CP&DR - Articles

Religious Land Uses Vex Planners

May 1, 2002

Featured Articles, Paul Shigley, Religious Land Uses , Vol. 17 No. 05 May 2002

Local regulation of religious land uses has become the latest battlefield in California development. There are at least seven lawsuits pending over government regulation of church development, proposed private schools, and the use of facilities by religious ministries. Lawsuits have been filed against the cities of Concord, Cypress, El Cajon, Los Angeles and Morgan Hill, and against Alameda County and the California Coastal Commission. Additional lawsuits appear likely in Sierra Madre and Hun

9th Circuit Rules Suit Over Coastal Access Easement Filed Too Late

May 1, 2002

Legal Digest, other, Vol. 17 No. 05 May 2002

The owners of beachfront property are not entitled to compensation for a public access easement that the state required in exchange for a building permit many years earlier, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.

U.S. Supreme Court Hands Planners A Clear Victory

May 1, 2002

Kenneth Jost, Legal Digest, Vol. 17 No. 05 May 2002

WASHINGTON _ The U.S. Supreme Court gave state and local governments a green light to continue using temporary moratoria to limit or block development while devising long-range land use plans.

Fight Between Developers Threatens El Segundo Project

May 1, 2002

Local Watch, Paul Shigley, Vol. 17 No. 05 May 2002

Not often does one developer slug it out with another developer at the ballot box and in a courtroom. But that is the case in El Segundo, where Kilroy Realty is trying to block Thomas Properties Group from developing 2.175 million square feet of office and retail space on the site for a former aerospace factory near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

Mining Rules: State Gets Tougher While Feds Back Down

May 1, 2002

Environment Watch, Paul Shigley, Vol. 17 No. 05 May 2002

These are both the best of times and worst of times for California's mining industry. The Interior Department has lifted some Clinton-era restrictions for hardrock mining on federal land. However, the State Mining & Geology Board is considering new regulations for implementing the Surfacing Mining and Reclamation Act (SMARA) that miners say will be burdensome.

In Brief

May 1, 2002

In Brief, other, Vol. 17 No. 05 May 2002

Don't miss this month's installment of In Brief, CP&DR's monthly digest of land use news stories in the making or follow ups to stories that we have run in the past.

19th Century Technology Brings 21st Century Prosperity

May 1, 2002

Economic Development, Vol. 17 No. 05 May 2002, William Fulton

In mid-April, The first freight train emerged from an underground trench a few miles south of downtown Los Angeles and headed along a separate right-of-way toward the enormous rail yards east of downtown Los Angeles.

Slow-Growth Advocates Win Elections; Proposed El Toro Airport Loses Again

Apr 1, 2002

Featured Articles, Initiatives and referendums, Paul Shigley, Vol. 17 No. 04 Apr 2002

Slow growth advocates won eight of 14 easily classified local land use ballot measures in the March primary election. However, development supporters won elections in some long-time strongholds of slow growth, including Napa County and the City of Scotts Valley in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Train Moves New Urbanism Forward

Apr 1, 2002

Morris Newman, Places, Vol. 17 No. 04 Apr 2002

Welcome to Celebrity Architectural Boxing. In this corner is the reigning champion, the New Urbanism. (Cheers.) Although he looks older than his years, this youngster is a good citizen when it comes to walkable streets, parks, open spaces, human scale and contextualism. (Yay!!) On the other hand, he has suffered some defeats in his bouts with style. At times a golden haze of nostalgia descends over New Urbanism, like a scene out of "The Natural." (Boo-o-o-!!!)

Water Connection Charge is Ruled Exempt From Election Requirement

Apr 1, 2002

Legal Digest, other, Vol. 17 No. 04 Apr 2002

A water connection fee charged by a special district is a development fee not subject to the constraints of Proposition 218, the Third District Court of Appeal has ruled. However, a "fire suppression" assessment levied by the same district is subject to Proposition 218 and required two-thirds voter approval.

Formation Of Extra-Territorial District For Water System Is Upheld

Apr 1, 2002

Legal Digest, other, Vol. 17 No. 04 Apr 2002

The controversial formation an assessment district that includes territory outside the water district that will receive the money has been upheld by the First District Court of Appeal. The court rejected arguments that Solano County manipulated the formation and election processes to circumvent residents who objected to the county's plans.

Cities Pressure San Francisco To Repair Hetch Hetchy

Apr 1, 2002

Paul Shigley, Public Development, Vol. 17 No. 04 Apr 2002

Worried about water reliability and feeling neglected, Bay Area water agencies that get water from San Francisco's Hetch Hetchy system are taking the situation into their own hands. The agencies are working with state lawmakers on various approaches that would force San Francisco to repair and update the system, and would even let the agencies raise the capital improvement money themselves.

Players In Endangered Species Act Enforcement Become As Important As The Law

Apr 1, 2002

Insight, Vol. 17 No. 04 Apr 2002, William Fulton

The Interior Department has announced plans to withdraw temporarily "critical habitat" designations for 19 different species of salmon and steelhead throughout the West. The March revelation came in the context of a federal judge's decision to order economic impact analyses of the critical habitat designations.

In Brief

Apr 1, 2002

In Brief, other, Vol. 17 No. 04 Apr 2002

This article contains CP&DR's monthly digest of the latest and greatest land use stories happening in the Golden State.