Land Use
CEQA Reform 2013: Long-Overdue Changes for Infill and the Environment
It looks like State Senate pro Tem Darrell Steinberg might finally be putting the “E” back in “CEQA,” at least when it comes to how California’s premiere environmental law treats traffic impacts. His bill SB 731 to reform the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), previously discussed by Eric, is taking aim at the law’s perverse …
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CONTINUE READINGUCLA / UC Berkeley Law Report on High Speed Rail Policies for California’s San Joaquin Valley
The environmental law centers at UCLA and UC Berkeley Schools of Law are releasing today a new report on policies to maximize the economic and environmental benefits of high speed rail in the San Joaquin Valley. “A High Speed Foundation: How to Build a Better California Around High Speed Rail″ is the eleventh report in …
CONTINUE READINGDid Kenny Kill High Speed Rail?
On Friday, California Superior Court Judge Michael Kenny ruled that California’s plan for the initial construction segment of high speed rail in the San Joaquin Valley violated the terms of the 2008 voter-approved initiative that launched the project. Petitioners and some in the media are calling it a major setback for the system. However, the …
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CONTINUE READINGLegal Planeteer Rick Frank Appointed to California High Speed Rail Authority
Congratulations to co-blogger Rick Frank for his appointment to the California High Speed Rail Authority Board of Directors. As an expert on California environmental law, Rick will bring invaluable expertise to the Authority board as they implement this enormous infrastructure project. For a blast from the past, read his Legal Planet take on high speed …
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CONTINUE READINGFresno High Speed Rail Lunch Event — Tuesday August 20th
Forget Elon Musk’s Hyperloop — high speed rail is coming to California. Construction is slated to begin in California’s San Joaquin Valley in the next few months (and possibly sooner). What will the impact be on the Valley’s cities, farms, and pocketbooks? How can Valley leaders ensure that the system maximizes the economic and environmental …
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CONTINUE READINGIs the Golden State Warriors’ Proposed Basketball Arena a Proper Public Trust Use?
The Bay Area’s NBA franchise, the Golden State Warriors, is collaborating with San Francisco city officials to develop a new, state-of-the-art basketball arena on a site that literally sits atop San Francisco Bay. Few would argue that the region’s basketball team–a perennial second-division NBA franchise until it surged into contention last season–needs a new arena. …
CONTINUE READINGCelebrity Lobbying as an Impediment to Increasing Center City Density
The NY Post reports that “Top Chef” Padma Lakshmi opposes NYU’s plan to “densify” The Village. I have already reported that Matthew Broderick opposes the plan. Permit me to quote the authoritative NY Post: “The famed cookbook author and onetime Indian supermodel wore a white summer dress as she slipped into one the last …
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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 READINGKoontz and Exactions: Don’t Worry, Be Happy
As Rick pointed out the other day, with Koontz v. St. John’s River Water Mgmt. Dist., the Supremes finished their Takings trifecta for this term, with unsurprisingly the plaintiff winning in all three cases. Koontz raised two issues: 1) do Nollan and Dolan apply when the government simply denies a permit, as opposed to attaching …
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CONTINUE READINGSupreme Court Rules for Property Owner in Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management District
The U.S. Supreme Court today decided Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management District. But unlike the previous two, unanimous Takings Clause rulings issued this Term by the justices in Arkansas Game and Fish Commission v. United States and Horne v. Department of Agriculture, the decision in Koontz reflected a sharply divided Court, in a …
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