CP&DR

Council-Sponsored Initiative Must Undergo CEQA Review: No Exemption for City-Sanctioned Measure, Cal

May 1, 2001

Legal Digest, other, Vol. 16 No. 05 May 2001

Ballot measures generated and placed before voters by a public agency are not exempt from environmental review, a unanimous state Supreme Court has ruled.

Supreme Court upholds EPA's Process for Setting Air Standards

Apr 1, 2001

Legal Digest, other, Vol. 16 No. 04 Apr 2001

In what most observers called a major victory for environmentalists and federal regulatory agencies, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Environmental Protection Agency's practice of not considering costs when setting air quality standards.

In Brief

Apr 1, 2001

In Brief, other, Vol. 16 No. 04 Apr 2001

Court Properly Blocked Initiative from ballot, Appellate Panel Rules

Apr 1, 2001

Legal Digest, other, Vol. 16 No. 04 Apr 2001

A San Diego Superior Court judge properly removed from the ballot a 1999 initiative seeking to kill implementation of the deal between the City of San Diego and the Padres baseball team for a new stadium. The Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division 1, ruled that the initiative interfered with administrative actions of the city government, rather than legislative actions. Administrative actions may not be placed before the voters. In making the decision, the court said its ruling rendered

Birdwatchers Win Case regarding Long Beach Navy Base Reuse

Apr 1, 2001

Legal Digest, other, Vol. 16 No. 04 Apr 2001

Birdwatchers can legitimately state a claim of injury and therefore have standing to sue the Navy under the National Environmental Policy Act over the destruction of bird habitat on the former site of the Long Beach Naval Station, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. However, the court also held that the birdwatchers do not have standing to sue as California taxpayers.

Land Use Bills to Watch This Year

Apr 1, 2001

other, Vol. 16 No. 04 Apr 2001

Election Results

Apr 1, 2001

Elections, other, Vol. 16 No. 04 Apr 2001

Few land use measures appeared on ballots during the spring municipal elections conducted in some California cities and counties on March 6, although development was an issue in several city races.

Landlords Lose Again as Court Sets New Due Process Standard

Mar 1, 2001

Legal Digest, other, Vol. 16 No. 03 Mar 2001

The California Supreme Court has dealt a setback to property rights advocates and outlined a new standard for proving that a government agency violated a property owner's federal due process rights. On a 5-2 decision, the court held that a landlord who is subject to a mobilehome rent control ordinance can receive compensation under the federal Civil Rights Act (42 U.S.C. Section 1983) only if the government deliberately flouts the law.

Appellate Panel Awards Legal Costs to Make Property Owner Whole

Mar 1, 2001

Legal Digest, other, Vol. 16 No. 03 Mar 2001

A public agency that loses an inverse condemnation case must pay all reasonable legal costs that the property owner incurred, even if there is a second round of litigation, the Second District Court of Appeal has ruled. The decision came in a case in which the Hawaiian Gardens Redevelopment Agency delayed payment of litigation expenses and then refused to pay later costs incurred by the owners of an automobile dealership.

Off-Site Advertisements Ruled Illegal despite On-Site Office Space

Mar 1, 2001

Legal Digest, other, Vol. 16 No. 03 Mar 2001

The owner of a commercial building and billboard next to a freeway could not avoid state prohibitions against off-site advertising simply by leasing office space to the advertisers, the First District Court of Appeal has ruled. The court held that the Outdoor Advertising Act (Bus. & Prof. Code § 5200 et. seq.) prohibited the billboard's use for promoting commercial enterprises that were clearly undertaken elsewhere.

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