CP&DR - Articles

Bush Team Could Have Significant Impact on Resources in the Golden State

Feb 1, 2001

Insight, Vol. 16 No. 02 Feb 2001, William Fulton

xz Despite a thin mandate and a deadlocked Congress, incoming President George W. Bush is likely to make significant changes in shaping the federal government's role over California's land resources. In particular, his provocative selection of former Colorado Attorney General Gail Norton as Interior secretary is likely to create a major shift in the way the federal government approaches management of federal lands in California – and may also signal a shift in the way the Endangered Species Act is...

Slow-Growth Politics Gain in Fast-Growing Temecula

by Paul Shigley on Feb 1, 2001

Local Watch, Paul Shigley, Vol. 16 No. 02 Feb 2001

Two years ago, heavy equipment churned up dust and closed lanes on nearly every major street in Temecula. The city was in the midst of a $60 million road improvement project undertaken to help catch up with rapid growth that has characterized the southwestern Riverside County community for years. In retrospect, the massive road project could not have come at a better time for slow-growth advocates, who in November 1999 elected two of their own to the City Council. The council now has a 3-2 pro-growth ...

SACG, HCD Fight Over Housing Target: Inland Empire Complains of Becoming region's Outlet for Affordable Unitd

Feb 1, 2001

Featured Articles, Paul Shigley, Vol. 16 No. 02 Feb 2001

The first update of housing elements in a decade has resulted in something of a standoff between the Southern California Association of Governments and the state Department of Housing and Community Development. Stuck in the middle are Riverside and San Bernardino counties and several inland cities that do not know how many housing units to plan for. After negotiations with SCAG representatives throughout 1999, state officials ordered the regional agency to plan for 504,000 housing units during the 1998...

Proposition 218: Courts Uphold Rental Inspection Assessment, Water Fees for L.A.

Feb 1, 2001

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 16 No. 02 Feb 2001

Taxpayer organizations recently lost two lawsuits against the City of Los Angeles alleging violations of Proposition 218. In its first interpretation of the initiative, the California Supreme Court held that the city's apartment inspection fee was not subject to the voter approval provisions of Proposition 218. In the other case, an appellate court ruled that the city's water service fees and the transfer of money from the water fund to other funds were not subject to Proposition 218. In the apartment...

U.S. Supreme Court Limits Reach of Clean Water Act: Reducing Federal Oversight May Not HAve Major Effect in California

Feb 1, 2001

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 16 No. 02 Feb 2001

A divided U.S. Supreme Court has limited the scope of the Clean Water Act by removing U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' jurisdiction over isolated waters and seasonal wetlands, such as vernal pools and ephemeral washes. Farmers, developers and property rights advocates hailed the ruling as an important limitation on intrusive federal regulation. Environmentalists decried the ruling as a step backward, although many observers said the decision's impact would not be as great in California because of extensive...

Mixed-Use Building Brings Life to Burbank

Jan 1, 2001

Morris Newman, Places, Vol. 16 No. 01 Jan 2001

The Swiss Army knife is the ideal present for boys, especially those from nine to eleven years old. That's the age when every boy believes that all he needs to be a consummate survivalist is his natural pluck and one of those elegant, red, compact tools bouncing jauntily on his belt. Far from a mere blade, even a fake version of the Swiss Army package contains a pair of scissors, a nail file with a screw-driver tip, tweezers and a toothpick. With a tool like this, you could fight off ...

Cal Supremes Exempt Churches From Preservation Laws: On Divided Ruling, Court Upholds Constitutionality of Exemption

Jan 1, 2001

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 16 No. 01 Jan 2001

A divided California Supreme Court has upheld a state law that allows religious institutions to exempt themselves from historic preservation ordinances. In a 4-3 ruling, the court found that the exemption — which applies only to noncommercial property owned by religious institutions — violated neither the First Amendment's free exercise clause, nor the state constitution's establishment clause. "These exemptions simply free the owners to use the property as they would have done had the property not be...

