William Fulton

A recent appellate case declaring that a lot-line adjustment was not ministerial has been published, meaning it can now be used as precedent in other cases.

An appellate court has upheld San Francisco’s decision to use streamlined environmental review for a proposed housing project that incorporates an historic library, essentially upholding the city’s use of tiering off of its housing element environmental impact report. The ruling is unpublished and therefore cannot be used as precedent in other cases.

The question posed in one panel at the California Chapter, American Planning Association, conference last week was whether the California Environmental Quality Act should live or die. Everybody had a paddle – not to swat each other, but to vote yes or no. And despite the fact that most of the people in the room make their living as CEQA practitioners, the vote was surprisingly close.