I had the opportunity this week to attend a National Association of Flood and Stormwater Management Agencies (NAFSMA) Mentoring Session on the Future [of] Flood Risk Data. This session, offered by NAFSMA in partnership with FEMA and including other interested
Downey Brand LLP
Downey Brand LLP Blogs
Latest from Downey Brand LLP
U.S. Supreme Court rules that legislatively-imposed permit conditions must satisfy the ‘essential nexus’ and ‘rough proportionality’ tests for takings
In a highly-anticipated case revolving around development impact fees, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held in Sheetz v. County of El Dorado, 144 S.Ct. 893 (2024) that legislatively-imposed conditions on building permits are not exempt from scrutiny. Although the decision…
City of Livermore Must Process a Referendum Challenging an Affordable Housing Development Project
In Move Eden Housing v. City of Livermore (2024) 100 Cal.App.5th 263, the First District Court of Appeal overturned the trial court and held that the City of Livermore (City) City Clerk was required to process a referendum challenging the…
Haggerty v. Thornton Overcomes a Four-on-One Advantage and Scores a Slam Dunk for Trust Settlors
For centuries, serious legal scholars have debated what is possibly the most vital question of our times: in what ways, if any, does our judicial system differ from basketball? Now, thanks to the California Supreme Court’s recent decision in Haggerty…
Army Corps of Engineers Publishes Draft Agency Specific Procedures To Implement The Principles, Requirements, and Guidelines for Federal Investments in Water Resources
Our April 26, 2023 article noted that the Principles, Requirements, and Guidelines (PR&G) are about money. The Federal government has a lot of money. Even in an era of budget cutting, it still has a lot of money, and it chooses to…
The Roadrunner Always Wins: Hamilton v. Green and the Limits of Creativity
As a child, your parents, teachers, and/or some other adult influence probably sat you down and recounted Aesop’s classic fable, The Tortoise and the Hare. “Slow and steady wins the race,” they told you. The slow, methodical, and thoughtful tortoise would…
HAA does not Mandate Approval of Housing Project Found Inconsistent with Zoning
In Snowball West Investments L.P. v. City of Los Angeles (2023) 96 Cal.App.5th 1054, the Second District Court of Appeal addressed the “rezoning exemption” of the Housing Accountability Act (HAA), finding that a housing project was required to comply with…
Trial Court Upholds City’s Discretion Regarding Whether Resources Qualify as Tribal Cultural Resources; AB 52 Consultation Not Required with Tribe that Failed to Timely Request Consultation
In Koi Nation of Northern California v. City of Clearlake, the Lake County Superior Court (in a judgment dated December 22, 2023) upheld the City of Clearlake’s (“City”) determination, under the substantial evidence standard, that resources not listed on a…
Downey Brand Victory: Filing Multiple NODs does not Restart Statute of Limitations
In Guerrero et al v. City of Los Angeles (January 17, 2024, No. B326033 c/w B327032) ___Cal.App.5th___, the Second District Court of Appeal held that the project opponents did not timely file their CEQA lawsuit. The published opinion reverses a…
Extensions to State Project Long-Term Water Supply Contracts Survive Appeal
On January 5, 2024, the Third District Court of Appeal, upheld the Department of Water Resources’ (“DWR’s”) approval of amendments to long-term contracts with local government agencies that receive water through the State Water Project in Planning and Conservation League…