Property owners who received an $850,000 loan from the Carson Redevelopment Agency must return the money because they acquiesced to the mayor's demand for a $75,000 bribe, the Second District Court of Appeal has ruled. >>read more
The state Supreme Court has rejected California State University trustees' contention that the university does not have to mitigate off-site traffic and fire safety impacts from expansion of the CSU Monterey Bay campus. >>read more
A unanimous California Supreme Court has upheld lower court decisions rejecting an advertising company's claim that it deserves compensation because trees planted along a public street obstructed visibility of six billboards. >>read more
In a decision handed down shortly before the state Supreme Court opinion on California State University project impacts, an appellate court ruled that a San Diego community college district is responsible for off-campus traffic impacts caused by campus expansion. >>read more
An environmental impact report for one of the first Wal-Mart supercenters approved in California has been upheld by the Sixth District Court of Appeal. The court ruled that the City of Gilroy did not have to prepare a new economic analysis in the supercenter's environmental impact report because previous studies were adequate. >>read more
The latest round to be decided in the ongoing fight over building inspection and plan check fees has gone to the City of Corona, which successfully defended a lawsuit originally brought by developer Barratt American and its chief fee consultant. >>read more
In the ongoing controversy regarding local government authority over wireless telecommunication antennas, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has upheld San Diego County's zoning ordinance that establishes a detailed permitting process for such antennas. >>read more
A Superior Court's award of damages to a billboard company that sued over the City of Arcata's building and sign ordinances has been thrown out. >>read more
Opponents of a school consolidation plan in a Santa Cruz County school district did not provide evidence showing that the consolidation was not exempt from California Environmental Quality Act review, the Sixth District Court of Appeal has ruled. >>read more
An extraordinarily complicated takings case stemming from the City of Capitola's mobile home rent control ordinance has received new life, even though the city has won numerous rounds in federal and state court. >>read more
WASHINGTON _ The Supreme Court's splintered decision on wetlands protection is likely to result in more litigation for federal agencies and new attention to California water boards' expansive jurisdiction over the state's waters. >>read more
A state District Court of Appeal has rejected a property owner's contention that design review permits for two houses in San Mateo County were "deemed approved" because the county failed to act on his applications within 60 days. >>read more
An important case involving the delivery of water to farmers and fish appears to have sputtered to an end with the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' short-order rejection of the farmers' claims. >>read more
