and executing infill development. >>read more
Flood control affects development in both the City of Sacramento and San Bernardino County, the City of Lynwood gets an F on their audit by the state Department of Housing and Community Development, and water once again flows through the Lower Owens River. >>read more
In the beginning there was the general plan. This is an overstatement of Dan Curtin's world view, but not by much. The dean of California land use lawyers, who died a few weeks ago at age 73, was an almost priestly man of faith who believed in God, the rule of law, and the process of land use planning. >>read more
Only two months after voters rejected Proposition 90, new proposals to alter eminent domain law are already arising. Anti-tax activists, environmentalists, local government organizations and state lawmakers are all working on eminent domain proposals, and it is likely that voters will see at least one ballot measure on the subject during the 2008 primary. It is also possible that voters will decide on another regulatory takings initiative. >>read more
The First District Court of Appeal has thrown out the City of American Canyon's approval of a Wal-Mart supercenter because the city did not comply with the California Environmental Quality Act and violated its own zoning ordinance. >>read more
A Regional Water Quality Control Board permit that mandates how Los Angeles County and 84 cities in the county manage stormwater discharges is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act, an appellate court has ruled. >>read more
Yuba County should not have permitted a sand and gravel company to expand its mine without conducting a public hearing, the Third District Court of Appeal has ruled. >>read more
A ruling from the State of Washington by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals suggests that local governments in California may want to review their sign ordinances. >>read more
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has blocked development of a geothermal power plant on federal land in Siskiyou County because federal agencies did not complete an environmental review of leases for the land underlying the proposed power plant. >>read more
In one of the first published opinions upholding an environmental impact report's water analysis, the Third District Court of Appeal has overturned a lower court's ruling favoring opponents of a gravel mine proposed in Placer County. >>read more
