CP&DR

New Housing Program Details

Nov 1, 2000

CP&DR Staff, Featured Articles, Vol. 15 No. 11 Nov 2000

The State of California's 2000-01 budget and various pieces of legislation created several new programs and expanded some existing housing programs under the Department of Housing and Community Development. They new programs include: o Jobs-Housing Balance Improvement Program. $110 million. Covers three areas: — Economic development grants to local agencies in "housing rich" areas to attract new businesses and jobs. — Incentive grants to cities and counti...

First Amendment: HUD Officials Are Held Liable for Violating Protestors' Rights

Nov 1, 2000

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 15 No. 11 Nov 2000

Federal housing officials violated the free speech rights of three Berkeley residents who protested plans for a homeless shelter in their neighborhood, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. The court ruled that a Department of Housing and Urban Development officials' eight-month investigation into the activities of project opponents trampled on rights that were clearly protected by the First Amendment. The court held that the five HUD officials (one of whom is now deceased) are...

Tribal Regulations: Tribe Cannot Regulate Land Owner By Non-Members, Court Rules

Nov 1, 2000

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 15 No. 11 Nov 2000

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a lower court judgment giving an Indian tribe the right to regulate the use of fee-patented private property within a reservation boundary. The unanimous three-judge panel ruled that an Indian tribe has the authority to regulate land owned by nonmembers only when given specific Congressional approval or when then land use directly affects the tribe's political integrity, economic security, or health and welfare. The case involved a small timber ha...

U.S. Supreme Court Accepts Case From Rhode Island Property Owner

Nov 1, 2000

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 15 No. 11 Nov 2000

The U.S. Supreme Court has accepted for review a takings case from Rhode Island. The case centers on the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council's denial of permits to fill 18 acres of wetlands and a pond in the town of Westerly. The landowner, Anthony Palazzolo, first sought permission to dredge and fill the marsh and pond in 1962 so that he could build 74 houses. He filed several subsequent applications but did not receive the approval needed to proceed. The state age...

Jerry Brown Wins Exemption From Conflict of Interest Rules

Nov 1, 2000

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 15 No. 11 Nov 2000

The First District Court of Appeal has cleared the way for Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown to participate in redevelopment decisions in neighborhoods where he owns property. In overturning a Fair Political Practices Commission ruling, the court held that Oakland's City Charter provides a loophole in state conflict-of-interest laws by requiring the mayor's participation in redevelopment activities. Brown championed the state's conflict of interest law, the Political Reform Act of 1974 (Gov. Code §81000), whe...

L.A. General Plan Process Nearly Survives Challenge: Neighborhood Activists Win Narrow Victory on Transportation Issues

Nov 1, 2000

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 15 No. 11 Nov 2000

The City of Los Angeles's general plan framework and accompanying environmental impact report have survived most aspects of a legal challenge. The Second District Court of Appeal found the EIR acceptable but rejected the city's findings regarding traffic impacts, remanding the case to the trial court. The unanimous three-judge appellate panel upheld the EIR's discussion of alternatives, water resources analysis and housing policies. Assistant City Attorney Susan Pfann said city officials we...

Proposition 218: San Diego Rental Tax Case Accepted, But Review Deferred

Nov 1, 2000

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 15 No. 11 Nov 2000

The California Supreme Court has voted to review a business tax case from San Diego. However, the state's high court deferred action on Teyssier v. City of San Diego until the court decides a similar case from Los Angeles. In June, the Fourth District Court of Appeal ruled that San Diego's tax on rental residences was not subject to Proposition 218, the Right to Vote on Taxes Act of 1996 (see CP&DR Legal Digest, August 2000). The city assessed a rental unit business tax on all residential pr...

Ninth Circuit Won't Rehear Tahoe Basin Case; Sharp Dissent Issued

Nov 1, 2000

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 15 No. 11 Nov 2000

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will not reconsider a takings case involving a building moratorium in the Tahoe Basin. However, five Ninth Circuit judges did vote to hear the case of Tahoe-Sierra Preservation Council, Inc., v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, 216, F3d., 764. (9th Cir. 2000), and Judge Alex Kozinski issued a blistering dissent in which he accused the three-judge panel that decided the case of ignoring takings precedent. "The panel does not like the Supreme Court's Takings Claus...

Environmental Study Needed During Design Review, Court Rules

Oct 1, 2000

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 15 No. 10 Oct 2000

The California Environmental Quality Act does not apply to a city's design review process, the Third District Court of Appeal has held. In a case involving a Border's bookstore in the City of Davis, the court also ruled that the identity of a particular tenant in a retail project that has already undergone CEQA review does not compel further study. And the court held that the city's design review process does not extend to approval of particular tenants. The partially published appellate cour...

Indians Lose, Housing wins at Governor's Desk

Oct 1, 2000

CP&DR Staff, Legislation, Vol. 15 No. 10 Oct 2000

Showing the willingness to veto bills for the second year in a row, Gov. Gray Davis rejected land use bills that ranged from high-profile measures to legislation that was nearly off the radar screen. Two project-specific bills that would have aided Indian casino development received vetoes in late September. Davis also rejected bills that would have, among other things, thrown a new obstacle in front of a controversial Ventura County subdivision; encouraged a 1.5 to 1 jobs-housing balance; a...