Newsletters

04.01.15

PACE Financing to Jump-Start Rooftop Solar?

PACE loans can cover up to 100% of the cost of a project, depending on the specific program and the particular project.


03.19.15

Be Careful What You Agree To

The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court decision upholding an agreement between the City of San Marcos and a property owner that required the property owner to pay over $2 million in impact mitigation fees for a project that was never built.


03.04.15

California’s New Energy Efficiency Challenge

California Governor Jerry Brown, sworn in for an unprecedented fourth term, recently revealed an ambitious new plan to address the impacts of climate change over the next 15 years.


03.03.15

California Supreme Court Decides Significant Impact Alone Not Sufficient to Deny Use of Categorical

In a landmark California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) case decided yesterday, the California Supreme Court provided guidance on the use of categorical exemptions in Berkeley Hillside Preservation v. City of Berkeley (S20116).


02.20.15

Failure to Describe Project Changes Results in 180-Day Statute of Limitations for CEQA Challenge

When a project’s subsequent CEQA documents fail to clearly provide public notice of material changes to a project, CEQA’s short statutes of limitation may not apply.


02.12.15

Have You Tried an MOB?

Whether in times of economic troubles or economic successes, varying your real estate investments is always a wise move.


12.18.14

San Diego Regional Sustainable Strategies Plan Invalidated; SANDAG to Request Supreme Court Review

The Court of Appeal departed from prior decisions and held that the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) prejudicially abused its discretion by omitting from its Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy EIR an analysis of the plan’s consistency with the ...


11.20.14

Change of Heart—Court of Appeal Reverses Opinion in Bowman v. California Coastal Commission

The court in Bowman originally held that a permit condition could not be modified or deleted by a second permit that included the same project even if the first permit had expired.


10.20.14

Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts: New Hope for Cities and Counties

On September 29, 2014, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Senate Bill 628 (Chapter 785) which provides a mechanism for cities and counties to form Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts (EIFDs) to divert property tax increment revenues to fund public capital facilities, such as highways, ...


10.16.14

Accepting a Permit “Under Protest” Does Not Work in the Coastal Zone

Lynch v. California Coastal Commission firmly dispels the myth that a Coastal Development Permit can be accepted and acted upon “under protest.”