Vol. 21 No. 09 Sep 2006

Two San Bernardino County deals go public while a judge rules their flood control easements no longer exist. In Kern County, a federal court lawsuit stems from banned sewer sludge. Conflict of interest allegations result in the arrest of recalled Murrieta mayor and the firing of Siskiyou County Planning Director. In San Mateo, voters will not decide the fate of Bay Meadow's horsetrack, nor will Monterey County see a referendum of a proposed development in November.

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Although it’s city has been in the redevelopment business since 1948, San Francisco has recently created its largest redevelopment project area. The new, 1,300-acre Bayview Hunters Point project might also be the most controversial redevelopment project in a city where land use planning and development are always contentious.

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A unanimous California Supreme Court has upheld lower court decisions rejecting an advertising company’s claim that it deserves compensation because trees planted along a public street obstructed visibility of six billboards.

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The Coastal Act does not protect views of the coast from off-shore locations, the Second District Court of Appeal has ruled. In a case from San Luis Obispo County, the court ruled that the Coastal Commission did not have authority to require that a proposed house be relocated and downsized to protect the views of boaters and surfers.

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Property owners who received an $850,000 loan from the Carson Redevelopment Agency must return the money because they acquiesced to the mayor’s demand for a $75,000 bribe, the Second District Court of Appeal has ruled.

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Building homes around publicly accessible lakes may be the new gold mines in California’s Sierra Nevada foothills. The unincorporated community of Copperopolis in western Calaveras County has just such a water feature in Lake Tulloch, and, not surprisingly, the area is experiencing a growth boom.

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Home prices are flattening out. Interest rates are going up. Foreclosures are at their highest rate in years. The real estate boom is clearly over. But does that mean California’s high-density/infill/mixed-use boom is over as well?

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The state Supreme Court has rejected California State University trustees’ contention that the university does not have to mitigate off-site traffic and fire safety impacts from expansion of the CSU Monterey Bay campus.

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I mean no disrespect to the developers of Liberty Station when I suggest that they would have to go out of their way to screw up this elegantly organized project.

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In a decision handed down shortly before the state Supreme Court opinion on California State University project impacts, an appellate court ruled that a San Diego community college district is responsible for off-campus traffic impacts caused by campus expansion.

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