Coastal Commission's HCP Request Sparks Turf War

Jan 1, 2001

Environment Watch, John Krist, Vol. 16 No. 01 Jan 2001

Politically popular but ecologically suspect, habitat conservation plans (HCPs) have become a powerful tool for resolving conflict between human economic activities and the survival of imperiled plants and animals. Before 1994, only 20 such plans had been adopted. But since the Clinton administration figured out the potential for such agreements to avoid divisive clashes over the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the federal government has embraced them in a big way. There are now more th...

El Toro Airport Initiative Invalidated

Jan 1, 2001

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 16 No. 01 Jan 2001

A Los Angeles County judge has invalidated an Orange County ballot initiative intended to block an airport at the former El Toro Marine Corps base. Superior Court Judge James Otero ruled that Measure F, which voters approved 2-1 in March 2000, was "fundamentally flawed and in violation of the constitution and laws of this state." Measure F required two-thirds voter approval for construction or expansion of airports, hazardous waste facilities or jails. Otero held that such a requirement "greatly impair...

California Supreme Court: builders Win construction Defect Case, But Impact Appears Limited

Jan 1, 2001

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 16 No. 01 Jan 2001

The state Supreme Court has sided with builders in a case regarding construction defect liability. In a 5-2 decision, the court held that homeowners cannot sue for economic losses in cases where no property damage or personal injury has occurred. The ruling was a definite victory for the development industry. Builders for years have complained about the burden of construction defect liability, and they have blamed negligence lawsuits for their inability to construct condominiums and townhous...

Elected Body Cannot Certify EIR With 2-2 Vote, Court Decides

Jan 1, 2001

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 16 No. 01 Jan 2001

A 2-2 vote on an environmental impact report is not enough to certify the document, the Fourth District Court of Appeals has ruled. The California Environmental Quality Act requires that the elected body make an affirmative decision on environmental documents, the court held. In this case, the Orange County Board of Supervisors, after one member recused himself, voted 2-2 on an EIR for a proposed 705-unit mobile home park. The county then determined that the Planning Commission's certification of the ...

PG&E Asset Sale Spurs Growth Issues: Auction of Hydroelectric System Might Bring Development to Remote Areas

Jan 1, 2001

Featured Articles, Paul Shigley, Vol. 16 No. 01 Jan 2001

A Pacific Gas and Electric proposal to auction its hydroelectric assets could bring about a new land rush in the Sierra Nevada, the southern Cascades and the coastal mountain ranges. If the sale goes forward as proposed, as many as 20 different owners could assume control of PG&E's 99 reservoirs, 174 dams, 110 electricity generating units — and 140,000 acres of land, much of which is pristine. State and federal land managers, advocacy groups and a draft environmental impact report make clear that the ...

Land-Use Regulations Aim to Solve Big Boxes' Social Issues

Jan 1, 2001

Insight, Vol. 16 No. 01 Jan 2001, William Fulton

The standard saying among retail analysts in the past month is that "this is a tough Christmas." Even though incomes are going up, retailing is off. Kmart has closed dozens of stores nationwide. HomeBase has gone out of the home improvement business (focusing on home furnishings instead) in order to duck direct competition with Lowe's and Home Depot. Two of the biggest movie theater chains have gone under, and most of the others are teetering on the verge of bankruptcy. Home Depot's third-quart...

LAFCO Approval of Giant Lathrop Annexation Upheld by Trial Court

Jan 1, 2001

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 16 No. 01 Jan 2001

A lawsuit that has already reached the state Supreme Court is again making its way up the legal ladder. In mid-December, San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Bob McNatt upheld the San Joaquin Local Agency Formation Commission's approval of the Califia project (formerly called Gold Rush City) in the City of Lathrop. Last year, the state Supreme Court allowed the case to go forward after McNatt and the Third District Court of Appeal ruled that project opponents did not exhaust their administrative re...