CP&DR - Articles

Riverside County Exempts Builders

Dec 1, 1998

CP&DR Staff, Environment Watch, Vol. 13 No. 12 Dec 1998

In Riverside County, the county supervisors have never been big fans of federal endangered species regulations. So it should be no surprise that the board recently granted individual home builders a exemption basically excusing them from complying with those regulations. But the supervisors were forced to rescind those regulations once a judge ruled against them.. The issue arose in the southwestern part of the county, home to the Quino checkerspot butterfly, which last year was listed as an endangere...

Growth Results Mixed in November Balloting; Ventura Slow-Growthers Succeed, But Others Fail

Dec 1, 1998

Featured Articles, Larry Sokoloff, Vol. 13 No. 12 Dec 1998, William Fulton

In one of the most active election days of the decade for planning and development issues, pro-growth and slow-growth forces battled almost to a tie on local ballots around the state in November. Slow-growthers won some high-profile victories, most notably a near-sweep in passing a highly publicized series of urban growth boundaries in Ventura County. However, they lost other key races in San Diego and El Dorado counties. And - perhaps most surprising - most measures to allow or promote growth passed ea...

County-by-County Results from November Election

Dec 1, 1998

CP&DR Staff, Elections, Vol. 13 No. 12 Dec 1998

In one of the most active election days of the decade for planning and development issues, pro-growth and slow-growth forces battled almost to a tie on local ballots around the state in November. Slow-growthers won some high-profile victories, most notably a near-sweep in passing a highly publicized series of urban growth boundaries in Ventura County. However, they lost other key races in San Diego and El Dorado counties. And - perhaps most surprising - most measures to allow or promote growth passed ea...

Fair Housing Act: Hotel Owner Has Standing to Sue for Mentally Ill

Dec 1, 1998

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 13 No. 12 Dec 1998

The owner of a San Pedro hotel who intends to sell out to a nonprofit group has standing to file a Fair Housing Act lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles for allegedly interfering with the sale, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. In addition, the Ninth Circuit ruled that City Councilman Rudy Svornich - while immune from liability for his legislative actions - is not immune from a lawsuit alleging he retaliated against the hotel owners by allegedly initiating code enforcement inspec...

BIDs: Private Local Government?

Dec 1, 1998

Stephen Svete, Trends, Vol. 13 No. 12 Dec 1998

As California's planning practice escalates toward a regulatory function increasingly detached from life on the street, the question presents itself: Who's minding the store? In the case of central business districts and outlying commercial precincts, the answer may lie with a collection of loosely organized and highly local affinity groups called BIDs - Business Improvement Districts. On the one hand, the growing power of the BIDs around California might threaten traditional city hall-based planning...

Arizona

Dec 1, 1998

Larry Sokoloff, Vol. 13 No. 12 Dec 1998

An environmentalists-sponsored effort to improve Arizona's planning laws backfired on the November ballot. But Gov. Jane Hull, who handily won another term, has appointed a statewide commission to examine growth management legislation. A measure to impose urban growth boundaries and growth management plans failed to make it to the ballot, but a counter-measure to make it harder to fight development in the state was placed on the ballot and passed. The measure that passed, Proposition 303 or the...

Shasta Lake Battles Over Fibergalss Plant

Dec 1, 1998

CP&DR Staff, Local Watch, Vol. 13 No. 12 Dec 1998

In a region where unemployment is double the state average and many available jobs are in the low-paying service and retail sectors, a $100 million factory would appear to be a godsend. But in Shasta County, a proposed fiberglass insulation factory has instead become a lightning rod. The two-year-old battle has split the community, with business and government leaders on one side and a mix of slow-growth advocates, physicians, and small business owners on the other. In October 1996, representatives ...

Locals Can Sue Feds: City, County Have Standing on Water Management Plan

Dec 1, 1998

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 13 No. 12 Dec 1998

Two local governments in Nevada have won the right to sue the federal government over alleged failure to prepare an environmental impact statement prior to implementing a water-rights acquisition plan in the Lahontan Valley. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Churchill County and the City of Fallon do have the standing to sue the Secretary of the Interior under the federal Administrative Procedures Act. The local governments claim the Interior Department should have prepared a...

Cautious Davis May Have Little Impact on Planning; But Legislature is Now Strongly Democratic

Dec 1, 1998

Featured Articles, Vol. 13 No. 12 Dec 1998, William Fulton

Gray Davis's election appears to mean a new era in Sacramento. But whether it portends a shift in state policy relating to planning and development remains to be seen. Davis is a Democrat who has always enjoyed environmentalist support, but he is also a cautious politician unlikely to initiate sweeping policy reforms. Caution notwithstanding, Davis must deal with a strengthened Democratic majority in the Legislature that may seek a more aggressive approach on environmental, land use, and local go...

Santa Cruz Scales Back Boardwalk Plan: Merchant, Social Interests Collide

Nov 1, 1998

Featured Articles, Larry Sokoloff, Vol. 13 No. 11 Nov 1998

After a roller-coaster ride lasting several months, the beach town of Santa Cruz has finally approved a scaled-down plan to expand its historic boardwalk area — and election results in November's city council races are expected to offer a public referendum on the council's decision. The proposed expansion is the latest development issue to divide Santa Cruz -— a college town known for its environmental, non-traditional bent that has undergone a series of bruising growth and redevelopment battles in th...

Wetlands Issues Raised Over Lake in Calaveras County

Nov 1, 1998

Environment Watch, Larry Sokoloff, Vol. 13 No. 11 Nov 1998

Lake Tulloch Shores is one of the few large lakes in California where homes can be built on the water's edge, even into the water. While it sounds like a vacation paradise, it's been a planning nightmare. Until recently, the Calaveras County lake was a place where environmental impact reports weren't done and federal wetlands permits weren't required. Now, the Army Corps of Engineers is required that some — but not all — of the lake's property owners retroactively obtain federal wetlands pe...

Stirling Will Be Master Developer at George AFB

Nov 1, 1998

CP&DR Staff, Economic Development, Vol. 13 No. 11 Nov 1998

After years of contention, the airport redevelopment planned for the site of the former George Air Force Base in the High Desert of San Bernardino County may finally be getting off the ground. The former base was annexed by Victorville in 1994 and is now occupied by an airport. The Victorville City Council, which also serves as the Southern California International Airport Authority, received a redevelopment plan from Stirling Enterprises of Laguna Hills at their October 20 meeting. Afte...

Cities Must Pay Takings Judgments Even If Debt Limits are Exceeded

Nov 1, 1998

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 13 No. 11 Nov 1998

California's constitutional prohibition on excessive municipal debt doesn't apply in situations where cities must pay involuntary judgments such as inverse condemnation awards, the Fifth District Court of Appeal has ruled. Furthermore, the court suggested that a city may be legally obligated to increase taxes without a vote, as otherwise required under Proposition 13, in order to pay the judgment. The ruling came in a case by several farming companies against the City of Lindsay, in Tulare Co...

Court Hears Takings Case: But Del Monte Dunes Decision May Not be Sweeping

Nov 1, 1998

Kenneth Jost, Legal Digest, Vol. 13 No. 11 Nov 1998

U.S. Supreme Court justices gave mixed signals during the oral arguments in the Del Monte Dunes case, a closely watched dispute from California that may determine whether developers should have the right to compensation for unreasonable delays because of land-use regulations. However, it appears the high court will not issue a sweeping decision on the question of whether developers have the right to a jury trial in such cases. The muddled arguments and questions suggested the court's decis...