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A long-planned 115-acre lagoon restoration project in Del Mar is on track after an appellate court rejected neighboring property owner's lawsuit over the restoration. Two to three years worth of work to restore San Dieguito lagoon could begin as soon as 2005.

It's perhaps premature to ask what changes smut peddler Larry Flynt would make to the General Plan Guidelines, or where buxom billboard celebrity Angelyne stands on the latest wrinkles in the California Environmental Quality Act. But with the recall election only a month away -- and two statewide propositions on the special ballot along with the recall -- it's not too early to speculate on how the whole October 7 circus will affect the world of planning and development in California.

The November election in the City of Fairfield could provide a significant indicator of how the city of 103,000 people will grow during coming years. After many years of supporting pro-growth officials, the electorate will cast ballots on a policy that requires voters to decide on changes to the Solano County city's urban limit line, which the City Council tightened last year.

A new report by the state auditor suggests that California's brownfields program could be stronger. The state lacks an inventory of brownfields and even a definition of the term, which generally refers to abandoned industrial sites, gasoline stations and mines.

By percentage, Western Placer County's growth rate is about the fastest of any area in California. And the cities of Roseville, Lincoln and Rocklin — and Placer County itself — are planning for numerous large developments with tens of thousands of housing units.

There is a certain kind of excitement — my guess is it is uniquely American — when cities reach a moment of transition, such as when a small city gets its first high-rise building. On the other end of the urban life cycle, another moment occurs when an aging downtown blooms with second-hand stores and ethnic delicatessens amid retirement homes and tattoo parlors.

With all of the static energy burning away in today's world, it's no wonder a growing number of communities want to stay in the dark. A handful of communities are working with educational organizations and lighting manufacturers to dim the lights in an effort to limit nighttime lighting pollution.

A city that acquires land for two roads through eminent domain does not have to compensate the property owner for the growth-inducing impacts of the roads, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has ruled.

The right to pump groundwater does not equate to the right to store water in the same groundwater basin, the Second District Court of Appeal has ruled. In perhaps the first published ruling of its kind, the court held that unused groundwater storage space is a public resource that must be managed for the public benefit.

A Santa Barbara County property owner has been allowed to pursue a lawsuit alleging that the county violated his rights of free speech, equal protection and due process by giving him a hard time with proposed developments.

A Santa Barbara County property owner has been allowed to pursue a lawsuit alleging that the county violated his rights of free speech, equal protection and due process by giving him a hard time with proposed developments.

Three years ago — back when California had money — Gov. Gray Davis came up with a clever idea to push more money into transportation projects in a way that would benefit his core political constituencies without raising taxes. Today, Davis's Transportation Congestion Relief Program appears to be self-destructing, along with the entire system of funding state transportation projects.

In response to a new state law that mandates the easier regulatory processing of second units, cities and counties across California have been revising their regulations. Most jurisdictions are relaxing their rules, although some cities and counties appear to be adding performance standards that could discourage second-unit development.

Voters in the Contra Costa Water District will decide early next year whether to quadruple the capacity of five-year-old Los Vaqueros Reservoir in the hills east of Mount Diablo. The reservoir expansion would increase water reliability and improve water quality but would not provide more water for growth, water district officials insist.