By Cori Badgley

After the Medical Marijuana Program Act was adopted by the legislature in 2003, medical marijuana dispensaries began cropping up throughout counties and cities that had no existing zoning or permit scheme in place for such establishments. In reaction to these dispensaries and the Act, many counties and cities began the process of establishing medical marijuana dispensary ordinances. One such county is the County of Los Angeles. Based on its ordinance, the County of Los Angeles brought a nuisance action in superior court against a dispensary, the Alternative Medicinal Collective of Covina, and the dispensaries owner/operator, Martin Hill. The trial court granted a preliminary injunction against the dispensary, and the dispensary appealed in County of Los Angeles v. Hill (2011) 192 Cal.App.4th 861.

Continue Reading Medical Marijuana Dispensaries 0 for 3 Against Local Government

By Cori Badgley

After a challenge based on the density bonus law and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), a mixed-use affordable housing or senior affordable housing project (depending on what the developer chooses) in the City of Berkeley can move forward. In Wollmer v. City of Berkeley (March 30, 2011, Case No. A128121), the court held that the city properly applied density bonuses to the project and the categorical infill exemption under CEQA.

Continue Reading The Normal Rules Don’t Apply When it Comes to Affordable Housing Projects

By Leslie Z. Walker

The First Amendment Free Speech clause states, “Congress . . . shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech.” The political and moral conduct of the United States and its citizens, the fate of our Nation, homosexuality in the military and scandals involving the Catholic clergy, are matters of public import meriting the protection of the Free Speech Clause. In Snyder v. Phelps (2011) 562 U.S. ____ 131 S. Ct. 1207, the Supreme Court found that members of Westboro Baptist Church picketing the funeral of a soldier killed in Iraq were entitled to special protection under the First Amendment because the picketing was done at a public place on a matter of public concern.

Continue Reading If You Don’t Like What You See, Don’t Look

By Katherine J. Hart

In Bollay, et al. v. California Office of Administrative Law, et al. (2011) 193 Cal.App.4th 103 the Court of Appeal Third Appellate District (Court), considered whether a State Lands Commission (Commission) policy prohibiting development seaward of the most landward historical position of the mean high tide line was an invalid underground regulation because it was not promulgated as a regulation pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). The Court held that the policy was an invalid underground regulation because it was not exempt from promulgation under the APA. Contrary to the Commission’s contention, its policy was not exempt from promulgation under the APA because it did not fit within the “only legally tenable interpretation of a provision of law” exemption. Rather, the Court held that the policy was both over-inclusive as to lands not currently belonging to the state or which may never become state land and under-inclusive with respect to lands that may become state land in the future.

Continue Reading Exemption to APAs Promolgation Rule was Inapplicable

By William W. Abbott

City officials in Playa Del Toro, an upscale enclave in Southern California, recently adopted an ordinance regulating dog use of the public beach. Unlike other cities, it wasn’t a case of banning dogs from the beach, but restricting access to the right kind of dogs: purebreds. The San Diego Union quoted Mayor S. Black as saying: "our residents invest a lot in their dogs. The community wants the off-leash experience for their dogs to be similar to what the dog’s owners enjoy as they interact in our award winning downtown." Warily observing a mixed breed border collie running out of control on the beach, the mayor went on to say; "we won’t have to deal with that sort of behavior any longer". The mayor emphasized that city beach staff had received special training in recognizing purebreds, and at first, would only be handing out citations. If this doesn’t work, Mayor Black added: "one resident suggested that the city use ‘boots’ on repeat offenders like we do on the vehicle wheels of repeat parking violators. We checked; the smaller sizes are not available on the market yet."

