Vol. 13 No. 07 Jul 1998
Zoning: Registered ‘Marks’ Override Zoning Ordinances, Court Rules
Submitted by importer on 1 July 1998 - 12:00amIn a case involving municipal zoning, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a city cannot enforce zoning regulations for signs if they require the alteration of a registered service mark. The court did rule, however, that a city can prevent a company from erecting an awning containing a service mark.
The case arose in Tempe, Arizona, where Blockbuster Video and Video Update, two national chains, rented space in two separate shopping centers. All exterior signs in Tempe's shopping ...
The Real Impact of Proposition 13
Submitted by importer on 1 July 1998 - 12:00amAsk any local government veteran in California what has most hurt their cause and the answer will very likely be Prop 13. Since 1978, the infamous taxpayer revolt and its aftermath has been blamed for every public service woe in the book: closed libraries, lack of police protection, dying street trees, indeed faith in government itself. Yet a growing body of research suggests that per-capita spending by cities in California has not changed from that of pre-Prop 13 years. And nearly all observers of...
Wasco Narrowly Averts Marks-Roos Bankruptcy
Submitted by importer on 1 July 1998 - 12:00amThe City of Wasco in Kern County is trying to stave off municipal bankruptcy as a result of a series of problems with Marks-Roos and other bonds. The possibility of bankruptcy compounds the legal and financial problems facing the city, including a "cease-and-desist" order in May from the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission which bans the agencies from issuing further bonds. Wasco was one of three California municipalities, including the City of Ione and Nevada County, to consent to the cease-and-...
Hooray for Hollywood
Submitted by importer on 1 July 1998 - 12:00amThe notion of the "background building" is one of those profound concepts that was startling when first introduced in the 1960s (by Robert Venturi, I think) and now seems so commonsensical that we might assume the idea had always existed.
The basic idea is simple: Some buildings are "stars" and should stand out, while other buildings are merely supporting players. The distinction between foreground and background buildings is not value-laden; foreground buildings are not necessarily better or mo...
Kern County Reinstates Planning Board; More Inclusive Permit Process Expected
Submitted by importer on 1 July 1998 - 12:00amIn a move that promises to bring a planning commission back to Kern County, the county board of supervisors voted 3-2 on June 17 on a measure directing planning staff to recommend ways to reinstitute the long-disbanded body. The decision was applauded by activists who had complained that the public had not received adequate notice of public hearings, nor provided enough input into projects in their early stages. The county's planning director also welcomed the decision, which he said would assist i...
Public Utilities: City Can’t Impose Regs on Gas Co. Sand Removals
Submitted by importer on 1 July 1998 - 12:00amReiterating earlier court decisions stating that "neither the public nor a public service corporation could tolerate as many standards and policies as there were towns, cities, or boroughs through which they operated," the Fourth District Court of Appeal has ruled that the City of Carlsbad may not require San Diego Gas & Electric Co. to remove dredged sand from its beach.
San Diego Gas & Electric has dredged the Agua Hedionda Lagoon in Carlsbad ever since the early '50s, when it first constructed the ...
Zoning: U.S. Violated Species Law in Renewing CVP Contracts
Submitted by importer on 1 July 1998 - 12:00amThe federal Bureau of Reclamation violated the Endangered Species Act by renewing Friant Dam water contracts prior to completing required consultations with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.
The court has also overturned District Court Judge Lawrence Karlton's decision that environmentalists' challenges to the renewal of the water contracts under the California Fish & Game Code were moot.
The case involve...
Untitled
Submitted by importer on 1 July 1998 - 12:00amThe U.S. Supreme Court has chosen not to accept an appeal of a D.C. Circuit ruling that the Delhi Sands flower-loving fly is not involved in interstate commerce and therefore it is not subject to the Endangered Species Act.
San Bernardino County, the cities of Colton and Fontana, and the National Association of Home Builders all sued after the listing of the fly blocked construction of a hospital. The D.C. Circuit ruled in favor of the federal government's jurisdiction over the case. [See CP&DR L...
El Dorado County Continues Growth Battles
Submitted by importer on 1 July 1998 - 12:00amDevelopment continues to be a contentious issue in El Dorado County in the Sierra foothills east of Sacramento. In the June primary, development interests were able to beat back a ballot initiative that would have reduced housing densities. However, a second candidate critical of the county's growth policies was elected to its Board of Supervisors, and a new ballot initiative to control growth may be headed for the November ballot.
Voters turned down Measure A, which would have required public re...
Election Activity Focuses on Bay Area; Only One Measure on Ballot in Southern California
Submitted by importer on 1 July 1998 - 12:00amThe June 1998 election featured only eight land use and environmental measures throughout the state, the lowest since 1986 according to a CP&DR analysis of election returns. Seven of the eight measures were on the ballot in Northern California cities and counties.
In the only Southern California ballot measure, voters in San Diego overwhelmingly approved a measure to finance a $216 million expansion of the city's convention center. That expansion had been fought by opponents of downtown redevelopment,...
