Land Use, Environmental, and Real Estate Law in California
Communities for a Better Environment v. Bay Area Air Quality Management District (2016) 1 Cal.App.5th 715
By Glen Hansen
In Communities for a Better Environment v. Bay Area Air Quality Management District (2016) 1 Cal.App.5th 715 (“Communities”), the Court of Appeal for the First Appellate District affirmed the dismissal of an action…
Friends of the Willow Glen Trestle v. City of San Jose (2016) ___ Cal.App.5th ___.
By Daniel S. Cucchi
As part of its plan to upgrade its trail system, the City of San Jose (the “City”) proposed to demolish the Willow Glen Railroad Trestle (the “Trestle”), a wooden bridge built in 1922 as part of…
No Toxic Air, Inc. v Lehigh Southwest Cement Co. ( 2016) 1 Cal.App.5th 1136
By William W. Abbott
If required due to the complexity of the matter, a prevailing party may be able to recover reasonable legal and paralegal costs incurred in preparing an administrative record required by an action in administrative mandamus.
Project opponents…
Spring Valley Lake Assn. v. City of Victorville (2016) 248 Cal. App. 4th 91
By William W. Abbott
The Tamarisk shopping center project in Victorville consists of 214,596 square feet of commercial retail uses on approximately 23.72 acres of land, currently vacant and undeveloped. Among the project’s proposed commercial retail uses includes a Walmart store …
Bay Area Citizens v. Association of Bay Area Governments (2016) 248 Cal.App.4th 966.
By William W. Abbott
In a case perhaps driven primarily by philosophical considerations, the Court of Appeal (First Appellate District) upheld ABAG’s Sustainable Communities plan (the “Plan”), adopted under the authority of SB 375 (Steinberg). SB 375, adopted in 2008, created…
By William W. Abbott, Diane Kindermann, Glen Hansen, Brian Russell and Dan Cucchi
Welcome to Abbott & Kindermann’s 2016 2nd Quarter CEQA update. This summary provides links to more in depth case write-ups on the firm’s blog. The case names of the newest decisions start with Section 3 and are denoted by bold …
People for Proper Planning v. City of Palm Springs (April 22, 2016, E062725) ____ Cal.App.4th ____.
By William W. Abbott
In 2013, the City of Palm Springs amended its general plan to remove any mention of minimum densities in the residential land districts. The text of the general plan in some residential districts provided…
By William W. Abbott
Well, it has been a long time since I took my high school civics class. While I have forgotten far more than I remember, the distinct responsibilities allocated between the legislative branch and the executive branch remain deeply embedded in my memory. In the recent debate concerning the State’s attempt to…
By William W. Abbott, Diane Kindermann, Glen Hansen, Brian Russell and Dan Cucchi
Welcome to Abbott & Kindermann’s 2016 1st Quarter CEQA update. This summary provides links to more in depth case write-ups on the firm’s blog. The case names of the newest decisions start with Section 3 and are denoted by bold …
Preserve Poway v. City of Poway (March 9, 2016, D066635) ___ Cal.App.4th ___.
By William W. Abbott
It is no surprise that people dislike change. California’s near constant state of evolvement is fertile ground for localized conflict between those fostering growth and those seeking to protect the status quo. While the fear or opposition to…
