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Appeals Urban Planning & Development

Nossaman LLP

California Court of Appeal Confirms Legislatively Enacted Development Impact Fee

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In 2024, in what was heralded as a big win for developers in California, the U.S. Supreme Court upended decades of California precedent and held that legislatively enacted development impact fees must satisfy the “essential...more

Hinckley Allen

Massachusetts Appeals Court Curbs Zoning Board Discretion in Special Permit Denial

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The various approvals, permits, orders of conditions, and the like that may be required to proceed with work on a given project can seem daunting at times.  And when a project’s proposed use is not automatically authorized...more

Nossaman LLP

Legislatively Enacted Fees Have Another Day in Court

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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

BCLP

Briefcase 2025 Quarter 2: Key Real Estate Cases and Updates

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Case 1: Brown v Ridley and Another - The Supreme Court has clarified that a reasonable belief of ownership for any 10 year period is sufficient to claim adverse possession....more

McGuireWoods LLP

Virginia Court of Appeals Overturns Arlington Missing Middle Decision

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On June 24, 2025, the Virginia Court of Appeals overturned the Circuit Court of Arlington County’s decision invalidating Arlington County’s Expanded Housing Option (EHO) ordinance, commonly known as the “Missing Middle”...more

Perkins Coie

VMT Thresholds Must Be Based on Substantial Evidence Specific to Local Conditions

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The County of San Diego’s thresholds for exempting certain projects from vehicle miles traveled (VMT) analysis were not supported by substantial evidence showing they were appropriate specifically for the County. Cleveland...more

Alston & Bird

Land Use Matters | May 2025 | CEQA Appellate Decisions & Other Legal Developments

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City of Los Angeles - Expedited and Streamlined Review Process for Community Rebuilding - On March 18, 2025, Mayor Karen Bass issued Revised Emergency Executive Order No. 1 (EO 1) directing the Department of City Planning,...more

Downey Brand LLP

Are Your CEQA Thresholds Supported by Substantial Evidence? Fourth District Rules San Diego County’s Thresholds of Significance...

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In Cleveland National Forest Foundation v. County of San Diego (2025) 109 Cal. App.5th 1257, the Fourth District Court of Appeal invalidated two thresholds of significance adopted by the County of San Diego (“County”) that in...more

Whiteford

Client Alert: Updates on Developments in “Missing Middle” Housing Policies - UPDATED 4/30/25

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Recent legal and policy developments continue to shape the landscape for “Missing Middle” housing initiatives, impacting developers, municipalities, and communities alike. Arlington County's Expanded Housing Option (EHO)...more

Houston Harbaugh, P.C.

Drawing the Line Somewhere

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What Happens When a Parcel is Split Zoned?- Municipal zoning maps frequently include the entirety of a lot or a tax parcel within a given zoning district. But, sometimes zoning maps do not do this. Sometimes, zoning maps...more

Meyers Nave

Court of Appeal Invalidates County's Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Screening Thresholds for CEQA Review

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A California court of appeal has held that a lead agency conducting environmental review, under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), of “vehicle miles traveled” (VMT) impacts may not unquestioningly use thresholds...more

Miller Starr Regalia

Fourth District Invalidates San Diego County’s “Infill” And “Small Project” VMT Screening Thresholds As Lacking Substantial...

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In a published opinion filed March 27, 2025, the Fourth District Court of Appeal (Div. 1) reversed the trial court’s judgment denying a writ petition, and held that two screening thresholds of significance for vehicle miles...more

BCLP

Planning and Infrastructure Bill - NSIP Changes

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The infrastructure measures in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill introduce amendments, principally to the Planning Act 2008, that aim to make the NSIP regime faster and more flexible to support the Government’s major...more

Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt PC

Oregon Wildfire Hazard and Wildland-Urban Interface Map Appeals Due March 10, 2025 ‎

For Oregon property owners, the Oregon Department of Forestry officially adopted new wildfire hazard and wildland-urban interface maps on January 7, 2025. To check a property’s designations and view the maps, go to Oregon...more

DarrowEverett LLP

Legal Guidance Can Be Key in Navigating Rhode Island Land Use Matters

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Land use matters in Rhode Island are often challenging to interpreappt and navigate. In fact, the Ocean State is known for having among the most restrictive policies for zoning and land use control in the U.S. It’s not hard...more

Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass

Summary of Select 2024 California Real Estate and Land Use Cases Impacting Real Estate Developers

On January 21, 2025, Coblentz litigation partner Skye Langs presented for the Bar Association of San Francisco’s Real Property section on the following real estate and land use cases from 2024...more

Alston & Bird

Land Use Matters February 2025 | CEQA Appellate Decisions & Other Legal Developments

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Los Angeles County - Executive Order Streamlines Path to Rebuild Homes, Businesses, and Communities Destroyed by Los Angeles Firestorms - In response to the multiple firestorms in Los Angeles County that started on January 7,...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

The 60-Day Appeal Clock is Ticking for Challenges to Oregon Wildfire Hazard Map Assignments

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Oregon property owners who are receiving notices from the state that their property is in a zone with high wildfire risk and in a designated wildland-urban interface have until March 7, 2025 to submit appeals. ...more

Snell & Wilmer

Arizona Supreme Court to Address the Scope of Citizens’ Rights to Propose Local Ballot Measures

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In the forthcoming case of Roundtree v. City of Page,2 the Arizona Supreme Court will weigh in on a reoccurring political issue that bubbles up in cities and towns across the state: under what circumstances does a proposed...more

Goulston & Storrs PC

Appeals Court Shines Light on Solar Panel Protections

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Kearsarge Walpole LLC v. Zoning Board of Appeals of Walpole involved a dispute over where a large-scale solar array could be placed in Walpole, Massachusetts. In Kearsarge, a solar developer (Kearsarge), along with Norfolk...more

Lowndes

Recent Court Decisions Highlight Zoning Enforcement Challenges

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The Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court, sitting in its appellate capacity, recently found in two similar cases that Miami-Dade County violated property owners’ due process rights by citing them for code violations using...more

Perkins Coie

Approval of Class 32 Exemption Invalid Without Analysis of Project Consistency with Redevelopment Plan

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The Court of Appeal held that before issuing a CEQA Class 32 exemption, the City of Los Angeles was required to assess whether the project was consistent not only with the applicable zoning ordinance but also with the area’s...more

Perkins Coie

Grocery Outlet Qualified For CEQA Class 32 Exemption as Infill Development

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The Sixth District Court of Appeal held that the undefined terms “in-fill development” and “substantially surrounded by urban uses” in the CEQA exemption for in-fill development were not limited by the definitions of similar...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Court Upholds City's Reliance on CEQA Exemption, Reaffirms Canons of Statutory Interpretation

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In April 2021, a developer applied to the City of King City, California (City), for a proposed 18,000-square-foot Grocery Outlet store (Project). The Project site was a former 1.6-acre car sales lot adjacent to Highway 101...more

Carlton Fields

Zoning Appeals: Have We Been Doing This Wrong for 30 Years?

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Since the end of 1993, Florida land use and zoning lawyers have been taught the basics: a rezoning hearing is quasi-judicial in nature and appeals of the decision go to circuit court on certiorari review. Why is this? Because...more

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