CP&DR

Beachfront House Bypasses Coastal Commission

Feb 2, 2009

Coastal development, CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Los Angeles County, Vol. 24 No. 02 Feb 2009

A decision by the Coastal Commission not to intervene in a dispute between Malibu property owners was upheld by the Second District Court of Appeal. The court affirmed the Commission's refusal to conduct a hearing on a proposed beachfront house that was approved by the City of Malibu but opposed by the next door neighbors. The court also found that a State Lands Commission failure to investigate the project's potential impact on public tidelands was not enough to disturb the city's approval.

Coastal Commission Fenced Out In Torrance

Feb 2, 2009

Coastal development, CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Los Angeles County, Vol. 24 No. 02 Feb 2009

The Coastal Commission has no jurisdiction over a fence at the base of a coastal bluff in Torrance because a 1988 boundary agreement among state entities and landowners authorized the fence, the Second District Court of Appeal ruled.

Economic Woes May Capsize Ambitious Plan For Queen Mary

Jan 30, 2009

Coastal development, Josh Stephens, Los Angeles County, Redevelopment Watch, Vol. 24 No. 02 Feb 2009

After 76 years afloat, the RMS Queen Mary surely still draws stares from the cargo ship crews that call at the Port of Long Beach, where the Queen remains one of Southern California's more incongruous tourist attractions. Having sailed the North Atlantic under the Cunard flag, the ship has, since 1968, served simultaneously as a hotel, museum, event venue, and elegant icon for an otherwise working-class Southern California port city.

L.A. Billboard Regulatory, Contractual Scheme Upheld

Jan 28, 2009

Legal Digest, Los Angeles County, Paul Shigley, Signs and billboards, Vol. 24 No. 02 Feb 2009

A 7-year-old City of Los Angeles ordinance prohibiting new off-site signs has been upheld by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which rejected the argument that the ban combined with a city contract permitting advertising at city-owned bus stops violated the First Amendment.

Coastal Commission Jurisdiction Upheld After Landowner Delays Challenge

Dec 30, 2008

Coastal development, CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Los Angeles County, Vol. 24 No. 01 Jan 2009

A property owner cannot participate in a California Coastal Commission appeal process for years and then assert that the Commission was prohibited from considering the appeal because it missed a procedural deadline years earlier, the Second District Court of Appeal has ruled. The court rejected a Pacific Palisades landowner's contention that the Commission had lost jurisdiction over an appeal of the landowner's three-lot development because the Commission did not conduct a hearing within 49 days of receiving an appeal in 1999.

Glendale Establishes Urban Design As Top Priority

Nov 26, 2008

Infill development, Josh Stephens & Jillian Goodman, Local Watch, Los Angeles County, Vol. 23 No. 12 Dec 2008

When Pasadena first began to transform its moribund downtown into Southern California's premier urban destination, neighboring Glendale took a more cautious approach to urban renewal, which is to say that it did very little.

But that's changing. Earlier this year, the city's Planning Department established it own Urban Design Studio with the intent of enhance existing urban character.

Private Agreement Fails To Provide Relief From Rent Restrictions

Nov 24, 2008

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Los Angeles County, Rent control, Vol. 23 No. 12 Dec 2008

A Los Angeles property owner who leased a multi-family dwelling could not collect a rent increase of more than about 3% per year, even if the tenant agreed to pay more. That is the most broadly applicable portion of a recent appellate court ruling in a nasty dispute between a landlord and tenant.

State Supreme Court: Conditional Agreement And 'Circumstances' Equal Project Approval

Nov 19, 2008

California Environmental Quality Act, Legal Digest, Los Angeles County, Paul Shigley, Vol. 23 No. 12 Dec 2008

Government agencies that appear to commit themselves to a project through a conditional agreement and funding must first complete a California Environmental Quality Act analysis, even if the actual project approval comes later, the state Supreme Court has ruled. The circumstances surrounding the agreement matters as much as the agreement itself, the court determined.

The court ruled unanimously that the City of West Hollywood violated CEQA by not preparing an environmental review for an affordable housing development prior to approving a conditional agreement to provide property and funding to a nonprofit housing developer.

Rancho Palos Verdes Moratorium Deemed A Taking

Oct 27, 2008

Los Angeles County, Paul Shigley, Takings, Vol. 23 No. 11 Nov 2008

The City of Rancho Palos Verdes' 30-year moratorium on new home construction in an area the city says is prone to landslides is an unconstitutional taking of private property, the Second District Court of Appeal has ruled. The decision marks a rare takings victory for property owners in state court.

Council Resolution Doesn't Affect Property Rights, Court Rules

Oct 22, 2008

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Los Angeles County, Takings, Vol. 23 No. 11 Nov 2008

A property owner's challenge of a Sierra Madre City Council resolution directing a committee to consider stricter regulation of hillside development has been thrown out by the Second District Court of Appeal.

The unanimous three-judge appellate panel upheld a trial court judge who had ruled that the situation was not "ripe" for judicial review. Although the resolution might lead to less potential development, the resolution itself had no binding implications for the property owner's land, the Second District determined.

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