Client Alerts

Land Use

• Appellate Court Rules on Preservation of Documents and Discovery Relating to Administrative Records in CEQA LitigationAugust 6, 2020 The Fourth District of the Court of Appeal issued an important opinion on July 30 in Golden Door Properties, LLC v. Superior Court, which involves a public agency’s duties to preserve records under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) and the Public Records Act (“PRA”), and the extent of discovery available to plaintiffs in CEQA litigation. Case ... read more
• Court Clarifies Subsequent CEQA Review Rules for Post-Approval DecisionsMay 26, 2020The California Court of Appeals, in Willow Glen Trestle Conservancy et al. vs. City of San Jose et al., shed light on the circumstances in which subsequent environmental review is required for an approved project under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”).  The court confirmed that CEQA does not require the lead agency to conduct supplemental environmental review when ... read more
• Governor’s Executive Order Temporarily Changes CEQA’s Noticing Procedures, Suspends Tribal Consultation DeadlinesApril 28, 2020Executive Order N-54-20 (“EO N-54-20”), issued by Governor Newsom on April 23, 2020, changes the procedures for posting certain notices under the California Environmental Quality Act and extends the period for tribal consultation, both for a period of 60 days. EO N-54-20 specifically states that ... read more
• Land Use Litigation Deadlines Extended by Judicial Council’s COVID-19 Emergency RulesApril 7, 2020The California Judicial Council adopted eleven emergency rules (“Emergency Rules”) on April 6, 2020 to address the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on California’s residents and the judicial branch. The Judicial Council acknowledges that operations of the California superior courts have been disrupted and delayed and the Emergency Rules are necessary to protect the rights of litigants and to ... read more

Environmental Law

• New Federal Regulations Aim to Reduce and Streamline NEPA Environmental Review RequirementsJuly 31, 2020The Council on Environmental Quality (“CEQ”) released a broad overhaul of the regulations governing federal environmental review. The revisions reflect the Trump Administration’s continuing efforts to eliminate environmental and regulatory hurdles that delay or limit development of new infrastructure projects. The CEQ’s Final Rule is the first comprehensive update in over 40 years to ... read more
• CEQA Update: Appellate Court Issues Broad Decision on Greenhouse Gas AnalysisJuly 22, 2020In a lengthy and wide ranging decision, the Court of Appeal in Golden Door Properties, LLC v. County of San Diego upheld multiple challenges under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) to the County of San Diego’s Climate Action Plan (“CAP”), on the grounds that: (1) a greenhouse gas (“GHG”) mitigation measure adopted under the CAP was insufficient; (2) the ... read more
• White House Executive Order Seeks Acceleration of Infrastructure Projects by Streamlining Compliance with Federal Environmental LawsJune 9, 2020On June 4, President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) urging federal agencies “to use their lawful emergency authorities” to expedite approvals for transportation and infrastructure projects throughout the country. In ... read more
• COVID-19 Update: Judicial Council Amends Emergency Rule on Statutes of Limitations in CEQA and Land Use CasesJune 1, 2020On May 29, 2020, the Judicial Council approved revisions to Emergency Rule 9 regarding the statutes of limitations for civil cases during the COVID-19 pandemic. The revisions establish different tolling periods for claims that ordinarily have shorter statutes of limitations, such as claims under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) and the State Planning and Zoning Law, and those ... read more
• Clean Water Act Update: SCOTUS’ New “Functional Equivalent” Test and County of Maui vs. EPA’s New Navigable Waters Protection RuleMay 7, 2020The legal force of the federal Clean Water Act continues to move in unpredictable directions with as much frequency as the waters the Act regulates. On April 21 and 23, two waves of change crashed into each other when, respectively, EPA issued its Navigable Waters Protection Rule (85 Fed. Reg. 22250) stating the Act does not cover groundwater and then the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in County of ... read more
• US Supreme Court Expands CERCLA Jurisdiction and PRP DefinitionApril 29, 2020The Supreme Court’s April 20, 2020 decision in Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Christian adds another layer of complexity to the “devilishly difficult statutory provisions” of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”). The decision opens the door for state courts to hear claims that challenge EPA-approved clean-ups and has the potential to ... read more
• New WOTUS Rule Attempts to End 40 Years of AmbiguityJanuary 29, 2020The federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Army (“agencies”) last week attempted to complete what the U.S. Supreme Court has asked them to do: define “waters of the United States” (“WOTUS”). The New WOTUS Rule is intended to put an end to the nearly 40 years during which ... read more

