On Tuesday, June 24, 2025, the California Court of Appeal heard argument in Sheetz v. County of El Dorado. You may recall that the California Court of Appeal previously held that legislatively enacted development impact fees...more
6/26/2025
/ Appeals ,
California ,
George Sheetz v County of El Dorado ,
Impact Fees ,
Judicial Authority ,
Judicial Review ,
Property Owners ,
Real Estate Development ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Zoning Laws
Today, April 12, 2024, in Sheetz v. County of El Dorado, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously overruled more than two decades of California precedent, holding that legislatively established development impact fee programs must...more
Managed retreat—the process of moving people and property away from the shoreline—is an unpopular but increasingly accepted response to rising sea-levels. In the inaugural issue of Nossaman’s California Water Views – 2023...more
According to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the answer is a definitive yes....more
In Knick v. Township of Scott, 139 S.Ct. 2162 (2019), the Supreme Court reversed over three decades of precedent when it eliminated the requirement that a plaintiff exhaust state court remedies before pursuing a takings...more
The California Coastal Act is a regulatory regime with many layers and complexities. Generally, however, the Act requires development within a designated coastal zone to obtain a coastal development permit. This permit may be...more
With the recent flurry of coastal law bills before the California State Legislature and the myriad headlines advising that we must retreat from the shore, sea level rise (SLR) and related climate change topics remain front...more
With the recent flurry of coastal law bills before the California State Legislature and the myriad headlines advising that we must retreat from the shore, sea level rise (SLR) and related climate change topics remain front...more
5/6/2021
/ Climate Change ,
Coastal Real Estate ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Flood Management ,
Pending Legislation ,
Popular ,
Property Owners ,
Public Agencies ,
Real Estate Development ,
Rising Sea Levels ,
State and Local Government ,
Webinars
Sea level rise is a critical issue facing public agencies and property owners throughout the United States. In California alone, this phenomenon could impact thousands of residences and businesses, dozens of wastewater...more
While there is a healthy debate over just how much the sea level will rise over the next 50 years, there is at least a general consensus that the sea level will rise. What this means for those on the coast depends on the...more
If you know someone with property that borders, is adjacent to, or abuts a natural lake, pond, bay, sea, or ocean, they may have littoral property rights. What that means is they may have the right to build a pier out to the...more
9/11/2020
/ Adjacent Property Owners ,
Construction Project ,
Eminent Domain ,
Environmental Policies ,
Navigable Waters ,
Permits ,
Property Owners ,
Public Access Laws ,
Real Estate Development ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Waterfront Properties
Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Knick v. Township of Scott (2019) 139 S.Ct. 2162 eliminated the requirement for a plaintiff to exhaust state court remedies before pursuing a takings challenge in federal court,...more
In the past, the Coastal Commission has taken a very negative view on any limitations of public beach access. In fact, one can say that the Commission has been downright aggressive in pursuing what it perceived to be...more
Yes, but the sea might beat them to it. In 2015, the California Coastal Commission adopted the Sea Level Rise Policy Guidance. This Guidance document discusses a number of potential measures for responding to sea level rise,...more
3/4/2020
/ Beachfront Properties ,
California Coastal Commission ,
Coastal Real Estate ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Eminent Domain ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Property Owners ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Real Estate Development ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Takings ,
Rising Sea Levels
On November 25, 2019, the California Court of Appeal ruled that the public’s use of a road for more than half a century to access Martin’s Beach was permissive, and therefore “did not ripen into a public dedication that would...more
1/8/2020
/ Appeals ,
Beach Access ,
Beachfront Properties ,
California Coastal Commission ,
Coastal Real Estate ,
New Evidence ,
Private Property ,
Property Dedication ,
Property Owners ,
Public Use ,
Real Estate Market ,
Recreation ,
Regulatory Takings ,
Right of Access ,
State and Local Government ,
Waterfront Properties
The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states: “nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” The California Constitution contains a similar provision. Reading these constitutional...more
12/4/2019
/ Appeals ,
Beach Access ,
Beachfront Properties ,
California Coastal Commission ,
Coastal Real Estate ,
Fees ,
Fifth Amendment ,
Just Compensation ,
Licenses ,
Permits ,
Private Property ,
Property Dedication ,
Property Owners ,
Public Use ,
Real Estate Development ,
Real Estate Market ,
Recreation ,
Right of Access ,
State and Local Government ,
Takings Clause ,
Waterfront Properties
In a recent published decision, the California Court of Appeal had the opportunity to address this issue when the property owners of a beachside residence in the City of Los Angeles challenged a setback condition that the...more
10/17/2019
/ Appeals ,
Applications ,
Beachfront Properties ,
Building Permits ,
California Coastal Commission ,
Coastal Real Estate ,
Construction Project ,
Property Owners ,
Real Estate Development ,
Regulatory Takings ,
Rising Sea Levels ,
Setback Rules ,
Substantial Evidence Standard ,
Waterfront Properties
For over three decades, most property owners have been relegated to state courts when pursuing a takings claim against a state or local agency. In a 5-4 decision issued this week, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed itself and...more
6/24/2019
/ 42 U.S.C. §1983 ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Fifth Amendment ,
Inverse Condemnation ,
Just Compensation ,
Knick v Township of Scott Pennsylvania ,
Precedential Opinion ,
Property Owners ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
State Law Remedies ,
Takings Clause
Contrary to every federal court of appeal decision that has addressed the issue, a federal court in Utah has held that the broad authority of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) to regulate "take" of threatened...more
I'll give you a hint, this is a bit of a trick question. Give up? Okay. Whenever you name a State agency, of course.
In Lavine v. State of California (pdf), a property owner filed a lawsuit after the Regional Water...more