Newsletters

08.12.15

Is Your Lease Financeable?

It is often the case that parties enter into a lease thinking it is a temporary use of space by the tenant, which frequently amounts to nothing more than an expense line item on the budget.


08.05.15

CSU Cannot Avoid Off-Site Traffic Mitigation Payments Because Legislature Failed to Approve Funds

The California Supreme Court has clarified language from its prior decision in City of Marina v. Board of Trustees of California State University (2006) 39 Cal.4th 341 by concluding that a state agency that has an obligation to make fair-share payments to mitigate off-site traffic impacts of a ...


07.08.15

As-Is Deals May Not Be So As-Is

To avoid litigation over mistaken or misinterpreted statements made in the course of negotiations, owners of real property rely on “as-is” and “independent investigation” clauses in their real estate contracts and leases.


07.02.15

Neighbors’ Noise Complaints Trigger EIR

The Sixth District Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s holding that preparation of an EIR was required for the approval of a use permit to allow wedding events on vineyard property.


06.24.15

The California Raisins Strike Back

In a pro-property rights opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court applies Fifth Amendment “takings” analysis to a federal program that confiscated a farmer’s raisin crop and orders payment of just compensation for the taking of private property.


06.17.15

Real Estate and Land Use: California Supreme Court Upholds Inclusionary Housing Zoning

In a much-anticipated ruling, the California Supreme Court has settled for now the question of whether or not a municipality may condition residential project approvals on the inclusion of affordable housing units, validating the over 170 local agency inclusionary housing ordinances in California.


06.10.15

5 Things to Know About Tenant Star

President Barack Obama signed the Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2015 into law on April 30, 2015.


06.04.15

Emergency Work Can Modify a Project’s Environmental Baseline

This decision provides an important clarification of what constitutes the “environmental baseline” under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).


05.06.15

What to Do in a Boom to Prepare for a Bust

With the Great Recession fading into the past, and 2015 shaping up to be a boom year in real estate, there is a temptation for real estate developers and investors—eternal optimists—to extrapolate from a few good years into an ever rosier future.


05.01.15

Party On …

Woody’s Group establishes a very low threshold to prove a decision maker’s unacceptable probability of actual bias, thereby disqualifying a council member’s participation in a hearing.