First Amendment

• Shelter In Place and Reopening Plan Litigation: SCOTUS Again Rejects Request for Emergency Application on Religious Services RestrictionsJuly 30, 2020The 5-4 majority continues to hold as the United States Supreme Court recently denied another request to stay enforcement of restrictions on worship services in Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley v. Sisolak, 2020 WL 4251360 (2020). In the decision issued on July 24, 2020, Chief Justice Roberts, joined by Justices Ginsburg, Kagan, Sotomayor and Breyer, denied the request of Calvary Chapel ... read more
• Shelter In Place and Reopening Plan Litigation: SCOTUS Rejects Request for Judicial Intervention Regarding California’s Restrictions on Religious ServicesJune 9, 2020The United States Supreme Court issued a rare late-night ruling in South Bay United Pentecostal Church v. Newsom on May 29, 2020, denying an emergency request from a mega-church in Chula Vista, California to stay Governor Newsom’s Executive Order and four-stage reopening plan. In-person religious services were initially barred and then numerically restricted. In a 5-4 decision, ... read more

Labor and Employment

• SCOTUS Rules LGBTQ Workers Protected From Employment DiscriminationJuly 10, 2020In the recent landmark decision of Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that an employer who fires an employee merely for being gay or transgender violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars workplace discrimination against individuals with certain protected characteristics, such as race, national origin, religion, and sex. The consequential ... read more
• SB 778 Requires Employers to Provide New Harassment Prevention Training by January 1, 2021January 15, 2020(Advisory Note: anti-harassment policies should also be updated) When Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 778 into law in 2019, he extended by one year the deadline for employers to implement new harassment prevention training requirements. Senate Bill 778 addressed concerns ... read more
• Employers’ Dilemma: Comply Now with New Employment Laws or Wait Out Court Challenges?January 1, 2020California employers enter 2020 facing many new and changed laws after an exceptionally active legislative session in 2019. However, the most difficult decision that many employers will face is whether to take action to immediately comply with some new requirements or wait until recent legal challenges to a few new laws wind their way through the court system and perhaps lead to subsequent ... read more

Public Finance

• Appellate Court Rules Simple Majority May Adopt Special Taxes Through Initiative ProcessJuly 9, 2020 The California Court of Appeal recently issued a decision holding that local special taxes placed on the ballot through the initiative process only require a simple majority to pass. The case did not involve special taxes that are proposed by a local agency’s legislative body, which still require two-thirds voter approval. The June 30 decision in City and County of San Francisco v. All ... read more

Municipal and Special District Law

• Legislature Poised to Adopt Bill Legalizing Housing on Commercial PropertyJuly 2, 2020Assembly Bill No. 3107 (Bloom) and Senate Bill No. 1385 (Caballero) recently cleared their respective houses with the same objective—legalizing residential uses on land designated for commercial uses. Since both houses passed bills with the same goal, it is likely that a bill reflecting the shared goal will be presented to the Governor. The two bills take very different approaches, and it ... read more
• CPRA Update: Supreme Court Rules Public Agencies Cannot Charge for Redacting Electronic Public RecordsJune 2, 2020The California Supreme Court issued a significant ruling in National Lawyers Guild v. City of Hayward on May 28 concerning public agencies’ ability to recover costs under the California Public Records Act (“CPRA,” Government Code §§ 6250 et seq.). The Court held that a public agency cannot charge a requester for the costs of the agency redacting exempt material from otherwise ... read more
• Newsom Issues Three COVID-19 Brown Act Orders: Here’s What He Urgently ChangedMarch 25, 2020Governor Newsom recently signed three Executive Orders that changed fundamental limitations and requirements of the Brown Act.  He signed Executive Order N-25-20 on March 12, Executive Order N-29-20 on March 17, ... read more

Economic Development, Real Estate and Housing

• New Orders, Ordinances and Legislation Address Financial Impact of COVID-19 on Commercial and Residential Tenants and LandlordsJune 23, 2020Commercial and residential tenants and landlords seeking to address the financial impact of COVID-19 shelter in place orders and reopening plans have encountered a confusing maze of new laws at the city, county and State levels. Solving the problem has attracted widespread involvement -- the Judicial Council issued an unlawful detainer moratorium, Governor Newsom issued and extended an order ... read more
• California’s Density Bonus Law: 2020 UpdateJanuary 21, 2020California’s Density Bonus Law provides housing developers with tools to encourage the development of much needed affordable and senior housing. In 2019, the California Legislature passed new legislation that provides for an 80% density bonus to be granted to 100% affordable housing projects, the largest density bonus ever required under California law. That legislation, read more
• AB 1763 Allows Affordable Housing to be Built Denser and TallerJanuary 13, 2020Assembly Bill 1763 permits 100% affordable housing projects to be built denser and taller through three modifications to current law (outlined below) that are designed to help reduce costs associated with the development of affordable housing. AB 1763 is one of over twenty housing bills approved by the California Legislature in 2019, each one taking a different approach to easing the state’s ... read more