Land Use

An Environmental Hero Rides Into the Sunset

The Sacramento Bee reports today that Peter Douglas, the long-time executive director of the California Coastal Commission, has taken a medical leave of absence and will retire in November.  Douglas definitely deserves his retirement, but it’s a real loss for the environmental community. Douglas helped draft the original Coastal Act as legislative director for former …

CONTINUE READING

How Should Law Schools Teach Land Use?

I haven’t taught Land Use for a few years, but under pressure from the administration, I’m gearing up to teach it again a year from now.  And I’m going to need that time to figure it out, because it’s a little frustrating teaching it in the traditional way. To the extent that there is a …

CONTINUE READING

Nevada Re-Discovers the Public Trust Doctrine

The Nevada Supreme Court was the source of a pleasant surprise earlier this month, when it issued a decision formally “adopting” the public trust doctrine as Nevada law. The opinion, Lawrence v. Clark County, involved a proposed transfer of land in and adjacent to the Colorado River near Laughlin, Nevada to Clark County officials. Nevada …

CONTINUE READING

So Much for California’s Anti-Sprawl Law, Ctd.

My post on the shortcomings of SB 375, California’s anti-sprawl law, generated a swift response from NRDC’s Amanda Eaken and TransForm’s Stuart Cohen, two smart growth advocates for whom I hold a lot of admiration and respect.  In their detailed post, which is largely a critique of the San Diego Association of Government’s (SANDAG) sustainable …

CONTINUE READING

So Much for California’s Anti-Sprawl Law

When California passed SB 375 in 2008, the national media swooned and smart growth advocates issued glossy brochures about the law.  SB 375 was intended to curb sprawl, promote more compact and walkable communities served by transit, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, all through a regional planning process that would coordinate land use plans with …

CONTINUE READING

Supreme Court Grants Review in Clean Water Act/Wetlands Case

2012 is shaping up as a busy year for environmental law at the U.S. Supreme Court. Today, as the Court recessed for the summer, the justices granted certiorari in a second environmental case that it will hear and decide in its 2011-12 Term: Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, No. 10-1062. Sackett involves a development dispute between an Idaho …

CONTINUE READING

A New Threat to Regional Government & Environmental Quality at Lake Tahoe

Back in the early `70’s, Bob Dylan wrote (and sang), “What looks large from a distance, up close ain’t never that big.” That Dylan lyric came to mind when reports recently emerged of the latest political controversy involving Lake Tahoe. Both nationally and internationally, there’s been substantial praise for the pioneering efforts at regional planning …

CONTINUE READING

California’s New Budget: Bad For Revitalizing Neighborhoods

California Governor Jerry Brown, apparently emerging from his time warp where Republicans weren’t completely radicalized against taxes and government, signed on to an all-cuts budget today, passed with majority numbers in the legislature.  His failure to get any of the four Republican votes he had sought means no new taxes and a major victory for …

CONTINUE READING

Brown Administration’s View of Renewable Energy in California by 2020

Governor Brown entered office in January with an ambitious agenda for renewable energy, calling for 20,000 megawatts from renewable sources by 2020, including 12,000 of localized or distributed generation and 8,000 from large-scale development. So how will this vision become a reality? UCLA and Berkeley Law gathered key leaders in California to discuss this issue …

CONTINUE READING

Supreme Court Grants Review in Montana Rivers/Public Trust Case

Understandably, today most U.S. Supreme Court mavens focused their attention on several new opinions  the Court issued in key cases–including the major climate change decision (in American Electric Power v. Connecticut) about which Dan, Jonathan and I all blogged earlier today.  Not to be overlooked, however, is the fact that today the Court also granted …

CONTINUE READING

TRENDING