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By Katherine J. Hart and Leslie Z. Walker

On February 9, 2009, the California Supreme Court held the State Water Resources Control Board (“Board”) did not violate the due process rights of the recipients of a proposed license revocation by refusing to disqualify the enforcement team because one or more members had advised the Board on other, unrelated issues. (Morongo Band of Mission Indians v. State Water Resources Control Board 2009 Cal. LEXIS 1009.)…
Continue Reading No Conflict Between Prosecutorial and Advisory Positions

The Governors Office of Planning and Research, State Clearinghouse and Planning Unit announced that they will not be accepting CEQA documents for review or processing on the first and third Fridays of each month, now through June 30, 2010. This notice is in response to the state agency furlough ordered by the Governor which has required the State Clearinghouse to close their doors two days per month for the next year and a half.
Continue Reading CEQA Notice Postings and Review Periods Affected by State Agency Furloughs

By William W. Abbott and Nathan Jones

According to leading lifestyle magazines, the status question is no longer: who is your architect, but: who is your land use attorney? And if you want to build your dream house along the coast, your attorney’s telephone number needs to be on your cell phone’s speed dial.
Continue Reading Dream Home Checklist: Architect, Contractor, Land Use Attorney

By Cori Badgley and Kate J. Hart

Water supply issues continue to plague California, and adequate water supply and analysis has become one of the main litigated issues when challenges are brought to development projects. The courts have already shown that water supply is not an issue to be ignored, whether it’s short-term supply or long-term. (See “California Supreme Court Weighs in Once Again on CEQA Compliance” for an analysis of the leading Supreme Court case on water supply.) More recently, petitioners have started to focus on the required water supply assessment under SB 610 (Water Code, §§ 10910, 10912), instead of only challenging the environmental impact report under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”).
Continue Reading Court Upholds City’s Water Supply Assessment

By Glen Hansen

Real estate buyers and sellers often draft very simple contracts to express their mutual intentions. Courts will enforce such contracts if the terms are certain enough for the court to know what to enforce. But what if important terms and conditions are missing in the written contract? What standard or customary conditions will a court read into such agreements? The Supreme Court addressed that issue in the recent case of Patel v. Liebermensch (2008) 45 Cal.4th 344, where the parties’ signed purchase contract was silent as to the length of the escrow period.
Continue Reading What Standard Escrow Terms Will A Court Imply In A Real Estate Purchase Contract?

By Nathan Jones and Cory Badgley

In Fairbanks North Star Borough v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (2008) 543 F.3d 586, the United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit held that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; (“USACE”) determination that a Clean Water Act section 404 wetlands permit would be required is not a final agency decision. Consequently, the USACE’s jurisdictional determination (“JD”) cannot be reviewed by the courts under the Administrative Procedures Act (“APA”) (5 U.S.C. § 704), if the JD concludes waters are present.
Continue Reading Ninth Circuit Holds Assertion of Jurisdiction By USACE Not a Reviewable Agency Decision

By Glen Hansen

In Arcadia Development Co. v. City of Morgan Hill (2008) 169 Cal.App.4th 253, the California Court of Appeal, Sixth Appellate District, held that the extension of a temporary growth control ordinance restarts the running of the 90-day statute of limitations found in Government Code section 65009 to challenge the ordinance.
Continue Reading Extending A Temporary Growth Control Plan Reopens The Statute of Limitations To Legal Challenges

By Nathan Jones and Leslie Z. Walker

In May of 2006, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance “Adopting the redevelopment plan for the Bayview Hunters Point Redevelopment Project” (“Ordinance”). The ordinance increased the size of redevelopment activity in Bayview-Hunter’s Point from 147 acres to 1,500 acres. Many in the community viewed the redevelopment project as an attempt to gentrify the area aimed at dispossessing working-class residents in the area. The case of Defend Bayview Hunters Point Committee v. City and County of San Francisco (2008) 167 Cal.App.4th 846, illustrates a pitfall for organizers who fail to attach reference materials of substance to a petition challenging a local redevelopment ordinance.
Continue Reading Full Disclosure- Reference Documents Must be Attached to Referendum Petition to be Legally Sufficient Under State Elections Code