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By Katherine J. Hart

In Latinos Unidos de Napa v. City of Napa (2013) 221 Cal.App.4th 192; 2013 Cal.App. LEXIS 893 (Latinos Unidos II), the Court of Appeals, First Appellate District, upheld the City of Napa’s (City) use of its 1998 Program EIR (prepared and certified for purposes of the City’s 2020 General Plan update) for the proposed 2009 Housing Element update, and related Land Use Element and zoning code amendments. More specifically, in updating its Housing Element, the City of Napa also amended its Land Use Element to (1) increase the minimum residential densities in seven areas zoned as mixed use or community commercial from 10 to 40 residential units per acre, (2) increase the permitted density for eight multi-family sites by a total of 88 units, as well as amended its zoning ordinance to comply with state laws regarding emergency shelters and various types of low-income housing, and to permit single-family detached homes at the same densities of single-family attached homes (the Project).Continue Reading NO NEW ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW REQUIRED TO INCREASE HOUSING DENSITIES IN CITY’S GENERAL PLAN

By William W. Abbott

If you were hoping for an insightful article on human relationships, you are out of luck and clearly, you are reading the wrong blog. But if you are interested in bonding as it relates to subdivisions and improvement agreements, read on. With a frequency slightly ahead of locusts appearing every seventeen years, cases involving subdivision improvement bonds are cyclical, trailing serious downturns in the real estate development market. Two cases this year illustrate interesting features of this practice area.Continue Reading BONDING IS NOT ALWAYS A POSITIVE EXPERIENCE

By William W. Abbott

South County Citizens for Smart Growth v. County of Nevada (October 8, 2013, C067764) ___ Cal.App.4th ___.

Starting in 2005, KKP submitted an application for a mixed use commercial center to be located in Nevada County on a 20 acre site. The proposal included a 60,000 square foot grocery store anchor, two retail buildings, two drive through restaurants and nearly 500 parking stalls. Four parcels would be retained by the property owner, and the proposal accommodated roughly 42,000 square feet of light industrial and office uses on the owner’s retained land. The last parcel was restricted to wetland/open space uses. The County released the DEIR in November 2007, disclosing three significant unmitigated impacts; two traffic impacts and one cumulative air impact. After an extended public review process, including additional analysis submitted by the applicant, the Planning Commission conducted a hearing on the FEIR in January 2009. The staff report for this hearing included a staff recommendation for an approval, with a variation on alternative 4 in the DEIR. The commission voted to recommend certification of the EIR and the various approvals associated with the project to the Board of Supervisors, including the staff recommended plan (which capped the amount of commercial footage and increased the open space area.) KKP then developed two alternatives responsive to the Planning Commission recommendation of the staff’s alternative. Staff evaluated KKP’s two additional alternatives, and recommended that the Planning Commission formally recommend KPP’s second alternative to the Board of Supervisors.Continue Reading ADDITIONAL STAFF GENERATED PROJECT ALTERNATIVE DID NOT COMPEL RECIRCULATION OF THE DRAFT EIR NOR WERE ADDITIONAL FINDINGS OF INFEASIBILITY REQUIRED

By Glen Hansen

In Garcia v. Governing Board of Bellflower Unified School District (October 24, 2013, B247320) ___ Cal.App.4th ___ a former employee of the Bellflower Unified School District (“District”) filed an extraordinary writ petition against the District relating to her alleged exposure to mold. Her counsel later served on the District’s counsel in that proceeding a request for records from the District pursuant to the California Public Records Act (Gov. Code, § 6250 et seq.) (“PRA”). The letter listed eight (8) categories of records that were requested pursuant to the PRA. During the next month, the former employee’s counsel sent several additional letters and an email to the District’s counsel because the District did not respond to the original letter request. The District’s general counsel finally responded with a letter stating that there were no documents responsive to four of the requests, that two of the requests were overly broad and vague, and that documents responsive to two of the requests were exempt from disclosure. The former employee’s counsel then sent a ‘meet and confer’ letter to the District’s general counsel disputing the District’s objections and responses. But when the District did not respond to that letter, the former employee commenced mandamus proceeding seeking to compel the District to comply with the PRA. Continue Reading A Petitioner Is Entitled To Attorneys’ Fees Under The Public Records Act If The Petitioner Succeeds On Any Significant Issue And Achieves Some Of The Benefit Sought In The Litigation

 By William W. Abbott

Griffith v. Pajaro Valley Water Mgt. Agency (October 14, 2013) ___ Cal.App.4th ___. 

The long saga of the groundwater augmentation strategy for Pajaro Valley in Santa Cruz County has reached its next, and possibly final stopping point. The underlying saga is a telltale forecast of what lies ahead for California, with the inevitable conflicts generated by resource allocation and management. In Griffith, the specific conflict stems from the intersection of groundwater management strategies designed in part to better manage water resources and to reduce saltwater intrusion with the citizen rights created by Proposition 218.Continue Reading Court Affirms Groundwater Augmentation Charge Exempt From Proposition 218 As A Water Service Charge

By Glen Hansen

In September 2013, the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sent a draft rule to clarify the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act to the Office of Management and Budget for interagency review. The proposed rule is designed to provide greater consistency, certainty, and predictability nationwide…

Abbott & Kindermann, LLP is pleased to announce an upcoming seminar at which Diane Kindermann Henderson will be speaking.  As Ms. Kindermann’s guest, you are eligible for 20% off the registration fee!

Proactive Subdivision Map and Entitlement Strategies Post-Recession
November 19, 2013
Sacramento, CA
Crowne Plaza Sacramento, 5321 Date Avenue

Register online: http://www.lorman.com/392308
Call:

The Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (“CVRWQCB”) adopted new waste discharge requirements within the Tulare Lake Basin area on September 19, 2013, in order to protect ground and surface water from irrigated agricultural discharges.  The area impacted by the new requirements includes farmland in Fresno, Tulare, Kings and Kern counties.  The requirements apply …

By William W. Abbott, Diane Kindermann, Katherine J. Hart and Glen Hansen

Welcome to Abbott & Kindermann’s 2013 CEQA update. It is cumulative for the year, with the newest cases issued in the 3rd quarter are shown in italics and bold type face.

To review our prior annual summaries, click here: 2013…

Abbott & Kindermann, LLP is pleased to announce an upcoming seminar at which Diane Kindermann Henderson will be speaking.  As Ms. Kindermann’s guest, you are eligible for 20% off the registration fee!

Proactive Subdivision Map and Entitlement Strategies Post-Recession
November 19, 2013
Sacramento, CA
Crowne Plaza Sacramento, 5321 Date Avenue

Click here to view…