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By Cori M. Badgley and Nathan Jones

In Shaw v. County of Santa Cruz (2008) 170 Cal.App.4th 229, a developer asserted that a temporary regulatory taking occurred when the County of Santa Cruz (“County”) improperly and unlawfully delayed granting a ministerial permit for electricity. After extensively analyzing the various regulatory takings tests, the Court of Appeal, Sixth Appellate District, held that no regulatory taking had occurred.
Continue Reading Delay in Granting Ministerial Electrical Permit is Not a Regulatory Taking

By Leslie Z. Walker

According to a Ninth Circuit decision in Natural Resources Defense Council v. U.S. EPA (9th Cir. 2008) 542 F.3d 1235, once the EPA has published a determination that a particular activity is a pollution source, The EPA has a mandatory duty to publish Effluent Limitation Guidelines (“ELGs”) within three years of that determination under section 304 of the CWA.
Continue Reading EPA May Not Delist Pollution Sources

Diane Kindermann Henderson, a partner at the firm, will be speaking at the Sacramento Professional Environmental Marketing Association (“SacPEMA”) on February 17, 2009, at The Firehouse in Sacramento. Diane will be presenting an overview of land use and environmental law updates for the past year in the areas of water rights and supply, water quality…

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?