CP&DR

In Brief

Mar 1, 2002

In Brief, other, Vol. 17 No. 03 Mar 2002

Here is California Planning & Development Report's patent pending digest of this month's hottest news briefs about planning and development in the Golden State.

Tiered EIR Thrown Out Because Higher Tier Invalid

Mar 1, 2002

Legal Digest, other, Vol. 17 No. 03 Mar 2002

A tiered environmental impact report has been thrown out because the program EIR on which the tired document was based had been invalidated. The Second District Court of Appeal ruling came in a case involving the Castaic Lake Water Agency's proposed purchase of water from Kern County to serve Newhall Ranch and other development in Los Angeles County's Santa Clarita Valley.

Housing, Bonds Top Lawmakers' Priority Lists

Mar 1, 2002

Featured Articles, other, Vol. 17 No. 03 Mar 2002

Consensus may be rare in Sacramento, but nearly everyone agrees on one thing this year: proposals that cost money are doomed. Despite the lack of money — or maybe because there is no money — lawmakers could still pass a number of policy bills related to planning.

County Prevented From Recoveing Criminal Code Enforcement Costs

Mar 1, 2002

Legal Digest, other, Vol. 17 No. 03 Mar 2002

Counties do not have the authority to recover the cost of investigation and criminal prosecution of code infractions, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has ruled. The court held that cities do have the power to recover the costs of criminal code enforcement activities, but state law treats counties differently.

San Mateo County Authority Over SFO Runway Expansion Made Clear

Mar 1, 2002

Legal Digest, other, Vol. 17 No. 03 Mar 2002

San Mateo County must approve plans for expansion of San Francisco International Airport before the project is considered by a state panel that decides on development along San Francisco Bay, according to a state Attorney General's opinion.

Court Rules Chula Vista Agency Can Take Non-Blighted Property

Mar 1, 2002

Legal Digest, other, Vol. 17 No. 03 Mar 2002

A Superior Court ruling that blocked the Chula Vista Redevelopment Agency from condemning a 3.2-acre parcel has been overturned by the Fourth District Court of Appeal. The appellate panel rejected all arguments from the landowner and ruled that the city's eminent domain lawsuit was an appropriate action that served the public use. In 1974, Chula Vista adopted the Bayfront Redevelopment Project for territory west of Interstate 5. In 1998, the redevelopment agency amended the project area to include land

Lower Population Projections Could Reduce Housing Strain

Mar 1, 2002

other, Research Reports, Vol. 17 No. 03 Mar 2002

Population projections beget households, households beget units and units beget Regional Housing Needs Assessments (RHNA) and those infamous housing elements.

County Can Require Indemnity Agreement From Permit Applicant

Mar 1, 2002

Legal Digest, other, Vol. 17 No. 03 Mar 2002

A county can require an applicant for a development permit to indemnify the county in any attempt brought by a third party to void the permit, according to an opinion from the Attorney General's office.

District Trumps City For Providing Wastewater Service, Panel Rules

Mar 1, 2002

Legal Digest, other, Vol. 17 No. 03 Mar 2002

A sanitation district has exclusive jurisdiction to provide sewer service to an area annexed by Corona, and the city cannot interfere with that right, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has ruled. The lawsuit was forced by the Riverside County Local Agency Formation Commission's decision 16 years ago not to decide who would provide sewer service to the area.

Irrelevant Ballot Arguments OK, But False or Misleading Ones Are Not

Feb 1, 2002

Legal Digest, other, Vol. 17 No. 02 Feb 2002

Although they cannot be false and misleading, ballot arguments need not be relevant, the Fourth District Court of Appeal has ruled. The panel issued its opinion in a lawsuit challenging the title of, and ballot arguments for, a City of Huntington Beach measure on the March ballot that would impose a tax on a power plant.