By Leslie Z. Walker

San Diego Association of Governments has prepared the first draft Regional Transportation Plan (“RTP”) to include a Sustainable Communities Strategy (“SCS”), as required by Senate Bill 375. As drafted, the SCS will achieve the California Air Resources Board’s (“CARB”) 2020 and 2035 greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. CARB staff reviewed the draft RTP/SCS and the quantification of the greenhouse gas reductions expected from implementation of the plan in an Informational Report. The report found that the RTP/SCS would meet the 2020 target of a 7 percent per capita reduction and would just meet the 2035 target of a 13 percent per capita reduction.

Continue Reading Attorney General Comments on Draft EIR for First SB 375 Sustainable Communities Strategy

Register Now! ~ Only $35

Two Locations to Choose From

November 9, 2011 – Lodi, CA and November 17, 2011 – Plymouth, CA

This seminar will guide winery and vineyard owners and operators through cost-effective strategies to address current environmental, legal and technical challenges.

More information, tentative agenda and registration click here.

By Leslie Z. Walker

In Latinos Unidos de Napa v. City of Napa (2011) 196 Cal.App.4th 1154, the Court of Appeal for the First Appellate District held that a Notice of Determination posted over the course of 31 calendar days was not posted long enough to satisfy the CEQA requirement that it be posted for 30 days.

Continue Reading How Long Must a Notice of Determination be Posted?

By Cori Badgley

In City of Palmdale v. Palmdale Water District (Aug. 9, 2011, B224869) __ Cal.App.4th __, the appellate court confronted two constitutional mandates that were seemingly at odds with one another. The first constitutional mandate was Proposition 218, requiring that water service fees not exceed the proportional cost of providing the service. The second was Article X section 2 and the statutes adopted thereunder permitting allocation-based conservation water pricing whereby the price increases dramatically once a user surpasses the allocation amount. In the end, the court found that these two provisions could be harmonized because there could still be much higher fees imposed above a certain allocated amount that did not exceed the proportional cost of providing the service.

Continue Reading Water Conservation Does Not Trump Proportionality Requirement of Prop 218

By William W. Abbott

As with most things in life, one person’s gain is another person’s loss, and public-private partnerships are not exempt from these types of tradeoffs. To the state engineers and their representative union, the contracting out to private engineering firms of engineering services traditionally performed by Caltrans engineering staff represents one of those zero-sum games. This becomes the backdrop to a challenge to the Phase II improvement work on Doyle Drive, the highway approach to the southern terminus of the Golden Gate Bridge, an existing roadway project worthy of improvement.

Continue Reading Caltrans Public-Private Highway Improvement Project Allows For Contracting Out Engineering Services To Private Firm

By Glen C. Hansen

In Hill v. San Jose Family Housing Partners (2011) __Cal.App.4th __, 2011 Cal. App. LEXIS 1101, the Court of Appeal for the Sixth Appellate District held (1) that a written easement for a billboard was enforceable, even if the billboard was constructed in an illegal manner; and (2) the servient owners’ development that unreasonably interfered with the visibility of the billboard could be grounds for lost profits damages owed to the owners of the billboard.

Continue Reading Illegal Construction Of A Billboard Does Not Render Billboard Easement Unenforceable, Nor Does It Allow The Servient Owner To Block Visibility Of The Billboard

By Katherine J. Hart

In Arcadia Development Co. v. City of Morgan Hill (August 5, 2011, H035519) ___ Cal.App.4th ___, petitioner and plaintiff (“Arcadia”) filed a petition for writ of mandate and a complaint for damages against the City of Morgan Hill (“City”) over an initiative measure placed on the ballot by the City and approved by the voters in 2004. Arcadia argued the City illegally spot-zoned its 69-acre property, inversely condemned the property, and sought damages for violating its civil and equal protection rights. Both the trial court and the appellate court rejected Arcadia’s claims.

Continue Reading Growth Measure Survives Spot Zoning and Equal Protection Challenge in an “As Applied” Challenge

By Leslie Z. Walker

In Santa Clarita Organization for Planning the Environment v. City of Santa Clarita (June 30, 2011, No. B224242) __ Cal.App.4th ___, the Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate district held that an agency does not necessarily have to explain why it has not adopted each mitigation measure on the Attorney General’s list of proposed greenhouse gas mitigation measures. The City of Santa Clarita approved a Master Plan for the expansion of a hospital and medical facilities (Project) by adopting a statement of overriding considerations and certifying the final environmental impact report (EIR) for the Project, adopting a development agreement between the city and the real parties in interest, and adopting the Master Plan (Approvals). The Project would expand the amount of hospital and medical office space on the existing site from its current size of 340,071 square feet to 667,434 square feet and would add nine proposed structures over the 15-year period of the Project.

Continue Reading Lead Agencies Are Not Always Required to Explain Why Every Proposed Mitigation Measure is Infeasible

The following summary of 2011 legislation has been released by Peter M. Detwiler, Consultant, Senate Governance & Finance Committee, State Capitol, Sacramento, California.

Earlier this year, the Senate created the Committee on Governance & Finance to replace the former Senate Revenue & Taxation Committee and the former Senate Local Government Committee. More information about this new Committee and its policy jurisdiction appears at http://senweb03.senate.ca.gov/committee/standing/GOVERNANCE/.

Now that the Legislature has started its summer recess, we have a chance to reflect on the bills that the Senate Governance & Finance Committee reviewed during the first half of 2011. These brief summaries offer you a selection of the more interesting and important bills.

By Leslie Z. Walker

In Citizens for Responsible Equitable Environmental Development v. City of Chula Vista (July 8, 2011, D057779) ____ Cal.App.4th ____, the Court of Appeal for the Fourth Appellate District found substantial evidence of a fair argument that the development of a Target store would have a significant environmental impact by disturbing contaminated soil, but rejected challenges based on air pollution and greenhouse gas impacts.

Continue Reading Implicit Approval of Using AB 32 Reduction Goals to Establish GHG Thresholds