Can a city protect itself from discriminatory zoning claims by adopting a facially neutral ordinance that treats similarly situated land uses the same? Apparently not, said the Ninth Circuit in Pacific Shores Properties v. City of Newport Beach (Case No. 11-55460), decided on September 20. In a challenge brought against a City of Newport Beach zoning ordinance imposing restrictions on group homes, the court ruled that the plaintiffs could prevail merely by showing that the City acted with discriminatory animus.
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September 2013
EPA Publishes Draft Scientific Report To Support Significant Expansion of Clean Water Act Jurisdiction
On September 17, 2013, the Environmental Protection Agency announced the release of a draft scientific report that is widely seen as a prelude to upcoming regulations that would significantly expand federal permitting jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act. See our update for more information about the draft report, which is titled “Connectivity of Streams and Wetlands to Downstream Waters: A Review and Synthesis of the Scientific Evidence.”
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Ninth Circuit Moves Low Carbon Fuel Regulations Closer to Validation
Many CEQA and NEPA analyses of greenhouse gas impacts assume implementation of the Low Carbon Fuel Standard adopted by the California Air Resources Board. In a boost to the credibility of these analyses, the Ninth Circuit has dissolved a pending injunction and rejected multiple challenges to the Low Carbon Fuel Standard. Rocky Mountain Farmers Union v. Corey, No. 12-15131 (9th Cir., Sept. 18, 2013).
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California Supreme Court To Hear San Jose Affordable Housing Case.
The California Supreme Court has granted a petition by the California Building Industry Association for review of an appellate court’s decision upholding a San Jose affordable housing ordinance. The court of appeal found the ordinance to be a valid exercise of the City’s police powers, reversing a lower court ruling that the city had not …
Senate Bill 743: Legislature Sends CEQA Amendments to Governor
Following a week of intense negotiations, the Legislature has sent Governor Brown a set of CEQA amendments. Senate Bill 743 replaces – at least for now — Senate Bill 731, which had become an unwieldy mass of 15 separate CEQA revisions. (See our April 26 post CEQA Modernization? Not really.) Although it adds detailed …
All About Drakes Bay and Oysters, Little Oysters.
In a case the court described as pitting “an oyster farm, oyster lovers and well-known ‘foodies’ against environmentalists,” the Ninth Circuit has upheld denial of a preliminary injunction against the Interior Secretary’s decision not to extend a permit for commercial oyster farming at Point Reyes National Seashore. Drakes Bay Oyster Company v. Jewell, No.…