The Sixth District Court of Appeal has allowed a Santa Clara County landowner to exclude his property from a subdivision approved in 1970. The exclusion was permitted by a rarely used provision of the Subdivision Map Act.

A federal appeals court has rejected two Sacramento-area cities' challenge of Interior Department decisions that resulted in the development of an Indian casino. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal for the District of Columbia ruled that the Interior Department acted within the mean

An appellate court has decided to allow Caltrans to transfer 130 acres near Carmel for use as a state park despite a constitutional provision prohibiting the sale of Caltrans property for less than market value. The court ruled that a constitutional exception for property in the

An appellate court has given the City of Alameda new life in a lawsuit over the city's attempt to acquire railroad property for far less than market value. The First District Court of Appeal overturned a trial court ruling that a nearly 80-year-old contract between the city and t

An appellate court has published its opinion of what belongs in the administrative record for a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) lawsuit. The decision is the second opinion published in the second half of 2003 that addresses directly the contents of the administrative

A lawsuit contesting the environmental study for the Cal-Fed Bay-Delta project may proceed, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. The three-judge appellate panel overturned a district court that ruled the lawsuit was filed too early and threw it out.

A redevelopment agency may sue a landowner to force cleanup of contaminated property within a redevelopment project area, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has ruled. The court further held that the redevelopment agency need not have expended resources on the cleanup before fil

A state law that requires developers of housing within the coastal zone to provide low- and moderate-income units does not apply in instances where all of the actual dwelling units are built outside the zone.

An appellate court has rejected a psychiatric home developer's challenge to water and sewer connection charges.

Gov. Gray Davis closed out the 2003 legislative year by signing a three-bill package intended to settle the Colorado River water wars.

The state Supreme Court has added two cases involving fees to its expanding list of land use controversies under review.

Arnold Schwarzenegger may or may not know anything about being governor of California, but one thing is for sure: He likes to keep people guessing.