CP&DR

State Supreme Court Accepts Case Based on SF Housing Conversion Law

Jan 1, 2001

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 16 No. 01 Jan 2001

The California Supreme Court has accepted a takings case that threatens the viability of San Francisco's Hotel Conversion Ordinance. The court has decided to hear San Remo Hotel v. City and County of San Francisco, C.A. 1st Div. 5, No. A083530 (see CP&DR Legal Digest, September 2000, October 2000). In an opinion published in two portions, the First District Court of Appeal ruled that the "heightened scrutiny" test applied to the hotel conversion ordinance, meaning there must be a close relationship ...

Land Exchanges: Court Overturns Desert Land Swap to Accommodate Imperial Landfill

Dec 1, 2000

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 15 No. 12 Dec 2000

A federal appellate court has overturned a land exchange between the Bureau of Land Management and a private company that hoped to develop a regional landfill in Imperial County. A unanimous three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said the BLM grossly underestimated the value of its land where the landfill was proposed. The BLM relied on an appraisal that said the "highest and best use" of the 1,745 acres in question was open space or mine waste storage. The appraisal did not...

Clean Water Act: Environmentalists Win Right to Sue Over Timber Company's Practices

Dec 1, 2000

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 15 No. 12 Dec 2000

Environmentalists were victorious in one of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' first interpretations of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the Clean Water Act. The Ninth Circuit held that two environmental organizations could sue a Northern California lumber company for alleged Clean Water Act violations because the supposed pollution harmed members' recreational use of a creek. In January, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that South Carolina citizens could sue the operator of a hazardo...

Court Rules Development Agreements Are Constitutional

Dec 1, 2000

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, San Luis Obispo County, Vol. 15 No. 12 Dec 2000

A development agreement between San Luis Obispo County and the developer of a subdivision and resort did not amount to an unconstitutional contracting away of the county's police power, the Second District Court of Appeal has ruled. The opinion validates development agreements as legitimate planning tools and appears to erase any lingering doubts about the constitutionality of the practice.

Inverse Condemnation: Court Reads Writing on L.A. Sign Ordinance Clearly; Upholds Permit

Dec 1, 2000

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 15 No. 12 Dec 2000

The Second District Court of Appeal has overturned a City of Los Angeles decision not to permit construction of a billboard, and the court indicated the city could be liable for revenue the would-be sign builder lost. The opinion by Justice Rueben Ortega strongly suggests that political pressure from the mayor's office influenced the city's Board of Building and Safety Commissioners. The board initially refused to revoke the billboard permit on appeal. After the mayor's office intervened, t...

Endangered Species: Sale of Kern County Oil Land Exempt from Species Law

Dec 1, 2000

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 15 No. 12 Dec 2000

The Department of Energy could sell 47,000 acres in an area with five endangered species to Occidental Petroleum without consulting the Fish & Wildlife Service, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal has ruled. The federal legislation authorizing the sale of land outside Bakersfield allowed the sale to go forward without an endangered species consultation, and without Occidental applying for a new "take" permit under the Endangered Species Act, the court held. National Petroleum Reserve –...

First Amendment: HUD Officials Are Held Liable for Violating Protestors' Rights

Nov 1, 2000

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 15 No. 11 Nov 2000

Federal housing officials violated the free speech rights of three Berkeley residents who protested plans for a homeless shelter in their neighborhood, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. The court ruled that a Department of Housing and Urban Development officials' eight-month investigation into the activities of project opponents trampled on rights that were clearly protected by the First Amendment. The court held that the five HUD officials (one of whom is now deceased) are...

Tribal Regulations: Tribe Cannot Regulate Land Owner By Non-Members, Court Rules

Nov 1, 2000

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 15 No. 11 Nov 2000

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a lower court judgment giving an Indian tribe the right to regulate the use of fee-patented private property within a reservation boundary. The unanimous three-judge panel ruled that an Indian tribe has the authority to regulate land owned by nonmembers only when given specific Congressional approval or when then land use directly affects the tribe's political integrity, economic security, or health and welfare. The case involved a small timber ha...

U.S. Supreme Court Accepts Case From Rhode Island Property Owner

Nov 1, 2000

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 15 No. 11 Nov 2000

The U.S. Supreme Court has accepted for review a takings case from Rhode Island. The case centers on the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council's denial of permits to fill 18 acres of wetlands and a pond in the town of Westerly. The landowner, Anthony Palazzolo, first sought permission to dredge and fill the marsh and pond in 1962 so that he could build 74 houses. He filed several subsequent applications but did not receive the approval needed to proceed. The state age...

Jerry Brown Wins Exemption From Conflict of Interest Rules

Nov 1, 2000

CP&DR Staff, Legal Digest, Vol. 15 No. 11 Nov 2000

The First District Court of Appeal has cleared the way for Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown to participate in redevelopment decisions in neighborhoods where he owns property. In overturning a Fair Political Practices Commission ruling, the court held that Oakland's City Charter provides a loophole in state conflict-of-interest laws by requiring the mayor's participation in redevelopment activities. Brown championed the state's conflict of interest law, the Political Reform Act of 1974 (Gov. Code §81000), whe...

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