CP&DR - Articles

Alameda Takes Advantage of Prime Navy Parcel

May 1, 2001

Alameda County, Local Watch, Military base reuse, Paul Shigley, Vol. 16 No. 05 May 2001

Redevelopment of closed military bases in the City of Alameda is moving forward thanks to the settlement of a lawsuit filed by affordable housing advocates and environmentalists. The settlement clears the way for a 600-unit housing development and a 1.3-million-square-foot business park at the former U.S. Navy Fleet Industrial Supply Center. Meanwhile, the city is in the process of choosing a master developer for about one-third the 2,600-acre former Alameda Naval Air Station.

Court Says Santa Monica Cannot Limit ‘Granny Units' to Grandma

May 1, 2001

Legal Digest, other, Vol. 16 No. 05 May 2001

A Santa Monica law limiting occupancy of second units to relatives and domestic employees has been thrown out by the Second District Court of Appeal. The unanimous three-judge panel ruled that the city's second-unit ordinance violated privacy and equal protection rights.

Billboard Developer's Big Hurry Gets Slowed by Appellate Panel

May 1, 2001

Legal Digest, other, Vol. 16 No. 05 May 2001

A billboard company jumped the gun when it claimed two of its proposed signs were "deemed approved" because of delays by the City of Los Angeles, the Second District Court of Appeal has ruled. The unanimous three-judge panel upheld a trial court's dismissal of a lawsuit filed by Eller Media Company.

Clean Water Act: Who Really Won at the Supreme Court?

May 1, 2001

Environment Watch, John Krist, Vol. 16 No. 05 May 2001

Regulators with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) traditionally have explained their agency's role in protecting the nation's waterways by saying it had authority over "anything bigger than a duck's butt."

Council-Sponsored Initiative Must Undergo CEQA Review: No Exemption for City-Sanctioned Measure, Cal

May 1, 2001

Legal Digest, other, Vol. 16 No. 05 May 2001

Ballot measures generated and placed before voters by a public agency are not exempt from environmental review, a unanimous state Supreme Court has ruled.

Wetlands Issues Force UC to Relocate Merced Campus

Apr 1, 2001

Paul Shigley, Public Development, Vol. 16 No. 04 Apr 2001

Seasonal wetlands and the endangered species who inhabit them have forced planners for the proposed University of California, Merced, campus to choose a new location. Although many details remain undecided, planners have shifted the general site of the future campus — and an adjoining new community — a few miles closer to the Merced city limits.

Court Demands Better Analysis Of Project's Water Usage

Apr 1, 2001

California Environmental Quality Act, CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Monterey County, Vol. 16 No. 04 Apr 2001

Environmental review of a 109-unit subdivision on a 900-acre parcel in Carmel Valley was inadequate, the Sixth District Court of Appeal has ruled. The court concluded that in overturning the Monterey County Planning Commission's decision to deny the project, the Board of Supervisors used information about the project's water supply that had been introduced at the end of the environmental review process and had not been sufficiently analyzed or reviewed by the public.

Supreme Court upholds EPA's Process for Setting Air Standards

Apr 1, 2001

Legal Digest, other, Vol. 16 No. 04 Apr 2001

In what most observers called a major victory for environmentalists and federal regulatory agencies, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Environmental Protection Agency's practice of not considering costs when setting air quality standards.

In Brief

Apr 1, 2001

In Brief, other, Vol. 16 No. 04 Apr 2001

Court Properly Blocked Initiative from ballot, Appellate Panel Rules

Apr 1, 2001

Legal Digest, other, Vol. 16 No. 04 Apr 2001

A San Diego Superior Court judge properly removed from the ballot a 1999 initiative seeking to kill implementation of the deal between the City of San Diego and the Padres baseball team for a new stadium. The Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division 1, ruled that the initiative interfered with administrative actions of the city government, rather than legislative actions. Administrative actions may not be placed before the voters. In making the decision, the court said its ruling rendered

Birdwatchers Win Case regarding Long Beach Navy Base Reuse

Apr 1, 2001

Legal Digest, other, Vol. 16 No. 04 Apr 2001

Birdwatchers can legitimately state a claim of injury and therefore have standing to sue the Navy under the National Environmental Policy Act over the destruction of bird habitat on the former site of the Long Beach Naval Station, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. However, the court also held that the birdwatchers do not have standing to sue as California taxpayers.

Housing Bills Flood State Capital: But Electricity Crisis Could Make Money for Other Programs Scarce

Apr 1, 2001

Featured Articles, Paul Shigley, Vol. 16 No. 04 Apr 2001

Electricity has been the dominant topic at the state Capitol for months and threatens to overshadow every other issue facing lawmakers in 2001. Still, legislators introduced hundreds of bills related to land use prior to the late-February deadline, including approximately 150 housing bills.

Sheila Kuehl

Apr 1, 2001

Paul Shigley, Q&A, Vol. 16 No. 04 Apr 2001

After serving six years in the state Assembly, Sen. Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) was elected last November to the State Senate seat previously held by Tom Haden. Earlier this year, she was named Chairwoman of the Senate Natural Resources and Wildlife Committee. Although much of her work in the Assembly centered on social issues, Kuehl did serve on committees concerned with land use and was a director of the California Coastal Conservancy. Before coming to the Legislature, Kuehl was a law prof

Shortage of Available Land Threatens How the Golden State Will Gtow

Apr 1, 2001

Insight, Vol. 16 No. 04 Apr 2001, William Fulton

Is California running out of land? At first glance, this may seem to be a preposterous question. After all, California has something like 150,000 square miles of land – and the vast majority of it is not urbanized. The federal government owns half of it for parks, national forests, and the like, and most of the rest of it is used to grow food. Even with the rapid urban growth we've experienced during the past half-century, how can we be running out of land?