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Legal Digest
Court Reinstates Lawsuit Regarding Oakland Fire Safety Assessment
A lawsuit over an annual fire assessment on property owners in the Oakland hills has been revived by an appellate court. Overturning a Superior Court decision, the First District Court of Appeal ruled that the lawsuit should go forward because the City of Oakland did not provide

CP&DR Staff
Apr 1, 2006
Property Owner's Lawsuit Is Ruled Ready For Court Adjudication
A Santa Barbara County property owner's takings claim has received new life, thanks to a Second District Court of Appeal ruling. The appellate panel overturned a lower court that had ruled the property owner filed the claim too soon.

CP&DR Staff
Apr 1, 2006
City's Settlement With Environmentalists Upheld
While a developer argues the private agreement impinges on city's police powers, the settlement that Rohnert Park signed to resolve a lawsuit over the city's general plan did not illegally abridge the city's police power, the First District Court of Appeal has ruled.

CP&DR Staff
Apr 1, 2006
County LAFCO May Approve Service Plan In Adjacent County, Court Determines
A turf battle between two local agency formation commissions has concluded with an appellate court ruling that a commission from one county has jurisdiction to determine a sanitary district's service area in another county.

CP&DR Staff
Mar 1, 2006
Ninth Circuit Says Aesthetics Can't Influence Local Antenna Regulation
Cities may not use aesthetic considerations to regulate the placement of telecommunications antennas, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.

CP&DR Staff
Mar 1, 2006
Environmental Review Of Ballot Measures Still Uncertain
As the Sierra Club Contends San Bernardino County Should Study Transportation Sales Tax Impacts the question of whether a transportation agency must perform an environmental review before placing a sales tax measure on the ballot remains unresolved.

CP&DR Staff
Mar 1, 2006
Carson Rent Hike Dispute Returns To City's Mobile Home Board
A state appellate court has overturned a trial court judge's decision to impose a mobile home park rent increase in the City of Carson. Rather than impose the rate hike, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Dzintra Janavs should have sent the matter back to the city's Mobileho

CP&DR Staff
Mar 1, 2006
State Supreme Court Takes Cal-Fed, Stockton Cases; Decertifies CEQA, Real Estate Opinions
The state Supreme Court has been extraordinarily active in the field of land use during recent weeks. The court has accepted for review an important case involving the environmental impact report for the Cal-Fed Bay-Delta Project. The court also took a case involving redevelopmen

CP&DR Staff
Mar 1, 2006
San Diego's Use Of Program Environmental Impact Report For Redevelopment Project Upheld
A proposed hotel that is consistent with a redevelopment plan, which itself has been the subject of a program environmental impact report, does not require a new environmental study, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has ruled.

CP&DR Staff
Feb 1, 2006
Environmental Review Stops At Front Door
Proposed alterations to the inside of a private residence are not subject to California Environmental Quality Act review, even if the alterations would affect a historic structure, the First District Court of Appeal has ruled.

CP&DR Staff
Feb 1, 2006
Defeated Developer Told To Pay Opponent's Legal Expenses
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has dealt another blow to housing developers who sued the City of Fresno, an individual city councilman and twelve citizens because the city refused to approve tax-exempt bonds for an apartment project.

CP&DR Staff
Feb 1, 2006
Black Historical Society Loses Bid To Preserve Downtown San Diego Landmarks
A San Diego historical society's lawsuit over a housing development on a site the society considered historical has been dismissed by the Fourth District Court of Appeal. The appellate panel upheld a lower court, which dismissed the case because the historical society had neither

CP&DR Staff
Feb 1, 2006
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