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Over the years, there has been quite a bit of talk about splitting California into two states. The idea is that Northern California and Southern California do not have a lot in common and should not have much to do with each other. The idea has not gotten much of anywhere. But maybe that's because the reality is somewhat different than people's perception. Maybe California is divided into West and East.

Make sure to check this month's installment of CP&DR's listing of the up-and-coming land use stories in the Golden State.

State lawmakers closed their 2001-02 session by approving bills that limit local government's ability to regulate housing density, urge better coordination by state agencies, protect agricultural land, add requirements to local general plans, and decrease litigation over condominium construction.

Food substitution is among the household arts that make daily living possible. One cup of buttermilk, for example, can be substituted with a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar plus enough whole milk to make one cup. Or two cups of tomato sauce can be replaced with three-quarters cup of tomato paste, plus one cup of water. A few substitutions do not spoil the dish. They may even improve the taste.

The California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank has loaned nearly $180 million to local governments since June 2000, but whether the loans are promoting the type of "smart growth" that backers touted a few years ago is uncertain.

The City of Rancho Palos Verdes does have the authority to regulate placement of radio antennas, but the city cannot deny a use permit for an antenna solely because the antenna would be used for commercial purposes, the Second District Court of Appeal has ruled.

A doughnut shop owner who remained in his place of business for six years after the city acquired the property for redevelopment still qualified for relocation benefits as a "displaced person," the Second District Court of Appeal has ruled.

A school district may charge only limited mitigation fees on a redevelopment project in which new houses replace demolished residential units, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has concluded. The court held that the Tustin Unified School District could levy fees only on the difference in square footage between old apartments and the new houses that replaced the apartments.

A City of Cotati lawsuit against mobile home park owners who challenged the city's rent control ordinance was not a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP), the state Supreme Court has ruled unanimously.

In canceling a Williamson Act contract, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors did not need to find that the cancellation was consistent with the county general plan or that an emergency situation existed, the First District Court of Appeal has ruled. The county only needed to find that "other public concerns" substantially outweighed the need to protect farmland, and that no other suitable land not subject to the Williamson Act was available for the proposed development.

Among the articles of faith that urban planners hold as self-evident is this: Land use planning is a local endeavor. Many planners even espouse that a town's general plan can influence the "quality of life" through land use regulation. This theory has been at the crux of New Urbanist arguments for revamping development codes.

Make sure to check out CP&DR's monthly installment of the latest up and coming news and events in land use planning in California.

Three counties in the eastern Bay Area are in position to capitalize on a predicted boom in the biotechnology industry, according to a new report. Alameda, Contra Costa and Solano counties, in fact, could be in better position than other locales in the Bay Area to accommodate manufacturing and distribution of new biotech products.