In the years following passage of the Clean Water Act of 1972, counties and cities across the country found themselves forced to comply with restrictions on the release of municipal sewage and industrial waste. For the most part, they accomplished this by cracking down on polluting factories and by investing billions of dollars in advanced mechanical filtration and chemical disinfectant technology.
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.
Conflict over a proposed housing project in the Sonoma County city of Sebastopol offers proof of just how politically difficult infill development can be.
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.
