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Placer County did not violate state law by including two projects in one environmental impact report, the Third District Court of Appeal has ruled. The county did not abuse it discretion by covering a 31-lot subdivision and a large church — which started out as two parts of the same project — in one EIR, the court held.

The state Supreme Court will review a case involving the awarding of attorneys' fees in a CEQA lawsuit.

From a distance, the Gaia Cultural Center in Berkeley does not appear to be an unusual building. But up close, we see it is no ordinary building.

Although Sacramento is short of money these days, the state capital does not lack for policy initiatives that directly or indirectly affect land use. In fact, veteran lobbyists say they can remember few years when legislators introduced so many policy bills.

The State Department of Water Resources has settled a lawsuit filed by the Planning and Conservation League over the 1995 "Monterey Agreement," which, among other things, spelled out how State Water Project (SWP) water would be allocated during droughts. The settlement calls for the agency to more fully disclose its ability to deliver water.

Tejon Ranch owns what might be the largest contiguous stretch of land controlled by one property owner in California. Since the mid 19th century, the Tejon Ranch property, located along present-day Interstate 5 in Los Angeles and Kern Counties, has served primarily for cattle grazing and sport hunting. But Tejon Ranch Company, a publicly traded corporation, is now pursuing major development projects on opposite ends of the ranch.

An environmental impact report for a proposed subdivision that would rely heavily on the State Water Project has been invalidated by the Second District Court of Appeal. The EIR for the 2,500-unit West Creek project in Los Angeles County failed to say that deliveries by the State Water Project (SWP) are not reliable, and the study appeared to postpone a final decision on water until the subdivision approval process.

The California Coastal Commission did not have authority to modify a coastal development permit that the San Mateo County Superior Court had ordered the City of Half Moon Bay to approve, the First District Court of Appeal has ruled.

Builders and local governments have lost the first court ruling on the newest generation of municipal stormwater permits.

After two years of life under the Bush Administration, what we might call the "General Plan" for American is in the midst of a serious update. And it's not surprising that "smart growth" doesn't appear to be on the list.

In a landmark ruling, the state Supreme Court has made clear that maps recorded prior to 1893 do not create legal, developable lots for today's purposes. And the court at least hinted that maps recorded between 1893 and 1929 might not be valid unless a city or county somehow exercised discretion in approving the map.

The regional housing allocation process should be suspended until it can be reformed, the Legislative Analysts' Office (LAO) has recommended. "The regional housing planning process is not very effective at ensuring the construction of affordable housing or obtaining compliance with state law," the LAO reported.

An 11,000-unit housing development and 325-acre "employment center" has won approval from the City of Lathrop, in the San Joaquin Valley east of the Bay Area. If built, the project would be the first major urbanization of one of the many flood-prone islands in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

In its first ruling directly addressing the validity of "antiquated subdivisions," the California Supreme Court has held that maps recorded prior to adoption of the first precursor to the Subdivision Map Act in 1893 do not create legal parcels for today's purposes.