Land Use
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 …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia’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 …
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CONTINUE READINGBrown 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 …
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CONTINUE READINGSupreme 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 …
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CONTINUE READINGAttention, Norm Entrepreneurs! Time to Get on the Bus
I’ve been pushing this for nearly a decade now, and now it looks like it’s finally happening (no thanks to me): If Dora Chavez knew exactly when her bus would arrive she could hustle to make it on time, stroll easily to the stop, or call work to say she would be late. With a new …
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CONTINUE READINGThe High Speed Rail Sacramento Smack-Down
California has been going about planning high speed rail all wrong, and Sacramento appears to be taking notice. Yesterday, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) released a report recommending major changes in the way California implements high speed rail. In addition to a complete reorganization of the governing structure of the High Speed Rail Authority, …
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CONTINUE READINGParking, Infill, and Affordable Housing
The Infill Builders’ parking bill that I blogged about this morning just passed unanimously out of the Assembly Local Government committee this afternoon, overcoming perhaps its biggest hurdle to ultimate passage. Although one would expect local governments to oppose a state bill that limits their ability to demand excessive parking for transit-oriented development, opposition to …
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CONTINUE READINGInfill Builders at the State Capitol
Part of my work with UC Berkeley and UCLA involves gathering business leaders to discuss opportunities presented by climate change policies. In the case of real estate development, the common refrain from sustainable developers seems to be to tell government to get out of their way and let them build more walkable, mixed-use communities around …
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CONTINUE READINGWill Bombay Choke the Queen’s Necklace?
Marine Drive in Bombay, better known as the Queen’s Necklace (pictured), is one of the most beautiful waterfronts in the world. That’s why it is so depressing to learn that the Maharahstra state government seems to want to destroy it. Per DNA India, the state’s chief minister, Prithviraj Chavan, is meeting with Union Environment Minister Jairam …
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CONTINUE READINGVideo and print materials online from our conference Local Agencies on the Cutting Edge: Emerging Challenges to Local Land Use Authority
On February 11, UCLA Law hosted a symposium, Local Agencies on the Cutting Edge: Emerging Challenges to Local Land Use Authority. This daylong conference addressed important new developments in local land-use law. We now have a webpage devoted to the symposium, including links to video recordings of all the day’s sessions, as well as written materials …
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