A twelve-year saga of pitched battles between housing advocates, developers and an obdurate NIMBY (“Not in My Backyard”) assemblage was finally resolved last month by California’s First District Court of Appeal. In a victory for California housing proponents, the City of Lafayette’s approval of the 315-unit Terraces of Lafayette project has been upheld against the challenges … [Read more...] about Protracted legal odyssey ends in victory for Lafayette housing development
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Is CEQA being weaponized against housing development?
The California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) has been a regular topic of discussion in this blog over the years, from challenges to local zoning bans against mobile medical marijuana dispensaries, to the expansion of the use of “categorical exemptions” from environmental review, to modifications to the methods of measuring traffic impacts of development projects. As one … [Read more...] about Is CEQA being weaponized against housing development?
Can tech automate commercial lease management? Stay tuned
Recently, a corporate client asked me to assist it in ascertaining whether it was properly handling the common area maintenance (CAM) charges under its lease with a triple net tenant, a national medical services provider. As I pored over the terms of the lease and reviewed its CAM provisions with my client, not for the first time did I wonder, “There’s got to be a better … [Read more...] about Can tech automate commercial lease management? Stay tuned
Prolific ADA Litigant Shelved?
Back in 2019, I noted a spike in cases brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) against small businesses in Silicon Valley, and asked readers to share their experiences. The issue hit a nerve with a number of people, and so I followed up a few months later with another blog post that delved more deeply into the problem, which highlighted the questionable … [Read more...] about Prolific ADA Litigant Shelved?
Prop. 15: Time to switch off the “third rail” of California politics?
Here we go again! My last article examined Proposition 19, one of the measures on the November 2020 ballot that seeks to modify Proposition 13, California’s sui generis real property tax law. My current article takes a look at Proposition 15, which would, if passed by the voters, establish the “split roll” that has long been sought by local government advocates looking to … [Read more...] about Prop. 15: Time to switch off the “third rail” of California politics?