Articles

One of the more startling bits of advice I have heard recently came from a financial planner on television who said: "Don't marry anyone you wouldn't want to divorce." The advice, of course, is to marry only someone who is rational and has the ability to cut a deal, if and when the time comes to part. In urban planning, this advice could be translated as: "Don't build anything you do not want to tear down." >>read more

Redevlopment Law Reform Gains Momentum At Capitol; Loma Linda and Monterey County Voters Decide On Development Projects; Sierra Club Settles Lawsuit With The City Of Stockton; Death Row EIR Upheld; Revised EIR Water Analysis Likley To Face Appeal in Santa Clarita >>read more

A locally written plan to preserve habitat for the endangered Sonoma County tiger salamander has been accepted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in lieu of designating critical habitat.

The environmental impact report for a proposed Highway 50 interchange that would serve an El Dorado County Indian casino has been invalidated by the Third District Court of Appeal. >>read more

Property rights activists and redevelopment opponents are preparing statewide ballot measures that could greatly limit the use of eminent domain. >>read more

People wanting to buy their own place in San Diego for less than $300,000 have essentially one option: apartments that have been converted to condominiums. Owners of approximately 15,000 apartment units have converted them into for-sale condominiums or filed applications for conversions in recent years. >>read more

The state Supreme Court has rejected most claims of a development company fighting building permit fees in the City of Rancho Cucamonga. However, the court did decide that the builder, Barratt American, could contest the validity of a city fee ordinance adopted in 2002 — a reversal of a lower court ruling.

I am writing to comment on "North Natomas: Cutting Edge or Only More of the Same?" (CP&DR Local Watch, October 2005), an article that expressed several concerns about development in the North Natomas area of Sacramento. >>read more

When the Army closed the doors at Fort Ord in 1994, Monterey County was presented with an unparalleled opportunity to create a new town out of prime real estate overlooking the Pacific Ocean. >>read more

The Environmental Trust, Inc., (TET) became the first land trust in the nation to declare bankruptcy in March 2005. The San Diego nonprofit organization's bankruptcy raises questions about the long-term stability of land trusts and mitigation banks. >>read more

Making a public park out of a Superfund site is a rarity. If Maywood, a city in the old industrial belt of South Los Angeles County, ultimately succeeds in creating a 7.3-acre park along the Los Angeles River, the result would be inspirational. >>read more

To its supporters, the California Environmental Quality Act is a powerful mechanism for protecting air, water, wildlife, land, public health and safety. Critics, on the other hand, regard it as a powerful mechanism for mischief, allowing activists to delay or halt projects they oppose even if the activists' complaints are without merit. >>read more

Construction is scheduled to begin during the first half of 2006 on what will be, for a short while anyway, the tallest courthouse in California. The federal courthouse at Broadway and State Street in downtown San Diego will reach 22 stories - 407 feet - into the sky. >>read more

State lawmakers are likely to consider numerous bills that could restrict redevelopment authority, require greater state oversight, limit use of eminent domain, ease redevelopment opponents' access to court and impose other requirements on redevelopment agencies. >>read more