March 2014

Abbott & Kindermann, LLP is pleased to announce that Diane Kindermann will be a member of the faculty for “Proactive Subdivision Map and Entitlement Strategies Post-Recession in California,” a continuing education seminar to be held in Palm Desert, CA by Lorman Education Services. As Ms. Kindermann’s guest, you are eligible for 20% off the registration

By William W. Abbott

Tower Lane Properties v. City of Los Angeles (February 28, 2014, B244092) ___ Cal.App.4th ___. This one is not complicated. Facing an applicant’s request for a grading permit on a hillside to construct three homes and accessory uses on three existing parcels, the city required the property owner to obtain a tentative map. The requirement stemmed from the city’s ordinance which specified that a map was required if grading activity involved a hillside site of 60,000 square feet or more. The city offered a waiver of the map requirement, conditioned upon completion of CEQA documentation. Passing on the waiver option, the applicant filed suit to set aside the requirement to process the tentative map as no subdivision was involved.Continue Reading City Subdivision Regulations Do Not Apply To Family Compound On Existing Lots

Join William Abbott and Kate Hart of Abbott & Kindermann, LLP in a new class which ties together best practices for land development projects. This is an advanced class aimed primarily at project managers, engineers, and development consultants. This intense, three hour class interprets and applies:

  • CEQA
  • Permit Streamlining Act
  •  Subdivision Map Act
  • Clean Water Act
  • Endangered Species Act
  • Updating Existing Entitlements

Continue Reading Register Today – Proactive Land Use Entitlement Strategies For Raw Land And Updates To Existing Entitlements Class

By Glen Hansen

Your neighbor builds (or wants to build) an ornate wall between your two properties. Then your neighbor emails to you the invoice, and asks you to contribute one-half the cost of the edifice. Do you have to pay if the cost of the wall is excessive in your opinion? What if you can barely afford half the cost of a chain link fence, let alone THAT wall? Prior to January 1, 2014, the law was not too helpful in answering those questions.Continue Reading So Your Neighbor Wants To Build An Ornate Wall Between Your Adjoining Properties – In The Absence Of An Agreement, Who Pays?

Join William Abbott and Kate Hart of Abbott & Kindermann, LLP in a new class which ties together best practices for land development projects. This is an advanced class aimed primarily at project managers, engineers, and development consultants. This intense, three hour class interprets and applies:

  • CEQA
  • Permit Streamlining Act
  •  Subdivision Map Act
  • Clean Water Act
  • Endangered Species Act
  • Updating Existing Entitlements

Continue Reading 2nd Annual Class – Proactive Land Use Entitlement Strategies For Raw Land And Updates To Existing Entitlements

By Glen Hansen

In Tuthill v. City of San Buenaventura (2014) ___ Cal.App.4th ___, the Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District held that a trial court could not apply equitable principles to circumvent the statutory scheme of public entity immunity embodied in Government Code section 815 et seq, in order to award damages against a city based on the city’s failure to disclose affordable housing restrictions that applied to plaintiffs’ townhomes.Continue Reading Even If The Policies Behind Affordable Housing Are Thwarted, A Court May Not Use “Equitable Principles” To Avoid Public Entity Immunity In The Tort Claims Act.