Legal Digest

The newly incorporated City of Goleta had the authority to reject a final subdivision map after the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors had approved the tentative map for property that was in unincorporated territory at the time, the state Supreme Court has ruled. >>read more

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission does not have to consider impacts of previously licensed Butte County dams on threatened Chinook salmon, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. >>read more

A controversial desert redevelopment project in California City has been invalidated by the Fifth District Court of Appeal, which rejected the eastern Kern County city's determination that the vacant land qualified as blighted because of its parcelization and lack of road access. >>read more

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission does not have to consider impacts of previously licensed Butte County dams on threatened Chinook salmon, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. >>read more

Only two months after voters rejected Proposition 90, new proposals to alter eminent domain law are already arising. Anti-tax activists, environmentalists, local government organizations and state lawmakers are all working on eminent domain proposals, and it is likely that voters will see at least one ballot measure on the subject during the 2008 primary. It is also possible that voters will decide on another regulatory takings initiative. >>read more

The First District Court of Appeal has thrown out the City of American Canyon's approval of a Wal-Mart supercenter because the city did not comply with the California Environmental Quality Act and violated its own zoning ordinance. >>read more

A Regional Water Quality Control Board permit that mandates how Los Angeles County and 84 cities in the county manage stormwater discharges is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act, an appellate court has ruled. >>read more

Yuba County should not have permitted a sand and gravel company to expand its mine without conducting a public hearing, the Third District Court of Appeal has ruled. >>read more

A state appellate court has reinstated a lawsuit over a proposed Wal-Mart supercenter in the City of Lodi. >>read more

A ruling from the State of Washington by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals suggests that local governments in California may want to review their sign ordinances. >>read more

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has blocked development of a geothermal power plant on federal land in Siskiyou County because federal agencies did not complete an environmental review of leases for the land underlying the proposed power plant. >>read more

A dispute between owners of property in northern San Diego County and a public utility district is headed for a new trial after the Fourth District Court of Appeal overturned a $2.3 million award of damages and compensation to the property owners. >>read more

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's determination that listing the Sierra Nevada Mountain yellow-legged frog as an endangered species was "warranted but precluded" has been rejected by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. >>read more

A state appellate court panel has chastised the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) for ignoring the California Environmental Quality Act during reviews of timber harvest plans. >>read more