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Real Estate, Land Use & Environmental Law Blog

California Housing Legislation – 2019 Update

By Alfred Fraijo Jr. & Yue Shi

January 15, 2020

In 2019, the California legislature passed, and Governor Newsom approved, new legislation impacting the development industry. Effective January 1, 2020, the laws summarized in the link below will impact the development process in many ways – from streamlining local permitting procedures for eligible projects to tenant protections and new incentives for financing affordable housing. The new laws also obligate local government to undertake updates in their housing plans and plan for growth, among other requirements.…

Real Estate, Land Use & Environmental Law Blog

Appellate Court Holds Charter Cities Are Bound By State Housing Objectives, Signaling Erosion of Local Discretion

By James Pugh & Sarah Atsbaha

January 13, 2020

In Anderson v. City of San Jose (2019), the Sixth District Court of Appeal held that California’s charter cities must comply with the Surplus Land Act (Govt. Code § 54220 et seq.).[1] This decision, essentially, ruled that the statewide housing crisis is of paramount importance, and that all cities – even charter cities – must yield to the state law processes governing surplus land disposition and give affordable housing preference when building on surplus…

Real Estate, Land Use & Environmental Law Blog

Tenant Protection Act (AB 1482) – COMPLIANCE GUIDE

By Nancy Scull, Whitney Hodges, Kelsey Clayton & Marko Valentine

January 9, 2020

In the fourth quarter of 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a package of housing-related legislation that included 18 individual bills. Within this package, there were a significant number of important changes aimed at addressing the statewide housing crisis through a variety of measures, including, among others mechanisms, upzoning, approval streamlining and tenant protections.[1]…

Real Estate, Land Use & Environmental Law Blog

Is the Popularity of Short-Term Rentals Sustainable, or Will Regulations Weaken Their Current Stronghold?

By Whitney Hodges

January 8, 2020

This article originally appeared in the California Lawyers Association’s “Real Property Law Journal.” Like many other sectors in the “sharing economy,”[i] short-term rentals of residential property[ii] (“STRs”) have become a ubiquitous part of the national economy. Often labeled as one of the biggest disrupters in the travel industry, STRs are particularly impactful on the United States tourist sector, with one estimate putting the size of the domestic vacation rental market at $100 billion.…

Real Estate, Land Use & Environmental Law Blog

EU is Taking Action: The Fight for Clean Air

By Michael Hofmann

January 6, 2020

Public awareness regarding air pollution in the European Union is at an all-time high and citizens expect authorities to act. In this vein, the European Commission[1] has recently taken a number of direct and indirect actions, including engagement of the Court of Justice of the EU, enforcement measures against car manufacturers and a Europe-specific “Green Deal,” to stem the tide of rising air pollution and become the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050.…

Real Estate, Land Use & Environmental Law Blog

Start Spreadin’ the News: California Court Says No to New York, New York; Rejects Forum Selection Clause

By Steven Cardoza & Jacqueline Gottlieb Luther

December 4, 2019

Sinatra may have found success in the city that never sleeps, but a California court has just made it more difficult for any party doing business with a California resident to do the same. At least, when it comes to resolving disputes without a jury in a New York courtroom, or in the courtroom of any other jurisdiction that enforces pre-dispute jury trial waivers. This case will be of major interest to commercial lenders, and…

Real Estate, Land Use & Environmental Law Blog

Fall Season Results in California Coastal Commission Victories

By Whitney Hodges & Rachel Keeney

November 14, 2019

This Fall, the California Coastal Commission (“Commission”) was handed down two significant victories, further cementing its authority and jurisdiction within California coastal zones. These cases demonstrate that, in certain instances, compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (Pub. Res. Code §§ 21000 et seq.) (“CEQA”) and local regulations may not be enough to secure development rights for either private developers or local governments.…

Real Estate, Land Use & Environmental Law Blog

New Law Aimed At Assisting Low Income Renters Invokes Additional Restraints on California Landlords

By Gregory Hurley, Rachel Keeney & Marko Valentine

November 6, 2019

As part of his last legislative act of 2019, Governor Newsom signed 18 housing-related bills into law in an attempt to alleviate California’s housing crisis. This package included Senate Bill (“SB”) 329, which prohibits landlords from denying prospective tenants based on their use of certain federal, state, or local subsidies.…

Real Estate, Land Use & Environmental Law Blog

EPA and Army Repeal Clean Water Rule and Move Forward with Plan to Redefine Waters Subject to Federal Regulation under Clean Water Act

By Keith Garner & Daniel Maroon

October 24, 2019

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) published a rule on October 23, 2019, repealing the Clean Water Rule promulgated by the Obama administration in 2015. The rule, which goes into effect on December 23, 2019, puts the pre-2015 regulations governing areas subject to federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act back into place nationwide. Environmental groups and state attorneys general have vowed to challenge the repeal in…

Real Estate, Land Use & Environmental Law Blog

California’s “Housing Crisis Act of 2019” May Boost Housing Production or Just Boost Housing-Related Litigation

By Jeffrey Forrest & Kelsey Clayton

October 11, 2019

On October 9, 2019, Governor Newsom signed into law Senate Bill (SB) 330, or the “Housing Crisis Act of 2019” in an effort to combat California’s current housing shortage, which has resulted in the highest rents and lowest homeownership rates in the nation. In a nutshell, the Housing Crisis Act of 2019 seeks to boost homebuilding throughout the State for at least the next 5 years, particularly in urbanized zones, by expediting the…

Real Estate, Land Use & Environmental Law Blog

Up-to-date Information on Real Estate, Land Use & Environmental Law

Blog Authors

California Housing Legislation – 2019 Update

Appellate Court Holds Charter Cities Are Bound By State Housing Objectives, Signaling Erosion of Local Discretion

Tenant Protection Act (AB 1482) – COMPLIANCE GUIDE

Is the Popularity of Short-Term Rentals Sustainable, or Will Regulations Weaken Their Current Stronghold?

EU is Taking Action: The Fight for Clean Air

Start Spreadin’ the News: California Court Says No to New York, New York; Rejects Forum Selection Clause

Fall Season Results in California Coastal Commission Victories

New Law Aimed At Assisting Low Income Renters Invokes Additional Restraints on California Landlords

EPA and Army Repeal Clean Water Rule and Move Forward with Plan to Redefine Waters Subject to Federal Regulation under Clean Water Act

California’s “Housing Crisis Act of 2019” May Boost Housing Production or Just Boost Housing-Related Litigation

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