A pro-development initiative in San Luis Obispo County was not the proper subject for an initiative, a San Luis Obispo Superior Court judge has ruled. Meanwhile, a slow-growth initiative approved by Loma Linda voters in 2006 was upheld by a San Bernardino County Superior Court judge.
A ruling that could result in more plant and animal listings under the California Endangered Species Act will stand. The state Supreme Court on February 13 declined to review a decision by the Third District Court of Appeal, which held that "evolutionary significant units" of a species may qualify for protection, and that state officials need only consider a species' range within California.
A trial court judge's decision ordering the closure of a neighborhood market in Santa Monica has been thrown out by the Second District Court of Appeal. The unanimous three-judge appellate panel said that the lower court judge misread two agreements between property owners and the City of Santa Monica in a way that improperly superceded the city's police power.
A city council or board of supervisors must wait until receiving a planning commission's recommendation before the legislative body gives 10-day notice of a public hearing on the matter, the Third District Court of Appeal has ruled. The court also determined that the planning commission's recommendation must be part of the notice.
Stanislaus County voters on Tuesday approved a growth control initiative that prohibits the rezoning of agricultural land in unincorporated areas without voter approval. Elsewhere in California on Super Tuesday, voters in Santa Clara and Rocklin upheld housing project approvals, while voters in San Clemente overturned conversion of a golf course into condominiums.
The California Supreme Court has dismissed a case involving San Diego County's antenna ordinance because the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the ordinance last year.
News from around California: The battle continues over Santee's Fanita Ranch; a Congressional commission recommends tripling the gas tax; Bay Area builders go green; Caltrans demands a refund from Placentia; global warming suit dropped in San Bernardino County; Diablo Grande goes on the market; the historic Cocoanut Grove falls; proposed Barstow casinos die; Madera County water controversy roils; San Bernardino corruption figures must pay up; San Francisco Supervisor forced to resign; local taxing authority explained.
In a case that the court called "unnecessarily complicated," the Fifth District Court of Appeal has ruled against residents challenging the environmental review of a 219-house subdivision in the foothills of Porterville.
Like boxers vying for a title, two very different ideas of planning are competing for the future of Alameda Point, a 770-acre community carved out of the former military base next to Alameda, the city.
The California Supreme Court has dismissed a case involving San Diego County's antenna ordinance because the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the ordinance last year.
This could become a year of creative financing, and not merely for the state government. Lawmakers are considering at least three bills that could change the rules for financing local infrastructure.
When you've got a $14 billion deficit, everybody's ox is going to get gored. So the question for the planning and development community in California is not really whether something bad is going to happen. The question is whether it matters very much.
A slew of land use issues are converging on Stockton, an older Central Valley city that is simultaneously struggling to revitalize its downtown and deal with a political environment that is both pro-growth and environmentally conscious.
