In preparing the new edition of Guide to California Planning, it became more clear to me than ever that there's tension between the urban California we live in and the suburban California the planning system is designed to create. >>read more

When it doesn't allow the environmental impact report to analyze anything except the project that was proposed -- in this case, a Crystal Geyser bottling plant near Mount Shasta. >>read more

Court sides with developer in 48-year-old case from Tiburon but judge goes off on CEQA. Meanwhile, Marin County negotiates with developer to purchase the property for open space. >>read more

State guidance is forthcoming, but some jurisdictions are out ahead of the curve. >>read more

An appellate court says yes -- if funding sources are available, even if it's unlikely that the landowner is willing to sell. >>read more

Plus: SB 743 strikes again in Pleasanton Costco case. >>read more

Having punched a big hole in CEQA to solve the Berkeley enrollment problem, will the Legislature be tempted to punch more holes in the future? >>read more

EIR didn't give enough detail on wildfire evacuation in latest chapter of 40-year development saga. >>read more

The new law UC Berkeley breathing space from the recent court ruling limiting admissions. But it would also change the nature of analysis on campus Long-Range Development Plans. And it's unlikely to slop over into General Plans. >>read more

Appellate ruling may make it more difficult for CEQA practitioners to reconcile GHG analysis with state targets. >>read more