If an oil company wants to build a service station in California, it typically needs a permit from the local air pollution control agency, which has the authority to consider whether vapors released during fueling might harm neighbors. If the station is a big one and has been proposed for a vacant lot next to a day-care center, the oil company might never get that permit. >>read more

Most government budget crises get bailed out by increasing tax revenue, and the current situation in California appears to be no exception. With tax receipts on the rise throughout California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was able to throw several billion dollars into the kitty as part of the "May revise" - the annual revision of the governor's budget proposal to the Legislature. >>read more

A new opinion issued by the state attorney general's office regarding housing elements appears to allow cities and counties to skirt their mandated fair-share housing numbers if the local government lacks the resources sufficient to provide the units. >>read more

The First District Court of Appeal has blocked a developer's request to collect from its courtroom opponents the cost of preparing the administrative record in a California Environmental Quality Act lawsuit. >>read more

Santa Cruz County is not allowed to regulate the height of mobile homes because state law has pre-empted the possibility of a local ordinance, the Sixth District Court of Appeal has ruled. >>read more

Two water transfers from irrigation districts to the City of Tracy did not require a combined environmental impact report, the Third District Court of Appeal has ruled. The court found that the separate negative declarations adopted by the irrigation districts provided adequate review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). >>read more

Developers suffered two losses during recent special elections. Voters in the fast-growing Riverside County city of Murrieta recalled the mayor and nearly threw out a second councilman. Meanwhile, the San Luis Obispo electorate rejected a 650,000-square-foot power center and the finance deal supporting the project. >>read more

The City of Berkeley and the University of California (UC) are at odds over a 15-year land use plan adopted earlier this year. The city contends that the UC plan burdens city-funded services and does not protect city desires regarding off-campus development. University officials defend the plan, saying that the school benefits the community in many ways and that the plan guarantees UC consultation with the city for any off-campus project. >>read more

This month's selection of In Brief items includes: California awards $45 million to victims of 1997 Feather River levee break; Dept. of Water Resources releases draft of new California Water Plan; San Jose and Santa Clara County race to build a performing arts hall; Roadless areas in California's national forest will remain roadless; Local Indian Tribe to help Yolo County purchase farmland and habitat; and more...

Legislation that would permit certain redevelopment agencies to extend the life of redevelopment project areas has stalled for the year. Four Assembly bills hit a roadblock in the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee when Chairman Gene Mullin (D-South San Francisco) decided that a broader discussion of redevelopment time extensions was necessary.