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.

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

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

Plus: SB 743 strikes again in Pleasanton Costco case.

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?

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

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.

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

In response to the Berkeley enrollment case, the Legislature is likely to do something. Exempting student and faculty housing would weaken CEQA -- but Justice Goodwin Liu laid out another path that could truly reform it.

The University of California tried to finesse the fact that Berkeley had blown past its enrollment target without doing additional CEQA analysis. And maybe the judge didn't have to "go nuclear" on this case. But the question of whether population growth in and of itself demands lengthy environmental analysis holds major implications for general plans in cities and counties throughout California.