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California Land Use Law & Policy Reporter

November 2011

Volume 21, Number 2 November 2011

FEATURE ARTICLE

Ninth Circuit Holds Younger Abstention Doctrine Did Not Apply to Action to Determine the Constitutionality of a Local Waste Management Ordinance by Amanda R. Berlin and Laura M. Harris, Remy, Thomas, Moose and Manley LLP, Sacramento, California35

CALIFORNIA LAND USE NEWS

New California Legislation Benefits Certain Wind Energy Projects, Streamlines Incidental Take Permit Application Review, and Clarifies Law Regarding Conservation Easements and Endowments39

REGULATORY UPDATE

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Agrees to Consider Listing Hundreds of Species as Endangered or Threatened41

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Designates Unoccupied Habitat as Critical for Tidewater Goby in California42

RECENT FEDERAL DECISIONS

District Court Grants Motion to Dismiss Claim against Development of Solar Energy Plant for Lack of Standing44

California Unions for Reliable Energy v. U.S. Department of the Interior, ___F.Supp.2d___, Case No. CV-10-9932 (C.D. Cal. Sept. 22, 2011).

RECENT CALIFORNIA DECISIONS

Supreme Court:

California Supreme Court Declines to Grant Order Enjoining California Air Resources Board from Implementing Cap-and-Trade Program Pending Additional CEQA Review . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

California Air Resources Board v. Association of Irritated Residents, ___Cal.4th___, Case No. S195112 (Sept. 28, 2011).

District Court of Appeal:

Third District Holds Fire District’s Special Assessment Violates Proposition 21848

Concerned Citizens for Responsible Government v. West Point Fire Protection District, 196 Cal.App.4th 1427 (3rd Dist. 2011).

Second District Holds Coastal Commission May Review Approval of ‘Principal Permitted Use’ where Project also Requires Approval of Subdivision50

DeCicco v. California Coastal Commission, ___Cal.App.4th___, Case No. B228009 (2nd Dist. Oct. 3, 2011).

Third District Rejects Adverse Possession Claim Brought by Occupying Tenant against Cotenant52

Hacienda Ranch Homes, Inc. v. Superior Court, ___Cal.App.4th___, Case No. C065978 (3rd Dist. Aug. 30, 2011).

Second District Finds CEQA Compliance Was Required Prior to Hearing and Ruling on Motion to Amend Judgment Imposing Physical Solution on Ground Water Basin54

Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary v. Golden State Water Co., ___Cal.App.4th___, Case No. B225058 (2nd Dist. Sept. 27, 2011).

Second District Holds City’s Ordinance Governing Medical Marijuana Collectives Is Preempted by the Controlled Substances Act56

Pack v. Superior Court of Los Angeles, ___Cal.App.4th___, Case Nos. No. B228781 (2nd Dist. Oct. 4, 2011).

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE59