California

California has a yet another seismic threat to prepare for, thanks to a set of new maps that depict a ferocious line of water that may, if earth moves in just the wrong way, someday surge inland along the state's coastline. Experts are saying that these new maps should be used to plan for emergency evacuations, not changes in land use planning. In at least one case, however, the Coastal Commission is already considering policies that would take tsunamis into account when approving developments.

In yet another California Environmental Quality Act case involving whether an agreement between a tribe and a city constitutes a “project,” the First District Court of Appeal has held that the law did not apply to an agreement requiring a city’s formal support of a proposed casino in exchange for the tribe’s funding of undefined city services and improvements.

With yet another $20 billion deficit looming, the State of California government appears to be on the verge of a complete meltdown. Dealing with this situation would be trying under any circumstances, but everything is made more difficult by two things: Proposition 13, and voters’ failure to understand the consequences of Proposition 13.

California Environmental Quality Act lawsuits may be the next victims of the state’s ongoing recession. Democratic and Republican lawmakers have introduced legislation that follows up on Gov. Schwarzenegger’s call to exempt 100 projects from judicial challenge based on the environmental law. Citing the ongoing recession, both supporters and opponents of the idea say this just might be the year that lawmakers are willing to take a bold strike at CEQA.