CP&DR - Articles

Kern County Reinstates Planning Board; More Inclusive Permit Process Expected

Jul 1, 1998

Larry Sokoloff, Local Watch, Vol. 13 No. 07 Jul 1998

In a move that promises to bring a planning commission back to Kern County, the county board of supervisors voted 3-2 on June 17 on a measure directing planning staff to recommend ways to reinstitute the long-disbanded body. The decision was applauded by activists who had complained that the public had not received adequate notice of public hearings, nor provided enough input into projects in their early stages. The county's planning director also welcomed the decision, which he said would assist i...

Hooray for Hollywood

Jul 1, 1998

Morris Newman, Places, Vol. 13 No. 07 Jul 1998

The notion of the "background building" is one of those profound concepts that was startling when first introduced in the 1960s (by Robert Venturi, I think) and now seems so commonsensical that we might assume the idea had always existed. The basic idea is simple: Some buildings are "stars" and should stand out, while other buildings are merely supporting players. The distinction between foreground and background buildings is not value-laden; foreground buildings are not necessarily better or mo...

Wasco Narrowly Averts Marks-Roos Bankruptcy

Jul 1, 1998

Economic Development, Morris Newman, Vol. 13 No. 07 Jul 1998

The City of Wasco in Kern County is trying to stave off municipal bankruptcy as a result of a series of problems with Marks-Roos and other bonds. The possibility of bankruptcy compounds the legal and financial problems facing the city, including a "cease-and-desist" order in May from the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission which bans the agencies from issuing further bonds. Wasco was one of three California municipalities, including the City of Ione and Nevada County, to consent to the cease-and-...

The Real Impact of Proposition 13

Jul 1, 1998

Numbers, Stephen Svete, Vol. 13 No. 07 Jul 1998

Ask any local government veteran in California what has most hurt their cause and the answer will very likely be Prop 13. Since 1978, the infamous taxpayer revolt and its aftermath has been blamed for every public service woe in the book: closed libraries, lack of police protection, dying street trees, indeed faith in government itself. Yet a growing body of research suggests that per-capita spending by cities in California has not changed from that of pre-Prop 13 years. And nearly all observers of...

County-by-County Roundup

Jul 1, 1998

CP&DR Staff, Vol. 13 No. 07 Jul 1998

El Dorado County Voters rejected a measure that would restrict housing density levels and force public referendums on three proposed major residential developments. Measure A: No, 54.5% Marin County City of Fairfax Voters turned down a proposal to rezone the site of the Marin Town and Country Club to allow the construction of 45 homes and the creation of a 14.5 acre park site. Measure C, No: 77.9 %. San Diego County City of San Diego Voters overwhelmingly approved a plan to finance a...

The Prop. 13 Deal

Jun 1, 1998

Deals, Morris Newman, Vol. 13 No. 06 Jun 1998

Proposition 13's legacy to California cities has been a destructive one. One ill effect of the tax-revenue shortfall has been the construction of many unnecessary office buildings, hotels, and shopping malls - all intended by local governments as a means to recapture lost revenues. The result has been overbuilding, a weakening of the real estate market, and regional competition where there might otherwise have been cooperation. All this is well known. But if, by some imaginary power, we had the p...

No Taking in Seattle Relocation Ordinance

Jun 1, 1998

Larry Sokoloff, Legal Digest, Vol. 13 No. 06 Jun 1998

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Seattle's tenant relocation ordinance does not constitute a taking even though it requires landlords to pay a portion of moving expenses for low-income residents. The court noted that the plaintiffs had stipulated that ordinance neither "physically invades their property, nor denies them all economically viable use of their property." The three-judge panel criticized the plaintiffs, a group of landlords, for failing to produce necessary ec...

Twenty Years of Proposition 13; Tax-Cutting Initiative Shaped Planning and development in State

Jun 1, 1998

Featured Articles, Vol. 13 No. 06 Jun 1998, William Fulton

It is not too much of an overstatement to suggest that the California planning and development landscape as we know it today was created by Proposition 13 when it was passed by the voters 20 years ago this month. Prop. 13 didn't invent most of the impulses at work in California's communities today, of course. Fiscal zoning and competition between municipalities for tax revenue is nothing new. Neither is the vigorous political jockeying within any community over who pays for new growth, nor the sl...

NEPA: Court Says EIR Required for Federal Timber Site

Jun 1, 1998

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 13 No. 06 Jun 1998

Overturning a trial judge in Idaho, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the U.S. Forest Service erred in not preparing an environmental impact statement for a proposed timber sale in Idaho. U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill had ruled that the Forest Service's environmental assessment and subsequent findings of no significant impact were adequate. But a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit disagreed, saying that the Forest Service had not adequately examined the impact ...

No Taking, Says State High Court: Justices Overrule Appeal Court In Malibu Coast Case

Jun 1, 1998

Coastal development, Larry Sokoloff, Legal Digest, Los Angeles County, Vol. 13 No. 06 Jun 1998

In an important decision on taking law, a divided California Supreme Court has ruled that a temporary taking did not occur when an erroneous decision by the California Coastal Commission delayed a property owner's plans to build a house in Malibu. The case is likely to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Why School Bonds Pass in the Post-Prop 13 World

Jun 1, 1998

Rob Corley, Schools Watch, Vol. 13 No. 06 Jun 1998

In 1998, for the first time in a generation, school bonds are building more schools in California than any other funding source. Voter-approved schools are back, as are other tax measures for school operations and special programs. This stands in sharp contrast to the first 15 years after Proposition 13. From 1978 to 1986, school bonds and taxes were not permitted on local ballots at all. After the Constitution was amended to once again allow school tax elections in 1986, school bonds and taxes b...

Reinventing Funding for Parks and Open Space

Jun 1, 1998

Environment Watch, Larry Sokoloff, Vol. 13 No. 06 Jun 1998

Proposition 13 and its progency - the most recent being Propositon 218 - didn't just limit California's taxes. They also sent a message that some of California's citizens wanted to rein in government activity of all kinds - and one of the major areas affected has been spending for parks and open space. With the passage of the original initiative in 1978, parks and open space suddenly fell low on the spending list for both state and federal governments - far behind such needs as public safety, edu...

Deal is Close on Citrus Heights Case

Jun 1, 1998

Local Watch, Morris Newman, Vol. 13 No. 06 Jun 1998

The end of the decade-long battle between the City of Citrus Heights and Sacramento County may be soon approaching, if the city and the county can agree to a new formula under which the city will make annual payments to the county. The negotiations underscore the confusion and acrimony created by the 1992 law which requires cities to make tax revenue payments to counties under the doctrine of "revenue neutrality." In early 1996, Citrus Heights was scheduled to make the first of 25 annual payments...

Gotch Hired to Run CALAFCO

Jun 1, 1998

CP&DR Staff, Local Watch, Vol. 13 No. 06 Jun 1998

Mike Gotch, who carried an important Local Agency Formation Commission bill as a member of the state Assembly, has signed on with the California Association of Local Agency Formation Commissions as executive officer. Gotch's hiring is viewed as an attempt by CALAFCO to regain lost clout. The organization has dwindled in membership in recent years. In addition, disgruntled participants in the LAFCO process - including developers and special districts - are increasingly "going around" their local LAFCOs...