Legal Digest

A use permit condition limiting groundwater extraction to 12,000 acre-feet of water per year did not constitute a taking of property, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has ruled. >>read more

A divided appellate court panel has upheld a 2004 regulation that gives the director of the state Department of Conservation the final say over whether reclamation of a surface mine has fulfilled the mine's reclamation plan. >>read more

A billboard company has won the latest round in a drawn-out conflict with the City of Riverside. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Valley Outdoor Inc. may challenge the city's handling of a permit application but may not contest the city's sign ordinance. >>read more

A city is not required to provide credit against park and recreation fees when it requires a developer to dedicate private open space, the Sixth District Court of Appeal has ruled. >>read more

A San Luis Obispo County businessman who did not attend a California Coastal Commission hearing regarding his proposed project has lost a lawsuit contending that he was not provided adequate notice of the hearing. >>read more

A $1.4-million damages award that a jury granted to the owner of a San Bernardino adult cabaret has been upheld by the Fourth District Court of Appeal. The damages were based on expenses and lost income from a 53-month period when the City of San Bernardino's zoning ordinance - which was eventually ruled unconstitutional - prevented Flesh Night Club from operating. >>read more

A Rohnert Park mobile home park owner's demand that a court grant a rent increase because an unconstitutional city law held down rents has been rejected. >>read more

Tulare County owes the Dinuba Redevelopment Agency property tax-increment dollars that the county erroneously distributed to itself and nine other local government agencies, the Fifth District Court of Appeal has ruled. >>read more

While there is no star for "blight" on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, blight is prominent in the neighborhood. The Second District Court of Appeal has upheld an amendment to a two-decade-old redevelopment plan for Hollywood. >>read more

The City of Long Beach must pay a mortgage holder $273,500 in damages plus attorney fees for demolishing an apartment building without providing adequate notice to the lender. >>read more

The California Supreme Court has accepted two more land use cases, one involving a habitat conservation plan for North Coast redwood forests and one involving the red-hot issue of eminent domain. >>read more

In a major victory for opponents of big-box retail development, the Fifth District Court of Appeal has upheld a City of Turlock ordinance that prohibits a store of more than 100,000 square feet from selling groceries. >>read more

A City of Hanford zoning ordinance that permitted furniture sales only in large department stores has been thrown out as unconstitutional by the Fifth District Court of Appeal. >>read more

While a developer argues the private agreement impinges on city's police powers, the settlement that Rohnert Park signed to resolve a lawsuit over the city's general plan did not illegally abridge the city's police power, the First District Court of Appeal has ruled. >>read more