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Legal Digest
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
Subsidized Housing Project Exempted From Old Prevailing Wage Mandate
The Pleasant Hill Redevelopment Agency's subsidies for a housing project did not make the project a "public work" that required the payment of prevailing wages to workers, the First District Court of Appeal has ruled.

CP&DR Staff
Feb 1, 2006
Court Limits San Diego Agency's Use Of Closed Sessions For Negotiations
A nonprofit corporation created by the City of San Diego to carry out downtown redevelopment may not meet in closed session with legal counsel for the city's redevelopment agency, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has ruled.

CP&DR Staff
Jan 1, 2006
Landowner May Not Short-Cut Administrative Review, Court Rules
The First District Court of Appeal has rejected a property owner's claim that an Alameda County ballot measure rendered any application for development futile and, therefore, effected an unconstitutional taking.

CP&DR Staff
Jan 1, 2006
Ninth Circuit Upholds Federal Regulation Of Adjacent Wetlands
A 2001 U.S. Supreme Court decision limiting the Army Corps of Engineers' regulatory authority under the Clean Water Act does not limit the Corps' jurisdiction over wetlands adjacent to "waters of the United States," the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.

CP&DR Staff
Jan 1, 2006
Court Blocks Landowner's Use Of 1940s Subdivision To Create Parcels
An attempt to certify the validity of parcels in Ventura County created during the 1940s has been rejected by the Second District Court of Appeal. The court found that the land in question was subdivided illegally during the 1940s, and the county has no obligation to recognize th

CP&DR Staff
Jan 1, 2006
Southern California Lifestyle Center Developer Defeats Competition Twice
Southern California "lifestyle" center developer Rick Caruso won two recent rounds against the owners of traditional shopping malls. The rulings, one published and the other unpublished, both came from the Second District Court of Appeal.

CP&DR Staff
Jan 1, 2006
Aggrieved Developer Loses Lawsuit For Failure To Follow Claim Procedure
The City of Stockton has successfully defended against a lawsuit filed by a developer whom the city cut out of two downtown redevelopment projects. The Second District Court of Appeal ruled that the developer, Civic Partners Stockton, LLC, could not pursue its lawsuit alleging br

CP&DR Staff
Dec 1, 2005
Project EIR Invalidated Because Of Water Analysis
In a decision similar to other recent rulings, an appellate court has rejected an environmental impact report for a proposed business park in Santa Clarita because the project EIR's discussion of water sources was inadequate.

CP&DR Staff
Dec 1, 2005
Wandering Cattle Don't Trample Property Owner's Rights, Court Holds
In an unusual case from the wilds of Plumas County, the Third District Court of Appeal has rejected the claims of a property owner who argued that a county ordinance allowing a neighbor's livestock to graze on his land amounted to an unconstitutional taking.

CP&DR Staff
Dec 1, 2005
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