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News Articles

California Court of Appeal Holds Voters May Not Approve Development Agreements By Initiative

The Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed a Superior Court ruling and held that approval of a voter-sponsored development agreement was an invalid exercise of…

Read More 2018-10-01

California Supreme Court Finds Voter Referendum Is Not Automatically Invalid Due to Resulting Inconsistency Between General Plan and Zoning Ordinance

In a case dealing with a petition filed by a city in connection with a referendum challenging a zoning ordinance, the California Supreme Court summed…

Read More 2018-10-01

California Adopts Wildfire Prevention and Emergency Response Legislation

On August 31, 2018, California’s legislature passed Senate Bill 901, which includes a bundle of measures focused primarily on wildfire prevention and emergency response. Its…

Read More 2018-10-01

California Natural Resources Agency Publishes State’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment

On August 27, 2018, the California Natural Resources Agency published a 132-page report entitled “California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment” (Climate Change Assessment).   The Climate…

Read More 2018-10-01

Seventh Circuit Finds Jurisdictional Determination Unsupported By Record Where Corps of Engineers Failed to Include Wetlands Inventory Map or Site-Specific Data

Deference to agency decisions under the abuse of discretion test has its limits, as illustrated by this Clean Water Act case in which the U.S.…

Read More 2018-09-16

U.S. District Court Orders EPA to Make a Decision under the Clean Air Act on the San Joaquin Ozone Plan

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has given the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) deadlines by which it must act on…

Read More 2018-09-16

California Water Commission Awards $2.5 Billion For New Water Storage Projects

The voice of the voters from Proposition 1 in 2014 was heard loud and clear when, on July 24, 2018, the California Water Commission (CWC)…

Read More 2018-09-16

California Becomes the First State to Require Solar Power For New Homes Beginning In the Year 2020

California has taken yet another big step towards going green. The California Energy Commission has adopted a triennial update to standards found within the California…

Read More 2018-09-16

The Need for Environmental Impact Reports—California Court of Appeal Addresses CEQA Impacts on Aesthetics and Traffic in a Historical District

Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Environmental Impact Reports (EIRs) are often required to analyze the environmental impact a project may have on…

Read More 2018-09-16

California Court of Appeal finds an Agency Can Recover Record Preparation Costs under CEQA When a Petitioner Does Not Produce a Record

The Second District Court of Appeal has held that an agency is entitled to reasonable record preparation costs when it had to take over record…

Read More 2018-09-16