The "Our Neighbor Voices" effort, which began in North County San Diego, would call for a constitutional amendment returning most land use power to local governments. 

An appellate court upheld El Dorado County's "averaging" system for calculating a traffic impact fee. But with an appeal inevitable, will the decision hold up?

The CP&DR Vol. 40 No. 7 July 2025 Report

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a more expansive legal standard for exactions. But on remand, a California appellate court has found that the "averaging" system used in El Dorado County meets the narrower legal tests from the Nollan and Dolan cases.

Judge also says city can't rely on greenhouse gas reduction plan that was kicked out by appellate court.

In a small town in Kern County, a water district is using California Environmental Quality Act litigation to fight the city's plans to create more housing as required by the Regional Housing Needs Allocation process. 

The city had denied the project, claiming it was inconsistent with the general plan. But the judge, a former city council member, said the inconsistency was not identified during the "shot clock" period under the Housing Accountability Act.

Hollister's incumbent council was voted out, then passed a vast expansion of the city's sphere of influence as lame ducks. An referendum was threatened and, after three months, the new council pulled the plug -- threatening the city's ability to meet its RHNA obligations.

Agreement on Village at Palisades Tahoe -- formerly Squaw Valley -- ends 14 years of legal wrangling over the expansion of one of the nation's largest ski resorts.