CP&DR

Local Government Wins Old Map Fight

Mar 1, 2003

Featured Articles, Paul Shigley, Sonoma County, Subdivision Map Act, Vol. 18 No. 03 Mar 2003

In a landmark ruling, the state Supreme Court has made clear that maps recorded prior to 1893 do not create legal, developable lots for today's purposes. And the court at least hinted that maps recorded between 1893 and 1929 might not be valid unless a city or county somehow exercised discretion in approving the map.

News From Around California

Mar 1, 2003

CP&DR Staff, In Brief, Vol. 18 No. 03 Mar 2003

The regional housing allocation process should be suspended until it can be reformed, the Legislative Analysts' Office (LAO) has recommended. "The regional housing planning process is not very effective at ensuring the construction of affordable housing or obtaining compliance with state law," the LAO reported.

Central Valley City Welcomes Huge Housing, Commercial Project

Mar 1, 2003

Local Watch, Paul Shigley, Vol. 18 No. 03 Mar 2003

An 11,000-unit housing development and 325-acre "employment center" has won approval from the City of Lathrop, in the San Joaquin Valley east of the Bay Area. If built, the project would be the first major urbanization of one of the many flood-prone islands in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

State High Court Rejects Pre-1893 Subdivisions

Mar 1, 2003

Legal Digest, Paul Shigley, Solano County, Subdivision Map Act, Vol. 18 No. 03 Mar 2003

In its first ruling directly addressing the validity of "antiquated subdivisions," the California Supreme Court has held that maps recorded prior to adoption of the first precursor to the Subdivision Map Act in 1893 do not create legal parcels for today's purposes.

Power Plant Opponents Already Had Day In Court, Panel Rules

Mar 1, 2003

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 18 No. 03 Mar 2003

Opponents of a proposed power plant in San Jose have lost an attempt to get their arguments heard in court. The Third District Court of Appeal ruled that project opponents could not bring a case in Superior Court because the California Supreme Court has exclusive jurisdiction to review power plant certification decisions by the state Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission. The fact that the Supreme Court rejected the opponents' lawsuit without reviewing the record did not matter, the Th

West Hollywood Apartment Building Owners Lose Rent Control Exemption

Mar 1, 2003

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 18 No. 03 Mar 2003

The owners of apartment buildings in the City of West Hollywood cannot avoid the city's rent control ordinance by relying on 1980s-era approvals to convert the buildings to condominiums, an appellate court has ruled.

PPIC's Elisa Barbour

Mar 1, 2003

Paul Shigley, Q&A, Vol. 18 No. 03 Mar 2003

Elisa Barbour, of the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) in San Francisco, recently published a comprehensive study on regional planning, "Metropolitan Growth Planning in California, 1900-2000." In her study, Barbour says that California has tried to create stronger metropolitan planning institutions for 100 years. She calls the most recent surge of regionalism the "third wave," after the establishment of home rule, and the rise of single-purpose agencies.

Despite Economic Slowdown, Housing Impact Fees Continue To Rise

Mar 1, 2003

Insight, Vol. 18 No. 03 Mar 2003, William Fulton

Supposedly we're in an economic downtown, which, if past behavior of local officials in California is any indication, ought to mean that development impact fees are heading south. After all, high fees often become a scapegoat in a down economy, and lowering those fees is often touted as a way to stimulate an economic recovery. But that is not happening. Throughout California, fees are not going down. They're going up.

Developer-Hired CEQA Consultant Could Be An Endangered Species

Mar 1, 2003

Environment Watch, John Krist, Vol. 18 No. 03 Mar 2003

More than a decade ago, a state appellate court ruled that developers could hire their own consultants to prepare environmental impact reports required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Now, prompted by events surrounding the controversial Newhall Ranch development in Los Angeles County, a Southern California legislator has launched an effort to outlaw the practice.

Analysts Call Housing Development Essential For Next Wave Of Prosperity

Mar 1, 2003

Economic Development, Paul Shigley, Vol. 18 No. 03 Mar 2003

An economic downturn that has forced up Bay Area unemployment and office vacancy rates shows little sign of abating. Business leaders, economic development experts and analysts say that righting the greater Bay Area's economic ship will be neither easy nor quick.