Appellate Court Strikes Down Development Agreement Initiative
The firm and Earthjustice prevail in challenging an initiative that purported to approve a development agreement for the World Logistics Center, a massive warehouse project near low-income communities in Riverside County. The court of appeal holds that local initiatives may not be used to adopt development agreements. (Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice v. […]
Historic Post Office Saved
The firm successfully defends the City of Berkeley’s Civic Center Historic District and protects the historic Berkeley Main Post Office from conversion to a commercial use. (U.S. Postal Service v. City of Berkeley (2018).)
Mobile Home Rent Control Upheld Against Takings Challenge
Photo credit: Sarah Schwartz The firm obtains a ruling by the Ninth Circuit overturning a multi-million dollar jury verdict against the City of Carson in a regulatory takings challenge to a mobile home rent control ordinance, preserving affordable homes. (Colony Cove Properties, LLC v. City of Carson, 888 F.3d 445 (9th Cir. 2018).)
SMW Victory in the Ninth Circuit
Photo Credit: Tim Evanson, Flickr, CC BY 2.0 The Court rejected a billboard developer’s challenge to Alameda County’s sign ordinance, and upheld a rare award of attorneys’ fees to a prevailing defendant, on the grounds the lawsuit was frivolous. Read the court’s opinion at https://www.smwlaw.com/files/Citizens_Free_Speech_v._County_of_Alameda.pdf
Ninth Circuit Provides Further Clarity on the Limits of Regulatory Takings
On April 23, 2018, in Colony Cove Properties, LLC v. City of Carson, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed the broad leeway local governments have to regulate the use of property without causing a “taking” under the under the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment. The court reversed a nearly $8 million jury verdict […]
SB 827 Comes . . . and Goes
In a previous edition of In the Public Interest, we provided a summary of the legislation enacted by the State in 2017 to address California’s growing housing crisis. Since then, a new, highly controversial housing bill—SB 827—has come and gone. Senator Scott Weiner introduced SB 827 in January of this year. If approved, the bill would have […]
SB 50: The Legislature Attempts to Protect National Parks, Erects New Hurdles for Local Development
The year 2017, probably like 2018 and years to come, was marked by legal conflict between the State of California and the federal government. Hidden amidst higher-profile state enactments was SB 50, a statute that looks on the surface like a mostly-procedural conservation measure but that will have substantial practical effects for many local agencies. […]
2017 Housing Law Update
It is no secret that California is in the grips of a serious housing crisis. According to one study, less than 50% of households in the state can afford housing.* Real estate prices have risen 15% since 2009, while median incomes have risen just 5%. And California has well over 100,000 residents without homes; 25% […]
Selection of Asset Manager for Public Facility
The firm assisted the Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) in the procurement for an asset manager to manage the Salesforce Transit Center operations, public spaces, and retail leasing in San Francisco.
Streamlining Agency Operations with Electronic Signatures
Does your agency require “wet-ink” signatures on contracts, resolutions, or permit applications? In California, use of electronic signatures has been valid since 2000. With public agencies increasingly conducting business electronically during the COVID-19 pandemic, more are accepting and using e-signatures for certain official documents. Read on for an overview of the laws surrounding electronic signatures and for […]