CP&DR - Articles

Wal-Mart Takes Its Case to Eureka Voters--And Loses

Oct 1, 1999

Local Watch, Paul Shigley, Vol. 14 No. 10 Oct 1999

Voters in Eureka have handed a setback to the Bentonville, Arkansas-based denizens of gray big boxes. In a late August election, Eureka voters rejected rezoning to allow a Wal-Mart near the waterfront. The election polarized the city, but officials pledged that economic development efforts would continue with or without Wal-Mart. The loss in the Humboldt County seat was a rare defeat for Wal-Mart — but probably not surprising considering that it occurred in an independent-minded North Coast...

After 3 Decades, Environmentalists Continue to Win CEQA Cases

Oct 1, 1999

Environment Watch, Paul Shigley, Vol. 14 No. 10 Oct 1999

Citizens and organizations with gripes about proposed developments are continuing to win more big lawsuits based on the California Environmental Quality Act than they are losing. According to a CP&DR analysis, petitioners — who these days range from environmentalists to public agencies in dispute with other public agencies — have won 14 of 25 significant, published CEQA cases since 1996. And that record appears to be just fine with the state Supreme Court, which shows no interest in CEQA these ...

LAFCO: Cal Supremes Hand Setback to Central Valley Annexation

Oct 1, 1999

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 14 No. 10 Oct 1999

A lawsuit challenging the San Joaquin County Local Agency Formation Commission's approval of a large annexation has been reinstated by the California Supreme Court. The state's high court overturned a decision by the Third District Court of Appeals against the Sierra Club and the San Joaquin Valley Farm Bureau. The appellate court ruled that the environmentalists and farmers did not exhaust their administrative remedies because they had not requested a LAFCO rehearing. Thus, under the "Alexander rule...

Local Assessments: 1 Survives, Another Fails Legal Challenges

Oct 1, 1999

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 14 No. 10 Oct 1999

Local government won one round and lost one round in separate, recent decisions over taxes levied without voter approval. The City of La Habra defended its utility users' tax from a lawsuit that claimed the tax violated a Proposition 62 requirement of voter approval. However, the City of Los Angeles lost a case in which an annual assessment on apartment owners was ruled a violation of Proposition 218, which also mandates voter-approval. Both cases — which appear to set important precedents regarding l...

Napa Uncorks New Downtown to Tap Tourist, Wine Industries

Sep 1, 1999

Economic Development, Paul Shigley, Vol. 14 No. 09 Sep 1999

Although it shares a name with the ritzy wine-making region, the City of Napa has long been a mostly blue collar city with only weak links to the big-dollar wine and tourism industries. But downtown Napa, home to professional offices and mom-and-pop stores that close before dark, is about to become a player in the business of wine tourism, which brings 5 million visitors a year to Napa Valley. Legendary winemaker Robert Mondavi chose a 12-acre site on the eastern edge of downtown Napa for th...

Cal Supremes Won't Review Dump EIR, Hotel Conversion

Sep 1, 1999

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 14 No. 09 Sep 1999

In state Supreme Court action, the court declined to review a landfill EIR, and, in an unrelated case, the court said it will not decide a San Francisco hotel conversion case that had already been briefed. In the landfill case, a Fourth District Court of Appeals decision to uphold an environmental impact report for the giant Eagle Mountain landfill in Riverside County will stand. Only two of the seven justices, Joyce Kennard and Ming Chin, voted to review the decision in National Parks & Cons...

Adult Business Ruling Stands

Sep 1, 1999

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 14 No. 09 Sep 1999

The Fourth District Court of Appeals has denied the City of Anaheim's petition for rehearing in a case in which the court ordered Anaheim to approve permits for an adult cabaret. The court did modify its opinion in Badi Abraham Gammoh v. City of Anaheim, 1999 Daily Journal D.A.R. 6685, (CP&DR Legal Digest August 1999), but the modifications did not alter the judgement against the city. The court had ruled that Anaheim's actions in denying permits for Gammoh's Funtease theater did not pass ...

Padres Stadium Election Upheld

Sep 1, 1999

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 14 No. 09 Sep 1999

In an unpublished opinion, the Fourth District Court of Appeals rejected a lawsuit over the November 1998 ballot measure approving financing for San Diego's new baseball stadium. Ballpark opponents, led by former City Councilman Bruce Henderson, argued that the city should have prepared an EIR ahead of time, that the measure required a two-thirds vote, and that Proposition C should have specified that the city would incur $225 million of new debt. The unanimous three-judge panel rejected al...

Lessee Doesn't Get Eminent Domain Payment

Sep 1, 1999

CP&DR Staff, Eminent domain, Legal Digest, San Diego County, Vol. 14 No. 09 Sep 1999

The operator of a golf course on leased property was not entitled to compensation when a public agency condemned part of the property to accommodate a trolley line, the Fourth District Court of Appeals has ruled. The unanimous three-judge panel said the San Diego Metropolitan Transit Development Board (MTDB) was correct when it compensated the owner of the real estate, not the lessee.

NEPA: Ninth Circuit Rejects Novel Baseline Argument

Sep 1, 1999

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 14 No. 09 Sep 1999

In renewing federal hydropower licenses, The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission does not have to consider the hypothetical question of what the environmental conditions would be if the dams in question were never built, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. The Ninth Circuit also ruled that while FERC must consider environmental concerns raised by the Interior and Commerce Departments, the commission has final discretion to address those concerns. But in writing the unanimous ...

Species Flys In Face of Continued Development

Sep 1, 1999

Environment Watch, Larry Sokoloff, Vol. 14 No. 09 Sep 1999

Ever since the Delhi Sands flower-loving fly was listed as an endangered species in 1993, it has been a poster child for opponents of the federal Endangered Species Act. Now, the fly is the latest endangered species to take center stage in the continually urbanizing Inland Empire. Other controversial endangered species, such as the Quino Checkerspot Butterfly and the gnatcatcher, can at least win support for aesthetic reasons. But a fly? Few people are easily convinced of the redeeming value...

AG's Opinion: Conflict of Interest Allowed for Committee

Sep 1, 1999

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 14 No. 09 Sep 1999

Members of a redevelopment agency's project area committee who own property within the project area do not have a conflict of interest that prevents their participation, according to an attorney general's opinion. The opinion, written at the request of Los Angeles City Attorney James Hahn, says that statutes and case law regarding project area committees makes clear that an exception is warranted to the normal conflict of interest rules. Government Code § 1090 says government representati...

Santee Voters Get Choice: Higher Taxes or Houses

Sep 1, 1999

Initiatives and referendums, Local Watch, Paul Shigley, San Diego County, Vol. 14 No. 09 Sep 1999

In the San Diego suburb of Santee, it's the old houses versus open space controversy — but with a twist. In November, Santee voters will decide the fate of a 2,988-lot subdivision already approved by the City Council. The twist comes in the form of an advisory measure on the same special election ballot that asks if the City Council should try to buy the property as permanent open space.

Peace in Burbank?

Sep 1, 1999

CP&DR Staff, Local Watch, Vol. 14 No. 09 Sep 1999

Burbank city leaders and the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority have announced a new agreement that would lead to expansion of the crowded Burbank Airport and end a four-year legal battle. The deal allows the airport to build a terminal nearly twice the size of the current terminal but retain the same number of gates — 14. The airport would close concessions and services from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily and phase out noisier Stage 2 jets. If the airport convinces federal regulators to approve a 1...