Vol. 22 No. 02 Feb 2007
ABAG Housing Plan Gets Smart
Submitted by Anonymous on 5 April 2007 - 1:37amThe Association of Bay Area Governments has adopted a methodology for distributing fair-share housing units that directs housing growth to existing urban areas, especially those with jobs and transit, and downplays the trend of extensive development on the Bay Area’s fringe.
Record Preparation Expense Rejected As Out Of Proposition, Unsubstantiated
Submitted by Anonymous on 1 February 2007 - 2:00amAn appellate court has overturned an award of $33,000 to an irrigation district for the preparation of the administrative record in a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) case. The court found that the district’s request for more than $8 per page for preparing the record was out of line with other CEQA cases, that the record included documents prepared after the administrative process concluded, and that the district did not justify the expense.
Court Ruling Offers Warning To Habitat Plan Negotiators
Submitted by Anonymous on 1 February 2007 - 1:00amWhen San Diego’s Multiple Species Conservation Plan (MSCP) was adopted a decade ago, then-Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt declared it “a model to the nation for how to plan for and balance the needs of man and nature.” Ambitious in geographical scale, daunting in jurisdictional complexity, the plan was intended to regulate development across nearly a quarter of the fast-urbanizing county in such a way as to minimize conflict over scores of rare, threatened or endangered species and their habitats.
State Panel Blocks Delta Housing Project
Submitted by Anonymous on 1 February 2007 - 1:00amCOURTLAND _ In a precedent-setting decision, a state panel has overturned Yolo County’s decision to permit development of 162 housing units within the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and at the base of a levee of questionable integrity. The vote was closely watched as a measure of state and local commitment to the Delta and flood safety.
Ongoing Operation Of Licensed Dam Doesn't Trigger Endangered Species Review, Court Rules
Submitted by Anonymous on 1 February 2007 - 1:00amThe Federal Energy Regulatory Commission does not have to consider impacts of previously licensed Butte County dams on threatened Chinook salmon, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.
High Court Says New City May Deny Tentative Map Approved By County
Submitted by Anonymous on 1 February 2007 - 1:00amThe newly incorporated City of Goleta had the authority to reject a final subdivision map after the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors had approved the tentative map for property that was in unincorporated territory at the time, the state Supreme Court has ruled.
Monterey County Voters To Decide On Competing General Plans
Submitted by Anonymous on 1 February 2007 - 1:00amMonterey County General Plan faces voter approval, a controversial Carmel Valley subdivision is back in court after EIR rejection 6 years ago, flood control in Sacramento continues to evolve, and dry cleaners in San Francisco pay for brownfeild clean up.
Correction
Submitted by Anonymous on 1 February 2007 - 1:00amCorrection. A story in the December edition regarding downtown Stockton contained two inaccuracies. Weber Point Event Center is 10 acres, not 17. Also, the 156 apartments for senior citizens on the upper floors of the Hotel Stockton have been filled since 2005.
Venice Renters In Dickensian Dilemma
Submitted by Anonymous on 1 February 2007 - 1:00amIt could almost be a story from a Charles Dickens novel: Nearly 800 lower-income households find themselves evicted from an apartment complex in the Venice district of Los Angeles by developers who reportedly want to build luxury housing. The City Council opposes the deal but is defeated in court. After various attempts at mediation, the developers beckon sheriff’s deputies to lock out hundreds of renters from their apartments, only to call off the authorities at the last minute.
New Town Proposal Alive In San Benito County
Submitted by Anonymous on 1 February 2007 - 1:00amA developer is proposing a new town of up to 6,800 housing units and 2.5 million square feet of commercial and industrial space in the northwest corner of San Benito County, just across the boundary of Santa Clara County.