California's continuing budget woes, coupled with the nation's stubborn recession, could hinder the state's ability to meet its ambitious goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. This is one of the chief concerns of the Regional Targets Advisory Committee, which will recommend how the California Air Resources Board should allocate greenhouse gas emissions-reduction targets among the state's metropolitan planning organizations.

Two environmental groups that sued the City of Rancho Cucamonga and developers to gain ownership of 86 acres of habitat mitigation land have failed to persuade an appellate court to reverse a devastating lower court ruling.The Fourth District Court of Appeal rejected the argument put forth by The Habitat Trust for Wildlife and Spirit of the Sage Council that the city, developers and San Bernardino County had collaborated to deny the environmental groups' right to own the prop

The California Supreme Court has taken up another Proposition 218 case. This one involves voter secrecy in fee elections.

Two members of the board overseeing the Orange County Great Park who sued the public agency over access to executive recruitment information should have their attorney fees paid, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has ruled.

Preparing CEQA documents can be a complex process that requires compliance with numerous legal requirements, guidelines and emerging issues like climate change. UCLA Extension offers a one day course which aims to clear the confusion, and convey approaches for preparing, reviewing and understanding environmental documentation for CEQA projects. Anyone who deals with CEQA documentation can gain valuable knowledge from this seminar which also delves into Negative Declarations a

A courtroom is not the location to settle disputes over regional fair-share housing allocations. So ruled the Fourth District Court of Appeal on June 30 in a closely watched case involving the City of Irvine. As a result of the ruling, the city apparently is stuck with having to plan for development of 35,000 additional housing units � equal to about half of its existing inventory � over the next five years.

Ten years ago, Suisun City was one of the nation's great redevelopment success stories. Plagued by violent, drug-dealing gangs, it literally bulldozed their strongholds to make room for a fancy civic center. The city reclaimed its neglected waterfront and approved the construction of hundreds of homes in a traditional neighborhood development. The Solano County city became a case study for planners, new urbanists and journalists. But all the success and awards have not lessen

San Diego County has been a national leader in habitat conservation planning, setting aside areas where rare and endangered species can thrive in the midst of ongoing development. Now, 12 years after a plan for the southern, inland part of the county was adopted, a second habitat plan has been released, this time for the inland North County.

This collection of news briefs from around the state includes Attorney General Jerry Brown's decision to join a lawsuit over Pleasanton's growth management ordinance; a court's rejection of the state's diversion of transit revenues to balance the general fund; approval of the Hollywood Park reuse plan; and the introduction of a new groundwater study and modeling tool for the Central Valley.

A state appellate court has issued a ruling in an eminent domain case that could have expensive ramifications for government agencies. The court ruled that a business owner isn't required to have a written lease in order to seek compensation for lost goodwill resulting from a government taking of property.

A state appellate court has blocked San Francisco from considering an historical landmark designation for a 98-year-old church building. The court ruled that, under state law, the building is exempt from local regulations to protection historic landmarks.

Now that the age of greenhouse gas emissions reduction is upon us, I think there's an important point worth making: Government agencies in California can try to comply with SB 375 – or they can focus on reducing driving. There is a lot of overlap between the two, but they are not exactly the same thing.