The Ventura panel of the Second District Court of Appeal has issued two unpublished opinions, both favoring a city in Ventura County over claims made by local residents and property owners.

An attempt to challenge the Density Bonus Law and L.A.'s ED1 in federal court on constitutional grounds failed.

Building Industry Association's argument that nexus study numbers don't add up.

In a case from Tiburon, an appellate court said future housing projects are not "reasonably foreseeable".

Judge Sides With Developers On Preliminary Application Timing A Santa Clara County judge has ruled that developers are entitled to a new 90-day extension under the Housing Crisis Act every time a city or county rules that a development application is incomplete.

A Berkeley citizen group lost its challenge to People's Park in the legislature and the California Supreme Court. But that didn't stop the group from claiming enough of a victory to seek $1 million in attorney's fees. An appellate court shot the idea down.

A challenge to two SB 35 projects in Benicia by a local preservation group – arguing, among other things, that the projects involved historic structures and wetlands – has been struck down by the First District Court of Appeal. The ruling is unpublished and therefore cannot be used as precedent.

A case which says a city can delegate final approval of its housing element to the city manager -- and not hold a final approval -- has been published by the Fourth District Court of Appeal.

So, in the battle between the California Environmental Quality Act and the Housing Accountability Act, which law wins?

The City of Davis doesn’t have to do an environmental analysis under the California Environmental Quality Act in order to move playground equipment from one location to another.

Apparently a city can delegate final approval of its housing element to the city manager – and not hold a final public hearing – so long as the final changes as a result of negotiating with the Department of Housing and Community Development are relatively minor.

Carlsbad’s growth management plan – dating from the 1980s – is often held up as a model of integrating private residential growth with public infrastructure. (It’s even highlighted in Guide To California Planning.) Times have changed in the last 40 years and local growth control advocates say the Carlsbad City Council has not stuck to the spirit of the initiative. But the growth control folks keep losing in court.