A ballot initiative that was adopted by a city council was not subject to review under the California Environmental Quality Act, even though the city deviated from state election law regarding ballot measures, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has ruled. The court held that the

A county airport land use commission may not exempt a specific plan adopted by a city or county from compatibility standards for development in the vicinity of an airport, according to a state attorney general's opinion. The opinion was written at the request of Riverside County.

Two recent appellate court rulings appear to have clarified aspects of the California Environmental Quality Act and may have even broken new legal ground. One case involved the project description in an environmental impact report and in public notices. The court held that the id

The court of appeal has cleared the way for the Modesto Redevelopment Agency to sue manufacturers and suppliers of dry cleaning solvents and equipment.

A state appellate court has rejected a claim that a Coastal Commission permit condition requiring the dedication of a public access to the beach was a taking. The court ruled that the lawsuit should have been filed 20 years earlier, and that an agency's more recent acceptance of

In the latest round of a battle that began during the late 1980s, the City of St. Helena has won an appellate court ruling stating the Napa Valley Wine Train is not a public utility to be regulated by the Public Utilities Commission. The decision appears to mean that the city has

The California Supreme Court has accepted for review a case in which lower courts ruled that a state agency may not provide tax-exempt bond financing to religious schools. >>read more

A state appellate court has upheld an environmental impact report for a 96-unit condominium project in downtown Oceanside. The court rejected arguments that the environmental impact report failed to analyze a reasonable range of alternatives, did not address the project's impact

The City of Los Angeles may not revoke a building permit issued to a religious congregation that relied on the permit to commence a demolition and construction project, a divided panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. The court ruled that under the doctrine o

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the constitutionality of a city's ordinance regulating the location of adult businesses and requiring nonconforming businesses to close or relocate. The ruling came in a case from Spokane, Washington. However, a number of jurisdi

The California Supreme Court has accepted for review two land use cases involving local and regional restrictions on logging. The state high court also dismissed a case involving attorneys' fees in a California Environmental Quality Act case.

A governor's executive order intended to speed development of power plants superceded the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and local measures for implementing CEQA, the First District Court of Appeal has ruled. The appellate court held that an executive order signed by