Continue Reading Update In Local Government Legal News

Join the Sacramento Valley APA for a discussion with Renaissance Planner Bill Fulton on the good, the bad, and the ugly of economic development based on his new book: 

Romancing the Smokestack: How Cities and States Pursue Prosperity

Friday, April 22, 2011  

Globe Mills
1131 "C" Street
Sacramento, CA 95814

  • 4:30 – 5:00 pm  Registration & Networking
  • 5:00 – 6:00 pm  Discussion with Mr. Fulton
  • 6:00 – 6:45 pm  Book Signing & Reception

Cost: APA members $10/nonmembers $15 (tickets purchased by April 20th)Tickets at the door: $20 

(send checks made out to SVS-APA c/o Julia Lave Johnston, 2324 Marshall Way, Sacramento, CA 95818—questions? Please contact Tracey Ferguson at 916.325.1429)

Please join the Sacramento Valley APA Section to discuss economic development with Bill Fulton. His latest book, Romancing the Smokestack: How Cities and States Pursue Prosperity is a collection of 60 economic development columns printed in Governing magazine over a 15-year period. They reveal the good, the bad, and the ugly of how economic development is practiced in our communities.
Books will be available for purchase at the event.

 A hosted reception with wine, beer, and light appetizers will follow the discussion.

You can read an excerpt from Mr. Fulton’s book at: https://www.createspace.com/Preview/1073034

The Historic Globe Mills innovative adaptive reuse project turned a former grain mill into a mixed use site with the help of redevelopment funds as a result of public/private partnerships.
Lean more at: http://www.loftsatglobemills.com/index2.html

By Leslie Z. Walker

San Francisco Superior Court enjoined the implementation of the Air Resources Board’s Climate Change Scoping Plan, finding the alternatives analysis and public review process violated both CEQA and the Air Resources Board’s certified regulatory program.

The Scoping Plan is the strategy for achieving the Greenhouse Gas (“GHG”) reductions mandated by the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Health & Saf. Code, 38500 et seq., “AB 32”). AB 32 directed the Air Resources Board (“ARB”) to prepare and approve a scoping plan for achieving the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective reductions in GHG emissions by 2020. (Health & Saf. Code, § 38561.) ARB adopted the Climate Change Scoping Plan including the functional equivalent document (“FED”) on December 12, 2008. Petitioners challenged both the Scoping Plan and the FED, claiming the former violated AB 32 and the latter violated CEQA and ARB’s certified regulatory program (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 17, 60005-60007). The court found the plan violated CEQA and the certified regulatory program, but not AB 32.

Continue Reading AB 32 Scoping Plan Enjoined

By William W. Abbott

The "Faith" Fellowship Foursquare Church (“Church”) is a church active in the City of San Leandro, but as its membership grew with the passage of time, the Church outgrew its existing facilities. Starting in 2006, the Church began searching for a new location and eventually settled on property on Catalina Street, located in an industrial park. The park was located in an area designated by the City’s general plan for industrial technological activity. In March 2006, the Church entered into a purchase agreement for the Catalina property.

Continue Reading General Plan Goal of Creating Employment Opportunities Insufficient Basis to Thwart Church Rezoning Request

By Cori Badgley and Emilio Camacho

In Monterey/Santa Cruz County Bldg. & Constr. Trades Council v. Cypress Marina Heights LP (2011) 191 Cal.App.4th 1500, the California Court of Appeal, Sixth District, held that deeds acquiring property from a redevelopment agency required the purchaser/developer to pay prevailing wages to the construction workers. In addition, the appellate court also held that plaintiffs were entitled to $73,167.50 in attorney’s fees pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5.

Continue Reading Bad Deeds Make Bad Law

By Leslie Z. Walker

In Alameda Books et al. v. City of Los Angeles (9th Cir. Jan. 28, 2011, No. 09-55367) ____ F.3d____ [2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 1769], the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit considered whether plaintiffs had presented actual and convincing evidence to cast doubt on the City of Los Angeles’ rational in enacting an ordinance requiring the dispersal of adult entertainment businesses. The United States District Court for the Central District granted summary judgment against the City of Los Angeles finding plaintiffs’ evidence was actual and convincing enough to cast doubt on the city’s purpose in enacting the ordinance on appeal. The Ninth Circuit found that the declarations were facially biased and insufficient to call into question the municipality’s justification of the ordinance.

Continue Reading Government Rationale Given Benefit of the Doubt in First Amendment Challenge to Zoning Ordinance