California Supreme Court
California Supreme Court Upholds Affordable Housing Ordinance
Unanimous Court Rejects Developers’ Takings Challenge to San Jose’s Inclusionary Housing Measure
The California Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision issued today, rejected state developers’ efforts to nullify the City of San Jose’s affordable housing ordinance. That decision, California Building Industry Association v. City of San Jose, is critically important for both state land use policy and for constitutional principles governing private property rights and the proper scope …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Supreme Court to Decide Major CEQA, Climate Change Case
Justices’ Latest Grant of Review Continues Supreme Court’s Focus on Environmental Law
To paraphrase former President Ronald Reagan, there they go again. The California Supreme Court on Wednesday granted review in an important case at the intersection of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and one of the state’s most important climate change laws. The case, Cleveland National Forest Foundation v. San Diego Association of Governments, is the …
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CONTINUE READINGThe California Supreme Court’s Unprecedented Focus on Environmental Law
California’s Highest Court Has Far More Environmental Cases Pending Than Ever Before in Its History
The California Supreme Court, perhaps the most influential state supreme court in the nation, has of late become unusually and intensely focused on environmental law. More than ever before in its history, the California Supreme Court currently has before it a large docket of environmental cases that, individually and collectively, promise to alter the legal …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Supreme Court to Decide Whether the Mining Law Preempts State Ban on Suction Dredge Mining
Court’s Decision May Affect State’s Ability to Regulate Activities on Federal Lands
The California Supreme Court recently accepted a case that may make it more difficult for the state to protect the environment from the damaging impacts of mining. At issue is the state’s ban on suction-dredge mining in streambeds. Californians engaged in suction-dredge mining have vigorously fought against the state’s ban, and a panel of the …
CONTINUE READINGAmerica’s Future on the California Supreme Court
I’m not sure that anyone has pointed this out before: as of last week, when Justices Mariano-Florentino Cuellar and Leondra R. Krueger were sworn, the California Supreme Court does not have a single white male. I believe that that is the first time in US history where that has happened on a high court in …
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CONTINUE READINGSierra Club Entitled to County’s GIS Database Under California Public Records Act, Says California Supreme Court
Back in the day, when I toiled in the California Attorney General’s Office, I served a stint supervising the unit of that Office that oversees litigation involving California’s “little Freedom-of-Information Act,” officially known as the California Public Records Act (PRA). My standing advice to my attorney colleagues was never to allow a case to reach the …
CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Supreme Court Upholds Local Government Bans on Pot Dispensaries
In its most important land use decision since 2011, the California Supreme Court has upheld local governments’ power to ban marijuana dispensaries within their jurisdictions. Last week the court unanimously rejected marijuana advocates’ claim that such local bans are preempted by California state law. The Supreme Court’s opinion in City of Riverside v. Inland Empire …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Supreme Court Upholds Abolition of Local Redevelopment Agencies
The California Supreme Court waited until the very end of 2011 to issue the year’s most important land use decision. While the specific issues relate to arcane issues of public finance and state constitutional law, today’s decision in California Redevelopment Association v. Matosantos is likely to have major consequences for local land use authority and …
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CONTINUE READINGLibertarians for Environmental Red Tape!
Libertarians have long castigated environmental review statutes, such as NEPA and CEQA, for trampling private property rights, the theory being that they make developing property so difficult and expensive that they are tantamount to disrupting those right. That’s why it was so odd to see the Pacific Legal Foundation advocating for more prolix environmental …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Supreme Court decides in favor of accurate environmental impact analysis (and cleaner air)
The California Supreme Court just issued an important decision interpreting public agencies’ obligations under the California Environmental Quality Act. This case will result in cleaner air in southern California. It also establishes that public agencies must measure environmental impacts from a new project against actual existing conditions, rather than against theoretical conditions (based on permits …
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